Orcas in the wild and orcas in captivity lead hugely different lives, and its only natural that their behaviors can be different. There are things that wild whales do that captives don't, and vice versa. This page is for some of the more common behaviors of captive whales. I don't know all of them though, so they're the most basic only.

Bowing
I basically already covered this on the other page, but I'll do it again. Bowing is a form of breaching which generally only occurs in captivity. A bow is when an orca jumps, bends in mid-air and heads back down (head down) in a straight path. It is taught in captivity, and sometimes many orcas do it at once.

Above: A wild-caught orca, Nootka 5, at Marineland Ontario. This photo was taken by Emilie Giguere, and is NOT to be used without permission!!

Slide-out
The slide-out is actually where the orca goes, but this action is just called that anyway. The orca(s) comes out of the water up onto the platform, or slide-out. This is usually done with a 'present' (see below). Sliding out is useful if a vet needs to see the orca.

Above: Three captive-born orcas: Takara, her daughter Kohana, and her brother Nakai, at SeaWorld San Diego. This picture is copyrighted to Nicole Jardine.

Present
The 'present' almost always accompanies the slide-out. When an orca goes onto the slide-out, with a signal from the trainers (usually a raise of their hands), the orca lifts its tail and sometimes head in a more eye-catching pose.

Above: Valentin, a young orca at Marineland France, poses in an irresistably cute present. This photo is copyrighted to Stefan Jacobs.

Backflips
This behavior is rather difficult and/or rare. Not only is it difficult to learn, but generally, the orca must be small enough to complete a flip in one jump. Male orcas virtually can't do this. Younger orcas are often the ones who do the backflips.

Above: Keet, a young male orca at SeaWorld California, does a backflip in a photo taken by Brian Scott.