I generally support zoos and aquariums. Because I think it's good for people to observe and learn about animals, despite the cruelty inherent to keeping them in pens. But, man, after the ice-skating bear that killed its trainer in Kyrgyzstan, and the circus tiger that mauled its trainer during a dinner show in Germany, and now the killer whale that drowned trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of an audience full of children at Orlando's SeaWorld yesterday-the third human death associated with this same whale! It's like a Dino De Laurentiis movie-you get the feeling that it's maybe time to reconsider the wisdom of having captive animals perform for us. We put these massive, powerful, naturally free-roaming creatures in a box a tiny, tiny fraction of the size of their natural habitat-"an area that to them is like the size of a bathtub," according to a statement from PETA about the latest incident-and teach them to do tricks for food, and soon enough it's Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. "I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?" The next thing you know, they're stuffing us in a trunk and borrowing steak knives from their moms.
As if the killer whale story is not terrible enough, the Times revisits an even more nightmarish episode that occurred around this time last year. You remember: in Connecticut, Travis, the friendly and beloved 200-pound pet chimp drinks wine and takes prozac, goes crazy and mauls face and hands off visiting family friend, owner is forced to stab beloved pet chimp with butcher knife, cop shoots beloved pet chimp, who walks back into house to die in comfort of its own cage. Today's update focusses on the psychological trauma suffered by the cop, Frank Chiafari. And includes the quote, "There are thumbs and fingers all over the place." And that's not even the worst part. I swear to god, this one is a real-life horror movie. Melissa Lafsky should be writing about it, not me. I'm supposed to take my kid to the zoo sometime this summer.
And one of the other two deaths involved a "trespasser" (I like how they spread around the blame) who was found dead and naked on the whale's back. Is that creepy enough for you?
I always wake up during this part of the dream.
I thought the sentence "In 1999, the dead body of a naked man was found lying across Tilikum's back at SeaWorld Orlando" could have used some further elucidation. Thanks.
Orca (1977)!
The part where the fetus washes up on the deck of the ship always made me laugh as a kid. Now it just makes me nauseous.
I'm still not sure which one is the appropriate reaction.
I remember I was so upset by that as a kid-and the look in Orca's eye. I was definitely rooting for whale the whole movie. Also, watching the trailer after all these years reminded me why I have been in love with Charlotte Rampling my whole life.
Oh yes, I always rooted for the shark in JAWS, and the Wicked Witch of the West, and all the Disney villains.
Villains just have a different set of priorities, and are grossly misunderstood.
Oceans are full of evil and danger. It's safer here in the plains. Wait until New York turns into Venice and there are octopi swimming outside your basement windows!
we went to the beach whist in texas visiting my grandmother. i watched my father dive into the water. the shriek somehow preceded his bursting out of the water with a portuguese man-o-war wrapped around his waist.
i like sitting next to it, but fuck the ocean.
@brad - those freaking jellyfish are eventually going to kill us all. I've seen one too many specials on their population boom on the History Channel. Those amorphous blobs are out for blooooood!
"Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it's not even an "it," but a "they." The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together.
The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores."
there you go. a vast fleet of churlish, poisonous polyps.
Yeah, I had a friend get stung by a half-dead man of war in Hilton Head a number of years ago, and she still has scars all over her arm. And it was almost dead! Mean creatures, those. They are like the angry cousin of jellyfish, and jellyfish are pretty angry as it is...
As I started to read that update on Frank Chiafari, I instantly regreted it. It gave me nightmares, like I was five.
DO NOT READ!!!!!
I really wish I had listened to you.
I dunno, I thought it was interesting. The graphic stuff was terrifying, but I found the part about insurance denying him therapy to be yet another ridiculous example of why healthcare needs an overhaul. "Sorry, Frank, all you did was see woman who was mercilessly massacred by an animal fight for her life, and then kill the animal. You didn't actually kill a person, so you can't possibly be traumatized. Not covered!" Good on Stamford for manning up and paying for the treatment anyway.
The only proper response for humans to take is to kill 100 of whatever kills one of us. Payback is the only language these murderers understand (except, of course, the whales, who seem to understand their own language-like thing).
Or one out of every ten. Decimation worked for the Romans.
Also, make'em work for that food. No government handouts.
Right, unfortunately, with some of these species, you might have to breed some before you could kill 100.
Round them up and hold them at Guantanamo Bay. The actual bay.
MAKE THEM DO CHILDRENS' BIRTHDAY PARTIES.
Make'em dance to fake-oldschool hip-hop.
Nature has a subtle way of showing you who's the boss.
"Subtle Orca" was my nickname in high school.
"Captain Nolan: You revengeful sonofabitch! You win!
[the orca keeps breaching, as if taunting Captain Nolan]"
Orca, 1977
That having been said: Who among us doesn't like to see wild aminals in small encolsures entertaining us for snacks?
As a rule, I'm against the imprisonment and exploitation of charismatic megafauna for such reasons. However, I make a general exception for dolphins because someday we will need them as allies in our final showdown with the monkeys.
But we need the monkeys AND the dolphins in the inevitable Mammal vs. Bird Wars!
I will never, never trust a monkey to fight on my side, not even against birds!
Hanuman would like a word with you.
Michael Vick got a reality show; maybe the orca will, too.
Orca Overlords, know that I am totally Team YOU! Just one question: How did the San Diego SeaWorld know they should close up the whale shop ASAP? Was there an intercepted memo? Internet forum chatter? A watery video shot in a remote tank?
Xoxox, your fan/follower NP
Was it the killer whales +1 / humans 0 sign?
Upon further reflection, I think a bunch of their Tumblrs linked to the post here quoting the original "The Awl". The Cordwainer, he is me.
But seriously, keeping these things is really fucking cruel.
As much as I enjoyed the shows as a kid, the whole captive whale show thing creeps me out as an adult (and I'm with you on the general support for zoos and aquaria). Whales are just too big, smart, and social to be held in teeny enclosures.
Sea World obtained many of its whales from the wild in hunts that they either sponsored directly or indirectly through shady foreign connections. In the latter case they could claim they "rescued" the whale from a foreign aquarium, leaving out the part where they sponsored its capture in the first place. SeaWorld has successfully bred them in captivity, but they can't do it faster than captive whales are dying. It's possible whale shows may go out of business as the whales (but not the trainers, it seems) die, especially if pressure is kept up to restrict wild capture.
Interesting information and good points.
Jack Hanna was talking about this today on CBS (above the chyron "Killer whale had history of violence"). His nervous defensiveness didn't do anybody any good. His take was something like "Well, when all the wild killer whales are gone, then where will you turn? SeaWorld, that's where!" Which was much too close to "you have to expect some collateral damage if you want to see dancing whales on your vacation" for comfort.
Right, because Jack Hanna has no vested interest in captive animals.
This is just like M. Night's "The Happening", except here the trees are releasing pheromones which cause captive animals to kill us instead of just offing ourselves. You've got to look for the man/plant behind the man/bear.
Highly HIGHLY recommend David Quammen's MONSTER OF GOD, a truly brilliant book about our relationship with alpha predators. While much more interestingly and graciously explored (though the entire chapter on alpha predators' jaws and teeth will make your skin crawl awesomely), his basic premise is that if we become all-powerful / destroy / subjugate all our natural predators, we lose our sense of mystery / respect / perspective. Really beautiful book.
Also just have to mention the beginning of the last episode of Six Feet Under, where dude gets taken down by a mountain lion. I just lurve that.
I haven't been able to go to a zoo or visit any kind of wild animals in captivity environment in a very long time. This aversion really crested after I dropped acid with friends and went to the SF Zoo for one last try. Horrifying, the lion house was so sad. Ugh.
were your friends eaten by tigers?
HOW DID YOU GUESS?!
MY FRIENDS WERE EATEN BY TIGERS TOO!!!1
I highly recommend coming to Cape Cod and seeing whales in their natural habitat. Two years ago, there were so many in the seas off of Provincetown that they were like shooting stars in a meteor shower. Breathtaking, as far as the eye could see. Who needs Sea World?
And yes, I am continuing my streak of being the last person to comment in a post, with no one ever to respond, alas!
Whale watching trips out of Provincetown account for some of the very greatest days of my life. What a terrific, terrific thing to do.
You're a peach, Dave. Thanks from this here windy tip of the peninsula.
why is it inherently cruel to keep animals in pens? I've never seen any evidence that your average animal gives a shit.
All these jellyfish swarms make me think of an attack by the Metroid. Maybe they're a giant hive-mind that's pissed off at humans.