Serial Killer Whale

[Mem]

YouTube - Deadly Attack at Sea World

He has already killed two people and today killed a third. Set him free or put him to sleep.

 

[D_Cateryke Cheesysmell]

Set up a bigscreen tv in front of the whale's tank. Play videos of trainers he has hurt/killed where he and the other orcas can see them. Kill the offending whale in front of the others. No more problem.

 

[D_Andreas Sukov]

a serial killer killer whale? (lol). Surely after the first two they should of learned?

Its sad, but keeping something like that in an enclosed environment is going to damage it mentally.

 

[Flashy]

Set up a bigscreen tv in front of the whale's tank. Play videos of trainers he has hurt/killed where he and the other orcas can see them. Kill the offending whale in front of the others. No more problem.

it's not a whale, it's an orca, which is a dolphin.

it should not be put to sleep...these are among the most highly intelligent creatures on earth, many of whom were captured from the wild. they are locked away in concrete enclosures for life. they cannot use their sonar, and lead lives of boredom and misery.

I would suggest you watch the documentary about Lolita, the orca who has been stuck in the Miami Seaquarium for 39 years, all alone in a tiny tank, with her only company being a plastic blowup toy...even sadder, is 39 years later, members of her family in the pacific northwest, washington state area to be precise that she was stolen from when she was 3 years old, are still alive. in 1996 she was played a tape recording of their specific calls and vocalizations...she recognized them instantly, and vocalized back...Orcas from different places even have different dialects...her family subpod is referred to as the "L25" pod, which is a widely studied and well known family group

Orca Network Lolita - Lolita's life today

oh, and during her capture:

"Five orcas, including four baby orcas, drowned during this capture. The four drowned calves had their bellies slit, were filled with rocks, and weighted with chains and anchors to keep their deaths from coming to the attention of the public. Three of the carcasses washed up on the shore of Whidbey Island on November 18, 1970. Six years later, Sea World settled in court, agreeing to never again capture orcas in Washington State, to avoid publicly taking the blame."

the captive dolphin/orca industry is a worldwide disgrace, and i have been a member of anti-captivity groups for these creatures for decades. Asia is among the worst offenders in this regard, as you can see in the dolphin slaughter/massacres/ captures and orca captures in the dreaded and infamous Japanese port of taiji...

having these highly intelligent, emotional creatures in such small spaces is simply abominable.

this is not the first time this has happened...in fact, it is becoming all too frequent. these creatures die younger, and become violent and upset.

It is worth noting, that there has *NEVER* been one single attack on a human by a wild Orca, ever documented, even though the US Navy used to machine gun to death pods of them, yet, despite the fact that they do not harm humans in the wild, stick them in captivity, and unsurprisingly, they go slowly crazy, and may eventually snap.

too many of these creatures have died in captivity due to accidents, fights among them and incidents with trainers etc.

these creatures do not belong in captivity, period.

they are not snakes, or aquarium fish.

this is a link to the site about the award winning documentary about Lolita...called "Slave to Entertainment

here is the trailer

http://www.slavetoentertainment.com/LolitaTrailer1.mov


Lolita: Slave to Entertainment. animal right documentary

here is the site

Miami Seaquarium Lolita


if you have any relatives, or friends who have kids or who want to go to these shows, please urge them not to. :frown1:

 

[BallRalls]

set it free!!!

 

[Zeuhl34]

I know this will sound insensitive, but it's a large, predatory porpoise; this is an inherent risk of the job. Sad, but not really all that shocking.

 

[nudeyorker]

Set him free! Maybe someday people will learn that wild animals don't really want to be a dog and pony show for tourists.

 

[D_Andreas Sukov]

His job was to mainly splash visiters. A great creature like that reduced to nothing but splashing. Its sort of like the animal Kingdom's version of a pissed off worker bringing a gun into work.

 

[deleted136887]

Nothing wrong with the animal. It's the humans who should be put to sleep.
At he end of the day, it is a WILD animal. A KILLER whale. That's what it does, what evolution has shaped it to be, a predator. Not a clown for amusement of idiots who prefer their wilderness experience disneyfied and packaged.
As Lemon remarked above. Too true.

 

[midlifebear]

Never been to a Seaworld Park. I've always thought them (and 99% of all zoos) to be among the biggest examples of human arrogance and cruelty.

 

[Novaboy]

Even as a kid I did not like this kind of "entertainment". I just don't get why people think it's so great to see a whale jump through a hoop. It's cruel to keep these animals in captivity unless it is to protect the species through breeding programs. Jumping through hoops should not be allowed. This is certainly not the first time a trainer has been killed or injured by their animal.....lions and tigers and bears.....Oh MY!

 

[HazelGod]

Everything Flashy said +1. It's a travesty that such intelligent, emotive creatures are kept in isolated confinement for the amusement of our race.

it is a WILD animal. A KILLER whale

Not picking on Peter, but I want to point out that the killer whale moniker is actually a transmogrification of whale killer, a name given to them long ago by mariners who observed orcas hunting and killing whales in the wild. As others have already stated, the orcas are actually porpoises, not whales.

 

[mitchymo]

...

 

[Flashy]

Everything Flashy said +1. It's a travesty that such intelligent, emotive creatures are kept in isolated confinement for the amusement of our race.

bingo hazel...it may have been understandable in the 70s, as we were just starting to learn about them...but what was curiosity then is callous and twisted now.

Not picking on Peter, but I want to point out that the killer whale moniker is actually a transmogrification of whale killer, a name given to them long ago by mariners who observed orcas hunting and killing whales in the wild. As others have already stated, the orcas are actually porpoises, not whales.

exactly, and they are amazing creatures in every way. one of the most majestic representations of the wild on this earth...and sadly, the pods in the pacific northwest are among the most toxically poisoned animals on this earth. they, as an apex predators, collect all the PCBs that accumulate in the food chain, and many are dying off at an alarming rate. what was once the symbol of the beauty and wild majesty of the pacific northwest, is now being poisoned to death, and when they are not being poisoned, they spend their time dodging shipping lanes.

it is a wonder there are any of the most majestic creatures left on earth...we are getting rid of them without a single thought...the elephants, the lions, the whales, the tigers, the mountain gorillas, the chimps and the orcas.

sometimes i am really ashamed to be human.

 

[mitchymo]

I would be happy to see all zoos closed down. Not so sure about safari parks but definately the only animals which should be 'kept' are those that are our pets and not those that are our amusement.

 

[justmeincal]

I've read that he can't be returned to wild and survive. If he is going to be kept in small tank the rest of his life, I think they should either put him down or let him go free and take his chances. I would let him go free and hope he would enjoy his freedom for a while.

I wish they would let them all free and hope they survive. However, I don't suppose that would work realistically.

 

[Meniscus]

Is it a viable option to free an animal that has been in captivity for many years and had it's needs met by humans?

I was at the Seattle aquarium last fall, and there was a seal there who was clearly miserable...just lying there looking completely despondent. Some of the other seals were a bit more animated--a couple of them were even "playing," but none of them seemed too happy to be there.

At the Denver zoo, I saw a pair of wild cats who weren't the least bit interested in their human observers, until their keeper came along. They immediately became tense and alert, and clearly hated him. You could see in their eyes that they were looking for an opportunity to do him some damage, should he be foolish enough to get to close.

I was living in Boulder, CO at the time of this incident, and I remember seeing it on the news.

http://www.greenstone.org/greenston...simple&sib=1&p.a=b&p.sa=&p.s=ClassifierBrowse

 

[Flashy]

I've read that he can't be returned to wild and survive. If he is going to be kept in small tank the rest of his life, I think they should either put him down or let him go free and take his chances. I would let him go free and hope he would enjoy his freedom for a while.

I wish they would let them all free and hope they survive. However, I don't suppose that would work realistically.

well, my personal opinion, is that Sea World (owned by Anheuser Busch) who has made 100s of millions of this animals off the last few decades, should be forced to pony up the money to buy several fjords, in isolated countries that would be willing to allow a sort of inland sanctuary.

they could not survive in the wild in all likelihood, but, if you look at places like Iceland, Norway and the Pacific Northwest, there are literally thousands of huge fjords and lochs.

My idea, would be to close a couple of these off so that they could not get out into the wild, but so there is still natural filtration and tidal movement, many of the larger ones (fjords) are huge (look at any google map to see what i am talking about)

this would do several things...

1. it would allow for the creation of individual pods (some of the problems that have occurred in parks, are that animals captured from different areas, for example ones captured off Iceland, and ones captured off Washington State, do not get along, wheras ones from familiar backgrounds do)

2. they would have freedom to dive deeper, to swim, unrestricted through fresh salt water (let's remember, they live in *CHLORINATED WATER* at these parks.)

a fjord 20 miles long and 5 miles wide would give 100 square miles of space.

they would have plenty of room to explore and play, and do all the things orcas are supposed to do.

3. it would provide a natural, safe, environment for them, away from ships and other dangers....people would be allowed to come visit, and view them in a natural environment, with large, viewing areas on the sides of the Fjords, that could be monitored like a natural park...and the revenue derived from folks visiting, would fund the feeding of these animals (who eat a lot)

you could still do an educational show, by having a viewing area near where you would feed them, with large video screens and an hourly or daily info session, where people would be able to see them feeding and swimming in that general area.

there also could conceivably be 1 or 2 ferries (environmentally friendly of course) that would take paying customers out in to the fjord itself, so people could observe the pod travelling and playing etc. from a very respectful distance of course, completely monitored by the conservation society that runs it

this to me would be a perfect example of wise conservation and respect for these amazing creatures.

i think it would work wonderfully.

Keiko, the orca from "Free Willy", was never able to fully reintegrate, but he was able to live a life of relative freedom in a large sea pen, and was frequently visiting the ocean, with a boat in tow, monitoring him to make sure he was okay.


for orcas born in captivity, that is not an option, but they can still, with my idea, be given a life of dignity, respect, and not to mention, for them, a very large semblance of a "natural" life

hopefully this incident will light the fire under the public (but i doubt it will because this has been going on for decades, it always happens, then people point to the next time)

i should point out, that though Sea World is mostly bad, we have, in fact, learned a ton of useful and important info about Orcas through these programs, but, IMO, this could also be achieved while having the orcas in a natural environment, monitoring their health, while insuring they are given the dignity and respect they deserve, and not doing stupid tricks for their supper.

 

[Flashy]

Is it a viable option to free an animal that has been in captivity for many years and had it's needs met by humans?

http://www.greenstone.org/greenston...simple&sib=1&p.a=b&p.sa=&p.s=ClassifierBrowse

no unfortunately not...an animal who used to be wild might conceivably do it, but there would be serious obstacles...and it would always be drawn to humans, which in itself, is dangerous.

there are attempts many times to do so with all sorts of creatures, and i think some of have been successful, with animals in temporary care etc....like young orangutans or elephants who have been orphaned by poachers, who are cared for and raised with humans, but to be assimilated in to the wild, but the success of those programs long-term is something that has yet to be fully realized, IMO.

 

[Viking_UK]

Flashy and I are in total agreement on this subject.

Part of the problem with captive orcas is that they are very social creatures and are kept pretty much in isolation.

However, releasing them into the wild after years in captivity would not only be irresponsible; it would be cruel. I like the idea of reserves for them where they could regain some form of normality, but I can't help thinking that some have been in captivity and isolation for so long that it may be too late for them.

I've only been to a zoo once and found it very distressing. A lot of the animals exhibited repetitive behaviour patterns and distress symptoms similar to those seen in humans who've been locked up in isolation. I watched one polar bear climb onto a rock in the middle of its enclosure, jump off, swim to the wall at the far end, lift his head up out of the water, then swim back round to the rock, climb out and repeat the same pattern in a loop. You see some of the captive orcas and dolphins behave in similar ways, and is it any wonder?

For anyone who's seen a pod of orcas hunting and playing in the wild, it's distressing to see them reduced to being captive clowns to entertain ignorant, gawking tourists.