Keto being prepared for Endoscopy Procedure

Voice of the Orcas Website: https://sites.google.com/site/voiceoftheorcas/home

The SeaWorld captive bred orca named Keto is manhandled at Loro Parque. This medical procedure was performed on Keto after he was seen pulling and eating paint from the walls of his tank. An endoscope is a tube that is pushed down the throat and into the stomach. For more, there is an article online at Outside Magazine on this, written by Tim Zimmermann.

Entire 3 minute clip here: http://www.outsideonline.com/featured-videos/Keto-Endoscopy.html

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Blood-in-the-Water-Keto...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Keto
• captive
• orca
• Loro
• Parque
• Alexis
• Martinez
• Tim
• Zimmermann
• Dawn
• Brancheau
• SeaWorld
• medical
• procedure
• endoscopy
• Blood
• in
• the
• water
• Spain
• brutal
• barbaric

[Shalesta]

There is nothing natural about killer whales breaking their teeth on steel gates. This is a (tragic) consequence of captivity, and is related to the concrete and steel  enclosures we confine them in.

[Shalesta]

When a captive fractures its teeth on steel bars when jaw popping, it knocks off the enamel and exposes the soft fleshy pulp. This soft tissue begins to decay and forms a pocket where food plugging occurs. The vets drill out the core. This is called a pulpotomy. The soft tissue is removed, but food still gets into the bore holes. Trainers flush the teeth 2-3 times daily to prevent systemic infection... Like the one that killed Kalina.

[PapaOlsen]

This procedure was not just done to Keto, but the other 3 whales as well.

[Shalesta]

@PapaOlsen I don't follow the reasoning that because it was performed on the other 3 that this makes it more acceptable. Yes, all the whales had tubes (with cameras) forced into their stomachs to visualize man-made paint chips and strips that they were pulling off of the concrete pond. Akin to how teeth flushing is called "superior dental care" I guess these animals should feel honored to have access to delicious paint chips and amateur gastrointestinal services.

[Paarsezwaan]

It is not of interest to me if this procedure is needed. What is of interest to me is that these people need to leave the orca alone and it NEVER should have been in that horrific aqaurium in the first place.

[KingsProduction50]

can't they use a better way to do that?

[Shalesta]

@Corkian At SW the device used to flush the teeth is a modified WaterPik with an extension hose. It is not a brush. It is a slender straight tube with a nozzle. The reservoir is filled with Betadine solution and the tube is inserted into the bore hole,down thru the tooth and into the jaw. With an animal like Tilikum, this is done 2-3 times daily. To be drilled (called a pulpotomy), the tooth must be damaged. Healthy teeth are not drilled. Captives damage teeth on gates via jaw popping.

[FreedomForOrcas]

@Corkian - No, drilling is not performed everyday. They do it several times to specific teeth until the hole is large enough to fit the tooth flushing tube.

[Corkian]

@FreedomForOrcas Think about if the holes in the teeth are big enough to create a disease but too small to get the brush inside and clean it, it can be a big problem. If the drilling is performed everyday, why aren't all the teeth damaged? They may be cleaned with the electric brush, but drilling is more used to fix the teeth when they are broken or infected...

[FreedomForOrcas]

@Corkian - Shouka's trainers preemptively drilled Shouka's teeth. They weren't broken or cracked at all, and the video I linked has them saying that.

They may not drill every tooth, however drilling is dangerous and poses many health threats to the orcas. Diseases can get into the holes and kill them, which is why they have their teeth flushed. Tilly has his flushed twice daily. It's an unnecessary and painful procedure.

[Corkian]

@FreedomForOrcas I found another video, thank you for post this one. Looks like trying to fix the broken ones, I found the logic. Think about this: if the tooth is broken and it gets infected, vets need a way to heal it. But I don't think this is performed in EVERY tooth of EVERY whale, just in case they need it. t looks painful, like the procedure on this video... But think about what is better: a moment of pain or a terrible illness.

[FreedomForOrcas]

@Corkian - It's a video recording of Shouka's trainer stating that they drill the teeth in case she breaks them. How is that not trustworthy? Sorry, but you cannot just pick and choose which sources you trust and don't trust. Are you sure you found the right video?

Here - watch?v=l2q_CzOuXEc

[Corkian]

@FreedomForOrcas I found a video and I don't find it very... Trustworthy. And wouldn't be the first time people say the trainers themselves did something but they didn't. The way the broken or damaged teeth look in every orca is so different that it's strange to think they were damaged in the same way, and creating a risk for orca's health. Everything trainers do to the whales has to have some logic, but this one is just pointless.

[FreedomForOrcas]

@Corkian - Sorry but thinking is different to knowing. Fact is, Shouka's trainers have said this year that teeth drilling is a common practice and they use it on Shouka often, as other parks do it as well. It's on youtube somewhere, have a search for it. Several other trainers have stated themselves that they perform teeth drilling on orcas at SeaWorld. It still goes on.