| In the Wild | In Captivity |
| Dolphin can live up to 55 yrs | 53% die within the first 3 months |
| Orcas live up to 90 yrs | Average life span = 5.2 yrs |
| Eat live fish | Fed dead fish |
| Live in complex social structures, staying with family their entire lives. | Often isolated in barren tanks. Most suffer from stress related diseases. Some Suicide! | Swim up to 50 miles per day, dive to depths of 1000 feet. | Can legally be confined in 24x24 foot tanks, only 6 feet deep. | Live in salt water | Live in chlorinated, treated water | Use sonar to "see" and to communicate | Unable to use sonar because of sound bouncing off tank walls. | Can reproduce every 2-3 years beginning age 14-16 Average offspring = 6-7 | At least 1/3 captive births die. Captive breeding is a very poor Average offspring = less than 1 | Wild dolphin do not jump through hoops, beg for food, or give rides on their backs. | Captive dolphins perform unnatural "circus" tricks because they are hungry. |
53% of those dolphins who survive the violent capture die within 90 days.
The average life span of a dolphin in the wild is 45 years; yet half of all captured dolphins die within their first two years of captivity. The survivors last an average of only 5 years in captivity.
Every seven years, half of all dolphins in captivity die from capture shock, pneumonia, intestinal disease, ulcers, chlorine poisoning, and other stress-related illnesses. To the captive dolphin industry, these facts are accepted as routine operating expenses.
In many tanks the water is full of chemicals as well as bacteria, causing many health problems in dolphins including blindness.
When a baby dolphin is born in captivity, the news is usually kept secret until the calf shows signs of survival. Although marine mammals do breed in captivity, the birth rate is not nearly as successful as the one in the wild, with high infant mortality rates.
Wild dolphins can swim 40 to 100 miles per day - in pools they go around in circles.
Many marine parks subject their mammals to hunger so they will perform for their food. Jumping through hoops, tailwalking and playing ball are trained behaviors that do not occur in the wild.
Confined animals who abuse themselves (banging their heads against the walls) are creating stimuli which their environment cannot supply. Dolphins in captivity tend to develop stereotypical behaviors (swimming in repetitive circle pattern, with eyes closed and in silence) because of boredom and confinement . This is equivalent to the swaying and pacing of primates, lions, tigers and bears confined in cages.
Dolphins are predators of fish and spend up to half of their time in the wild hunting for food. Supplying dead fish results in less exercise and lack of mental stimulation, thus causing boredom.
When trapped together, males often become agitated and domineering. This creates pecking orders (unknown in the wild) and unprovoked attacks on each other and the trainers. In the ocean, although fights are not unknown, the wild dolphins have a chance to escape.
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