Last month, I wrote about SeaWorld’s whale interaction protocols since Dawn Brancheau died, and the fact that waterwork desensitization with certain whales had advanced to the point of swimming with whales in the med pool.
This picture of Orkid in the med pool with a trainer in San Diego is now making the rounds online:
Update: here’s one more.
The Earthist Chronicles 
I think there would be fewer attacks on trainers if they treated them more like pets than performing circus animals. Orcas are highly intelligent. They know what’s going on and they only attack humans in captivity. In the wild, they’re curious and friendly with humans and have no ill will towards them.
but there would be NO attacks if humans did not keep them in captivity at all.
Tick tock …
Elizabeth is right….time bomb!
Reblogged this on #CyberWhaleWarrior.
Weird – I thought Orkid done with waterwork for good (along with Kasatka and Ulises) before everything with Dawn, just because of the other problems they’d been having with her.
get a life Zimermen dont you understand what you are doing is causing more harm them good
I think your comment needs a little expansion at to why you think this information is doing more harm than good. What I see are two photos that show Sea World isn’t living up to it’s safety obligations. Mr. Zimmermann is highlighting information and facts that are mostly secreted away. My guess is that you either work for Sea World, have a friend who works for Sea World or you are Sea World fan. I suspect these Orca have more empathy than you.
Get a life Kapiloff, don’t you understand that your support for these facilities is doing more harm than good!
Well said Steve.
From Johanna’s FB page:
About Johanna
My Mom is Kasatka Orca My sisters are Kris Ariel, Aleesa,Natalia, and Zuri My Brothers are Zach Seal Lion and cody savant.I am a Dolphin whale lover who supports sea world and its trainers My big dream to become a Trainer
Wow Johanna! Biased much????? How can you work with these amazingly intelligent animals and sleep at night? They are not meant to be kept in tiny tanks away from their families. You think you know it all because you have contact with them and it appears as if you don’t deserve the privilege. Get a real job. And leave the gate open when you leave so the rest of the marine mammals can go too.
You need to have respect for other people.
WOW! really Johanna? How’s that? SeaWorld was ORDERED not to do waterwork with these Orcas and they simply do it anyway? it’ll happen again, mark my words, it’s just a matter of when! This is abuse to the Orcas, they know they DON’T belong there and they are trying to tell these idiots just that and yet they fail to listen and they claim to know Orca body language? huh! I personally don’t feel sorry for any trainer that gets injured working with WILD animals. ALL of the Dolphins should be retired, rehabbed and released and Seaworld shut down once and for all!
Wow really Maryann… you’re so hateful to anyone who has a different opinion than you. Believe me, I wouldn’t be going off on you like this if you hadn’t verbally beat me up like you did. I hope you and Monica feel bad. You both should be ashamed of yourselves.
Orcaluvr’09 you haven’t even begun to see rude or hateful come from me, I state FACT plain and simple AND if you want to see a really rude comment look above to Johanna’s comment to Tim Z. THAT was rude! Nobody will ever get me to change my mind that ALL Cetaceans BELONG in the OCEAN with their Pods, it’s their God given right (if you want to bring God into it).
My reply to Monica applies to you too… I’m sorry for getting so mad at you.
(My latest reply to Monica)
I want to train orcas SO MUCH and waterwork is a huge part of my dream… I’m so happy… :’)
OrcaLuvr’09 – what? Are you like 10 or something? Or is this just a wind up to get up the noses of those people who truly love and respect marine mammals? I hope you have a funeral plan all worked out because you’re going to need it. Get in the water with an animal of that size and power and it’s just a matter of time before you will be mince meat just like Dawn Brancheau. SeaWorld has been forbidden to do any waterwork with orcas yet it ignores it. They don’t give a damn about the trainers OR the animals, all they are interested in is the dollars that walk in through the gate. I hope you change your mind.
Well I hope I don’t this is incredibly not respectful. You have to take risks.
BTW neither of your accusations are true.
While both of you have valid arguments and you should stick to them and continue your discussion, some of these comments are just sad. Monica, that was an incredibly insensitive thing to say about Dawn. Dawn devoted her life to this field and, from what I can tell from my very limited research into this subject, she was content and happy with her life. Now, this is not to say that she agreed with everything SeaWorld as an organization was doing, but we will never know. Monica, you should be able to state your point without this disrespect and all this ever-so-popular-2013 keyboard malice. If you can’t respect others opinions, how can you expect them to acknowledge yours, especially when you say such hurtful things about the memory of a beautiful woman? The beautiful thing about being a zealous and intelligent woman is that you are able to express how you feel without bashing others and using crash and unimaginative wording.
Also, I realize this comment was from January and it is now June, but better late than never, right?
Beth, I don’t appreciate being castigated for speaking the truth. What I said may have been insensitive but every word of it was true. Dawn Brancheau WAS a beautiful woman who dedicated her life to SeaWorld and they put her at risk every time she got in the water. SeaWorld are to blame for her death. SeaWorld put their trainers at risk every time they get near the orcas. Four human beings have died because of orcas being in captivity. How many orcas have died thanks to SeaWorld?
Moreover, Beth, I don’t respect the opinions of people who believe that these enormous creatures should be kept in captivity. They are wrong. There is so much documentary evidence that proves that captive orcas are far too intelligent to be treated like circus clowns.
And Beth, if you’re trying to mediate, don’t bother. Sweetness and light just don’t work on this particular subject. And as for ‘better late than never’ .. it’s a bit late for Dawn isn’t it?
Aside from the bit at the end which I feel was very unnecessary, I agree with your facts. But, you should be able to list your own arguments without insulting the personal characters of the other people you are talking too. If you can write what you believe, why can’t they? Cast the first stone blah blah blah. The only reason I commented in the first place was because the anger in your posts towards other people and not the subject makes me skim over just your posts when reading because I don’t want to read these arguments about poster’s character, I want to read facts and intelligent arguments without petty dilly dally. I’m just writing what I see, no mediation, no insults.
Don’t attack your own army.
Otherwise, I am in the same boat as you, I dislike how killer whales are kept in a bathtub and trainers are treated as disposable. Killer whales are beautiful and intelligent and should not be hounded for performances. SeaWorld is a big business cash hog and this OSHA trial is the first milestone for animal rights in a very very long time.
I don’t want to argue this anymore, I’ll probably run into you more in the other posts, hopefully for the positive.
OrcaLuvr’09 I agree with Monica, these Orcas aren’t going to take much more crap from the humans that are their “Trainers”, every single one of them has self harmed trying to escape, acted out because they DO NOT want to be where they are or killed as Tilly has (Tilly is NOT the only Orca who has killed his trainer, not sure if you know that or not) IF you truly “love and respect” Orcas you would understand their need for freedom! Become Scuba certified and go dive in the Ocean with them (even then it’s on their terms) SeaWorld will eventually be shut down for their egregious acts towards the Orcas and their continuous violations. If you want to play with the big boys and girls, go for it, but you wont get pity from me if something happens to you in the process.
CONS
-Many parks’ tanks are tiny and filthy (i.e. Miami Seaquarium)
-SeaWorld’s Blue Horizons show and shows like it at other parks are far from educational
-Cetaceans are sometimes killed during capture
PROS
-Cetaceans are very well taken care of
-People who wouldn’t have the opportunity of seeing cetaceans in the wild are able to appreciate them anyway
-Trainers are privileged to work closely with the animals they love
-The orcas seem to enjoy some of their behaviors(i.e. sliding out); I have seen them slide out on their own accord
-If the animals didn’t want to perform, they wouldn’t
Thats my Pros and Cons for Captivity list. I have more for both reasons but I just can’t remember them right now.
I am curious if you would be OK with captivity if all the animals had been born in captivity, because at SW San Diego, all the dolphins in the show were born at SeaWorld.
I am really enjoying this conversation. Thanks!
-Cassie
Cassie, simply put NO! I wouldn’t care if the Dolphins in SeaWorld or ANY marine Park were strictly bred there, it’s STILL captivity 😦 Many deaths happen to babies that are bred at these places due to undernourishment of Mother and many other factors, I have a huge list somewhere of ALL deaths of all ages of Dolphins, I will find it and post it here many are of Dolphins that were indeed bred by SeaWorld captive Dolphins.
@Monica Gilbert- @Maryann…
You know you have to take risks in life. Also, YOU SHOULD HAVE RESPECT FOR PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT OPINIONS THAN YOU! It’s not cool to just beat someone down because you don’t agree with them. There is no way I am changing my mind because this is God’s plan for me and I am just going to trust Him! I truly do love orcas, I’m not trying to bug activists. I respect anti caps who are civil to others but you two just don’t fit into that category. SeaWorld is not just for money. I don’t care what you say you can’t change my mind. You both should be ashamed. If you want to try to convince me of your view maybe you should try a kinder approach.
Funny… only today I was reading a Tumblr post where an anticap was complaining about how rude procaps are to anticaps. I wonder if they ever thought that maybe anticaps are incredibly rude to procaps sometimes… or maybe the procaps were provoked by the anticaps! Yes I admit that procaps can be rude too but really? Maryann and Monica Gilbert, I won’t be surprised if you don’t reply to this. Just know that I don’t care what you say.
Tim Zimmerman, I enjoy your SeaWorld posts. I’m wondering if you are pro cap or anti cap. Don’t worry, I won’t put you down for being either. I was also wondering if you could maybe not take comments that are as hateful as Maryann’s and Monica Gilbert’s. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Your comment: “I want to train orcas SO MUCH and waterwork is a huge part of my dream… I’m so happy… :’)”
Take a deep breath and listen to what I’m saying to you. It’s not a personal attack on you, it’s an informed opinion on what you’re wanting to do.
Why do you want to train animals that have been ripped from their families and forced into a life of subservience and forced to live in tiny, featureless concrete prisons? Why do you even want to associate yourself with a place like SeaWorld? Don’t you think that’s CRUEL?
How in OUR God’s name is SeaWorld good??? They have trained male orcas to lie upside down. They masturbate your orcas with a cow’s vagina so they can produce sperm to inseminate female orcas who are related to the male. To me that’s RAPE!!! How is that GOOD? Your “waterwork” would definitely involve that. They do this to the prime “breeding bull”, Tilikum, who has killed THREE trainers … did you know that one OrcaLuvr’09? Then there’s Morgan. A young female orca who is too young to breed, yet SW keep putting male orcas in with her and when she doesn’t respond favourably, they attack her. She has been raked more than 200+ times because of this. And then we have Lolita? She has been performing for 43 YEARS …. FORTY THREE YEARS!!!! Can you even imagine that??? How is that GOOD???? Do you know why the dorsal fin on captive orcas bends over? Remember “Free Willy”? It’s because the orcas can only go around and around in circles. They are meant to be swimming straight and the force of the water keeps the dorsal fin straight.
Why don’t you read the book “Death at SeaWorld” by David Kirby before you go damning activists and “procaps” as you have labelled us. Our God didn’t mean for these highly intelligent beings to be paraded out and made to perform for food. Do you even know how they come to BE at SW? They are captured in brutal drive hunts and ripped from a strong family bond in a complex society. Do you think God wants that? Does God want His creatures to be so depressed that they chew the bars on their concrete prisons and have to have their teeth drilled and pumped with antibiotics?
Do you think that God really wants you to be involved in such a misguided occupation? One of these days, in the not so distant future, dolphins and whales will not be allowed to be kept in captivity. India, with a population of over ONE BILLION PEOPLE, has recently banned all marine parks from having dolphins and whales because it is animal cruelty. Many countries do not allow captivity of these creatures and have banned their captivity, the United Kingdom to name one.
You would be entering into a dying industry. That is unless SW manages to kill all the cetaceans before that happens.
I apologise unreservedly for being rude. But I don’t apologise for my point of view or the fact that I KNOW that I am right. The general public who turn up at SW’s gates to watch these amazing creatures perform like clowns need to be educated. SeaWorld doesn’t provide education. There is absolutely NOTHING educational about seeing a huge animal being ridden by a trainer. The cost of a ticket into SW would be better spent going on a dolphin or whale watching cruise. It would be cheaper, let me tell you.
OrcaLuvr09, you would be amazed how much information is out there on how cruel it is to keep these animals captive. If you truly do love orcas, and you obviously do, please, for GOD’S sake, and for your own, dig. It doesn’t take much. Look on Facebook. Put orca in the search box. Or dolphin. And worst of all, look up anything related to Taiji. A drive hunt where Japanese fishermen herd dolphins into a cove and they select the “pretty” ones, mostly bottlenose, for captivity and then slaughter the rest of the dolphins for meat. One in 17 dolphins is taken into captivity, so you can imagine how many are slaughtered. Again, relating to dolphins, which as you know, are small orcas, watch the Academy Award winning documentary, “The Cove”. http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the_cove_2009/?fb_action_ids=446738195380805&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366 This is how dolphins and whales are captured. It’s not pretty.
I look forward to your next comment.
I’m sorry for going off on you. I don’t support captivity 100%. There are many things that I don’t believe are right. If you want me to, I will post why I do and don’t support it. I would like to read that book. I wish they would let the orcas mate naturally. Thank you for realizing that I love the orcas a lot. I am not 100% sure that orca training is what I want to do. Maybe someone will think of a way that is ideal for both humans and; cetaceans. I just want to say… I started dreaming of training orcas after I had a dream about kayaking with them in the wild. Once again, I apologize for going off on you.
Thank you for your reply. Your apology is accepted. I’m just glad you are able to see that neither Maryann nor I are attacking YOU in particular, we are just very sensitive to the fact that orcas and dolphins should not be held in captivity. I don’t know your name so I’ll just refer to you as OL, OK?
Do me a favour, OL, read “Death at Seaworld” and I guarantee you that you won’t want to have anything to do with captive cetaceans. You say that you had a dream about kayaking with orcas … why don’t you actually GO kayaking with them? I have dozens of links that I can give you of people who are awestruck when this huge fin just rises out of the water right next to the kayak but without even a ripple in the water. That is how orcas are meant to be seen, not cooped up in a pool, in chlorine that destroys their skin and hurts their eyes. They don’t have the luxury of wearing little goggles when they are forced to swim in chlorine pools 24/7 when they are used to seawater. I’m sorry to go on about it but it really is my passion too.
So, OL, if you would really like to, I’d be very interested to see what your reasons are for pro-captivity and anti-captivity. You won’t convince me that pro-captivity is right, but I WILL listen to what you have to say.
Don’t give up your dream of working with orcas, just make sure that dream has the orcas in the wild. Did you know they are endangered? And places like SeaWorld are killing them faster than they are dying off in nature.
Please write back to me and tell me your thoughts, OK?
OL, this is a review of a movie that aired at the Sundance Film Festival yesterday. You might be interested in seeing it when it comes to a movie theatre near you. It’s called “Blackfish”, which is the Native American name for orcas. http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-blackfish-ensures-youll-never-go-to-seaworld-again
Monica,
I accidentally replied to Maryann with what was supposed to be a reply to you, so if you want to see my answer, I’d appreciate it if you would look at that! 🙂
Here is the List, Cassie and they are NOT all there 😦 http://taijiactiongroup.blogspot.com/2010/10/orca-deaths-at-seaworld-parks.html
Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to captivity that I don’t agree with. But some of these deaths are things that would’ve happened in the wild as well! Take Sumar, for example. He died of a twisted intestine. They couldn’t ID what the problem was, and even if they had been able to, surgery on whales is impossible. His death wasn’t anything captivity-related.
Cassie, I did not say all deaths were Captivity related of course they aren’t but a majority of them are. They belong in the Ocean, NOT in a small pool and Marineland IS NOT the only place who has tiny pools by the way @SeaWorld only 2 of the 7 pools are as deep as Tilly is long, that is not acceptable as I said before nobody will ever get me to change my mind about captivity for ANY animal this also includes Zoos and Circuses..A Sanctuary is fine if they they rehab and release unless the animal cannot go back to the wild for some reason but Marine parks are not Sanctuaries and those Orcas and Dolphins CAN be rehabbed and released.
Nothing can change my mind either… I respect your opinion but this is mine. I do think it’s a little harsh to say that you don’t feel sorry for anyone who was killed. But I respect the rest of your opinion.
Cassie, I’m getting a little confused with responses and comments on both remarks so I’ll comment on this one with Maryann.
On the subject of cetaceans born in captivity …. look at your history books …. slaves were captured in Africa and shipped to America to work on plantations for rich owners. Their offspring were also considered slaves. Then came the Civil War and slaves were freed and it wasn’t until the mid-1960s – 100 years later – that a lady named Rosa Parks sat up the front of the bus that got African Americans to be treated as equals.
It’s the same principle with cetaceans born in captivity. The cetaceans were ripped from their native habitat and forced into a life of slavery. They are forced to reproduce and any offspring are born into a life of slavery.
It’s is a proven fact that dolphins (and orcas are of the dolphin genus) are as intelligent as humans. We just haven’t worked out a way to understand what THEY are saying yet, and having them performing like clowns in a chlorine pond is not going to help that either.
As for dolphins being well taken care of … I recently saw a photo of a couple of trainers using a nebuliser on a dolphin because of breathing problems! Is this good? Is this natural? Dolphins in captivity are subjected to such stress and you know how sensitive their hearing and their echolocation is. How can they echolocate in a concrete tank?? How do they stand listening to all the noise that is generated by the people who are at their horror dolphin shows? You think they are smiling and happy … they are not. It’s the way their beautiful faces are built that is probably their biggest downfall. They don’t get the option of not performing if they don’t want to. If they don’t perform, they don’t get fed. How is that for being well taken care of? It’s a well-known fact that dolphins are on all sorts of medications because of the stress and infections they get in marine aquariums, not just SeaWorld. They are on antibiotics and have to be fed medicine for stomach ulcers. That’s not being taken care of. If they were in the wild, they would never be subjected to this mistreatment. You may say that SW ARE looking after the dolphins by giving them medicine, but if they weren’t held captive, they wouldn’t need the meds.
As for “sliding out”, did you know that when dolphins and orcas “beach” themselves or are forced to lie stranded on the bottom of dolphin pools while people scrub down the walls of the pool (and I have documentary and photographic evidence of this), their internal organs are being crushed? It’s unnatural and it places huge strains on the animals insides. It’s also how dolphins and orcas end up stranded and they are naturally frightened to do it because they might die.
As for “trainers are privileged”, that’s hardly a pro for the cetaceans, is it?
And the same applies to your comment that people have the opportunity to see them that wouldn’t normally get the chance. Not the problem of the cetaceans. Why should they be held captive so someone can come and gawk at them?
I hope you will take what both Maryann and I have to say and think about it. Neither of us will ever be convinced that dolphins and orcas should ever be held ransom in captivity. Someday soon, the rest of the world will also realise it and those animals held in tiny prisons, force fed medicine and made to perform to be fed, can be rehabilitated and set free to join their brothers and sisters in the wild.
As I’ve said before, read “Death at SeaWorld” by David Kirby. Borrow it from the library. If they don’t have it, TELL them to get it in. It’s educational. Watch “The Cove”. If you are still unconvinced, friend me on Facebook Monica-PO’d Gilbert and you will see what captivity is all about. I am desperate for you to believe otherwise I wouldn’t offer to friend you. I have a heap of links on Facebook that I can send you. You are young and the world is in front of you. Make the right decision though and don’t perpetuate the lie that SeaWorld and all marine aquariums are good. They are not.
Monica and Maryann- Just wondering if you have ideas of how to get involved. I’ve donated to Ric O’Barry/ Save Japan Dolphins but I want to do more. We need to educate. Are there community groups that promote events to educate the public or anything like that? I am just looking to get more involved. Education is the key here–especially for kids–a lot of adults won’t change their mind as evidenced by your conversation with OL.
And OL you said:
-Cetaceans are very well taken care of
-People who wouldn’t have the opportunity of seeing cetaceans in the wild are able to appreciate them anyway
-the orcas seem to enjoy some of their behaviors
On the first point, they are not well taken care of. Small tanks, starved before shows so that they will perform, underweight, to name just a few.
Second point, people can learn about them in books and videos. Many people appreciate dinosaurs and know a lot about them without having seen them alive. To me your point is not a “pro” because dolphins and whales should not be in captivity for our entertainment- which is what you’re saying by using the word “appreciate”.
Third, the key word is “seem”. They don’t. If they are sliding out it is because they are probably hungry and hoping for a free handout.
I hope in time you will change your mind.
Thanks for asking Annie. And thanks for trying to make a point with Cassie, OL, but she doesn’t seem to want to listen.
I’m sure you’re on Facebook and there are a heap of pages on there that form a sort of informal super network. There are occasional rallies and protests and they are always advertised widely on Facebook.
In the searchbar, put “Active for Oceans”, “Freedom Blue”, “Save Japan Dolphins”, “Save Misty the Dolphin”, “Citizens against the slaughter of marine mammals”, in fact just put in either “dolphin” or “orca” and you’ll find a bunch of pages that post up-to-date information of what’s going on. Once you are familiar with that page, you’ll see links to other pages and what other information is available.
If you are at all in doubt about what to do, I will “friend” you on Facebook and hope that you aren’t a troll 🙂 !!! Monica-PO’d Gilbert. Being on Facebook directly, it’s easier to navigate. Maryann may also have many suggestions. She’s a die-hard cetacean protector.
If you are on Twitter, you can put in #dolphins, or #Tweet4Taiji and you’ll see many similar people who are involved or sympathetic to the cause. I started off exactly as you did, and still proudly wear my Dolphin Project wristband. “The Cove” was a life-changing event for me and it sounds as though it was for you too. We DO need to educate. The Japanese in particular know virtually nothing about what goes on in Taiji. It’s a very very slow process. Then you get cases like Cassie aka OL where, given enough information to show what goes on, still refuses to see.
I hope I see your name on Facebook. We need more people like you with a willingness to help attitude; and education, I feel, is the number one priority.
Cassie – this is how they catch orcas for entertainment at SeaWorld and other aquariums … still think captivity is good? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceLQNl2ZMZQ
Cassie – a link for you http://krystalludeman.tumblr.com/post/41156175426/killer-whales-are-not-goldfish
Cassie – here is Krystal Ludeman’s Facebook page you might like to have a look at.
Monica, Maryann, and Annie:
I will probably be going to SW this week. I will pay extra attention to everything and tell you what I think. I will not be biased.
If I ever get a chance, I will read “Death at SeaWorld ” and see “The Cove”.
SW does not starve the whales if they don’t get a behavior right. Yeah, maybe they don’t give the whale a fish for the behavior, but they feed the orcas their normal meals.
Monica, the trainers love and take excellent care of the whales. That’s far more than we could say about slavery.
Cassie, by going to SW and paying your money as you go through the gate you are PAYING in BLOOD for the dolphins and whales that are killed in drive hunts. Have you not learnt anything from all the time we have spent trying to get the information across to you? I am bitterly disappointed. You could at least have watched “The Cove”. I sent you the link for it. I sent you a link of a drive hunt. You obviously haven’t watched that. You don’t want to listen, obviously, and I am sorry for that. Sure you go ahead and go to SW and sit in the stands with the other ignorant people, except YOU aren’t IGNORANT. YOU are aware of where the animals come from and how they are being detained and held captive by corporations for money.
You pay attention all you like. You will only see a magnificent creature with more intelligence than most humans being forced to perform like a clown.
Very disappointed in you Cassie.
You DID NOT send me a link for The Cove. The drive hunt video seems to be for food, not marine parks. I already have an annual pass for SEA WORLD, and I am still pro cap. I’m done with this conversation.
Oh, wait, maybe I’m not done yet… Yes, I said SEA WORLD, not Scum World or Sea Circus. I already had an annual pass, so I’m not going to waste that money. Besides, I AM still pro cap. Apparently I am a lost cause, but I’m not ashamed for being one, because this is what I Believe. Notice I capitalized Believe… in honor of the SeaWorld show that inspired me to go for my dreams.
NOW I’m done with this conversation.
Monica, as I said, when SEACIRCUS goes down and IT WILL , Cassie will just buy an annual pass to some other Cetacean PRISON because she has no love or respect for the Species or any other species of Dolphin for anyone who TRULY had love and respect for Dolphins would NOT want to see them anywhere but IN THE OCEAN where they belong with that said, Now I am done with this conversation until someone with some sense can post. More people WILL eventually see how so very wrong this is as they are every day 🙂
Cassie, what did you think this link was??? “Again, relating to dolphins, which as you know, are small orcas, watch the Academy Award winning documentary, “The Cove”. http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the_cove_2009/?fb_action_ids=446738195380805&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366 This is how dolphins and whales are captured. It’s not pretty.” This is a direct copy and past from above.
I sent it days ago. I also tried the link and it does work.
Don’t you dare call me a liar.
Of course you have a season pass to SeaWorld. You wasted a lot of my precious time and energy trying to reason with you. I gave you many valid reasons and evidence that orcas are not meant to be in captivity and you have shunned them and cannot rebut them because they are TRUE! Notice I CAPITALISED “TRUE”?
Go ahead and attend another circus. But when the day comes and SW and all the other marine abusement parks are forbidden to hold cetaceans captive, then you’ll hear me laugh at you from the other side of the globe.
NOW this conversation is finished.
Monica and Annie, you may as well give up on Cassie, she is a lost cause, apparently. You did your best and as you said in a previous post she does NOT want to listen SO, when the crap hits the fan for her beloved SW she can’t say we didn’t warn her. Annie, you can also like The Death At Seaworld Page as David updates regularly and Voice of the Orcas has a blog as well, their Twitter handle is @Voice_OT_Orcas they are all EX Trainers from SeaWorld who have behind the scenes knowledge of the training, breeding and treatment of the CAPTIVE Orcas. As far as the rest, Monica gave great advice. Thanks for caring about the Cetaceans, it’s time we speak up for them and let them have their freedom from SLAVERY indeed, that’s what it is, like it or not, Cassie Slaves of the entertainment industry and if they take such good care of the Orcas, why so many deaths AT SeaWorld? many are dying very young which does not happen in the wild. Tilly needs to be retired, rehabbed and sent back into the wild where he belongs, HE knows it and WE know it!
Maryann, I have one word for you …. amen. And we DID try. Luckily Annie has come in on the conversation and that is wonderful. It’s such a shame about Cassie though. I really hoped that given enough information she would at least waiver, but the fact that she is actually going to ScumWorld is enough for me. No hope. We may see a photo of her on the news one day when yet another SeaWorld employee makes a call to 911 saying “a whale ate one of our trainers” as happened with Dawn Brancheau.
Let’s move on and work with people who have the cetaceans’ interests at heart and not their own very selfish ones.
Thanks for the ideas Monica and Maryann. I’ve found a bunch of other pages to follow and have found some interesting sources. Have you guys seen the video of the dolphin who went to a diving spot where he knew humans went to dive with mantarays and went up to a diver for help to remove fishing line and hook from his pectoral fin? Just simply incredible and it shows the amazing intelligence of these creatures. A lot of people are sharing the video not to exploit dolphins but to show their intelligence and ask how can we lock up such brilliant creatures as these in small bathtubs (as it is to them). They are in some ways more intelligent than we are- they even have a small area in their brains that humans do not have.
I think this movement is picking up momentum- we just need to educate and get people to open their eyes. It’s sad to me how even my facebook friends don’t comment on or sign the petition to “not buy a ticket” from the Care2 petition site. We have a lot of work to do. Many people are focused on other things and so we that care and care deeply have to keep the momentum going. I’m about to go on SeaWorld Orlando’s Facebook page and ask how Tilikum is doing in a post. Then I’m going to the other sites to talk about Takara (who has had trouble with pregnancies in the past and is now pregnant again is doing) and comment on how horrible it is that she’s pregnant again so soon. Are you two with me? The more people that go on their pages and comment on this the harder it will be for them to ignore.
I want to find out more about this Sam Simon too- thanks to him for sponsoring the appeal to free Morgan- she might yet be released! He must be a very good soul who is using his money in amazing ways.
OL is just one person. We need to take the message to others and realize that this plight may fall on deaf ears. I’m going to try to remember that I once loved going to the dolphin show when I was little- at my local zoo in Minnesota- and that SeaWorld has done a good job brainwashing a lot – millions- of visitors every year that what they do is a good thing. Let’s stick to the facts because if we make people mad they are less likely to change their minds–then they have another reason not to change their minds.
Oh Annie, you are a breath of fresh air! Are you also following Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians? SSCS named one of their ships that are awaiting the Japanese in the Southern Ocean after Sam Simon. He must be a pretty amazing guy and such a staunch supporter of Sea Shepherd.
Annie, be prepared to lose friends. If they’re good friends, you won’t lose them. Not everyone is as passionate as you are and you’ll get frustrated with them as we do.
The video with the fish hook in the dolphin’s fin has been doing the rounds. It’s remarkable how intelligent and how intuitive the dolphin was with the diver. Even when the diver motioned it over, the dolphin came. Nobody can tell me that these beautiful gentle creatures are not smart and are not worth saving. Just another reason why they shouldn’t be cooped up in a bathtub, instead of swimming dozens of kms a day.
Don’t feel bad about going to a dolphin show when you were little. Now you aren’t, you can make up for it. You are definitely heading in the right direction commenting on SeaWorld’s Orlando page. Most of us have been banned from commenting. They don’t like leaving comments up there that might inform the general public that what they’re doing isn’t for the benefit of the cetaceans.
I am already having a number of discussions on the post about the pregnant orca. You can go along over there and add your comments too.
Keep fighting the good fight and let me know if I can help.
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/seaworld
This is not mine but I like it a lot! Especially bondedwiththesea’s “I’ve been thinking… ” after seeing the conversation between OrcaLuvr’09 and Monica, Maryann, and Annie!
Emily, I couldn’t find bondedwiththesea’s comment. Can you paraphrase for me please. I looked on three separate occasions.
http://bondedwiththesea.tumblr.com/post/41231858808/ive-been-thinking
This is not meant as an insult to either you or OrcaLuvr’09! Just the truth. 🙂
Thanks Emily. I read it. It is definitely pro-captivity, but as she said, it’s her opinion. If one doesn’t want to debate one’s opinion then don’t come to these pages.
I will never change my mind about captivity. It is wrong. SeaWorld is wrong. Orcas will continue to kill, but hey if you want to get into the water with a 12,000 behemoth, then I say go for it!
Thank you for the article and for sending me a direct link. Much appreciated.
Emily, as a PS to the above, I reread the last part of the blog. She suggests that we should not make it a personal battle. Well, that’s where everyone who is anti-captivity are different. It IS a personal battle with us. We spend many hours every day in our “spare time”, but still seven days a week, fighting for these amazing creatures to be released. It IS personal with us. That’s why we (the orcas, the dolphins and the anti-caps) will win and captivity will be outlawed. I am insulted by that comment actually. I take it very personally.
I’m sorry it wasn’t meant as an insult!
Oh Emily, I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t. I do apologise. It’s just a bit wearing when people are in your face for wanting the dolphins and whales to be free, in the ocean, where they came from, without any interference from man. Thanks for the link that you found and posted.
I don’t know if you guys realize this, but orcas’ dorsal fins flop over in the wild. I have also read the Kirby’s “Death at SeaWorld”. Didn’t change my opinion at all. It was mostly recapping the life of Dr. Naomi Rose, and a play by play of how trainers Samantha Berg and Carol Ray became trainers at SeaWorld in the 90’s, at around the time Tilly was brought to SeaWorld from SeaLand of the Pacific.
Yes, there is dorsal bending in the wild. But studies have shown that dorsal collapse, in which the dorsal is fully flopped over, which is what you see in almost 100 percent of male captive killer whales, occurs in only a small percent of wild males. This issue–in which dorsal collapse in captivity is compared to dorsal bending in the wild–is a perfect example of how SeaWorld misrepresents science, and plays games with words, to try and affect public perception about captivity.
The trainers are allowed some waterwork, just not in show. They are allowed some in behind the scenes work.