Cammie Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 A trainer at Sea World was just killed by a "killer whale." The article said that an orca or "killer whale" was actually a species of dolphin!:001_huh: And that they got the name "killer whale" because they were observed...killing whales. How did I miss this in all my years on the planet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I dunno about that, but how much fun is it being in India today as the country celebrates Sachin Tendulkar's double century??? What an amazing achievement!!! Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I knew that but orcas are a big deal in this part of the world. We even get news reports on new births in "our" pod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 I dunno about that, but how much fun is it being in India today as the country celebrates Sachin Tendulkar's double century??? What an amazing achievement!!! Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming :D Bill Wow - I am impressed - a cricket expert as well! I only just learned about LBW and other cricket terms. It is taking time but it really is the last step in total cultural acceptance! Knowing this country - perhaps tomorrow will be a holiday in his honor! It really doesn't take much to get a day off around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Yep, one of my dd got to sit on the back of an orca at Sea World once. We happened to be there shortly after a baby was born and we got to see footage of the birth. It was facsinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Wow - I am impressed - a cricket expert as well! I only just learned about LBW and other cricket terms. It is taking time but it really is the last step in total cultural acceptance! Knowing this country - perhaps tomorrow will be a holiday in his honor! It really doesn't take much to get a day off around here! We have some of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the country near my home, and somehow I fell into playing a little (although not particularly well). A native-born American white guy playing cricket is about as rare here as a...as a...as a non-homeschooling male hanging out on the WTM forums :tongue_smilie: Bill (who apologizes for the side track :001_smile:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemx5 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I live about an 1 1/2 hours from Sea World. They say the trainer fell in and drowned. They have not released a whole lot of details just yet. It is all over the news though. HMMM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 The article I read online said that witnesses said that the orca was in the water and sped up to jump up and grab the trainer who was on the side of the tank talking. The orca then shook the trainer quite a bit. The truely disturbing thing is that this orca was involved in two other incidents that resulted in a trainer dying. Perhaps we should stop playing with these animals and let them be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemx5 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 My sis-in-law read the same article. I was watching a live broadcast just minutes before where the parks president said she fell in and was drowned. Details were not being released until after the investigation. They asked the media to "please respect that because they just lost a family member." The local news has not said anymore as well. I would be shocked if those are in fact true details. Truly a sad thing and we were just talking about going there in the Spring. Gosh can you imagine the kids that were there at that time. It has been really rainy so hopefully there weren't too many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I did know that, but my adolescent ambition was to work with marine mammals and do research. :) It is very easy to be deceived by the "friendly smiles" and lack of predatory history towards man, and forget that they are not in fact domesticated animals. Even the 'gentle' bottlenose dolphins can get quite aggressive under the right circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 The article I read online said that witnesses said that the orca was in the water and sped up to jump up and grab the trainer who was on the side of the tank talking. The orca then shook the trainer quite a bit. The truely disturbing thing is that this orca was involved in two other incidents that resulted in a trainer dying. Perhaps we should stop playing with these animals and let them be! The death of this woman is obviously a tragedy, but confining orcas in swimming pools is cruel and inhumane as far as I'm concerned. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Yep! My older dd's hyper-focus (she's my aspie) between ages 7-11 was dolphins. This was one of her favorite questions to ask people :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 My 13 yo DD loves animals and volunteers at the local zoo. When I mentioned that killer whales couldn't possibly be dolphins, she immediately told me they were! Oh the joys of homeschooling. I get to learn something new almost every day. According to her, killer whales are more closely related to dolphins than to whales. And I thought I was suppose to be the teacher. Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemx5 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Attached is a link to a local paper regarding the Sea World incident. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I did know that because we rented The Cove couple weeks ago. If you want your kids to have an eye opener about places like sea world/marine land, and how dolphins/porpoises/orcas are caught and treated watch that movie. My kids are now extremely interested in marine biology as a result of that show and want to do what ever they can to change the practices of dolphin capture. It was in this movie that they mentioned that orcas were actually dolphins not whales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemx5 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 OK They just said he did grab her and was shaking her until her shoe fell off. They said he could have been playing or that he was just bored. I guess a witness called in to the station with that report. This is this particular whale's 3rd fatality. He killed someone in Canada in 1991 and then in 1999 a man jumoed into his tank afterhours and was killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 The death of this woman is obviously a tragedy, but confining orcas in swimming pools is cruel and inhumane as far as I'm concerned. Bill Amen brother! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I learned that when ds was in kindergarten, and we did a lengthy unit on ocean animals. I don't know why I never knew it before. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I knew that but only because my dd is an animal documentary fanatic. That's all that's on her netflix list and she watches Animal Planet as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 The death of this woman is obviously a tragedy, but confining orcas in swimming pools is cruel and inhumane as far as I'm concerned. :iagree: When you confine wild animals to small spaces and expect them to interact with humans like domesticated animals these types incidents are a natural consequence, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 :iagree: When you confine wild animals to small spaces and expect them to interact with humans like domesticated animals these types incidents are a natural consequence, unfortunately. I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Oh wow, I didn't realize when I posted that a trainer was killed today at Sea World. How very sad. We've not been to Sea World in several years but I don't think I want to take my girls again. The environment is so unnatural for the animals. Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 The death of this woman is obviously a tragedy, but confining orcas in swimming pools is cruel and inhumane as far as I'm concerned. Bill Not to mention the fact that the trainers look like big seals in their wetsuits. I never understood that. Teaching people to honor the creatures of the planet? Fine. Trying to domesticate one that is more than likely smarter than you? Well, there is your result. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 (edited) I used to work with marine mammals. Yes, orcas are not whales and dolphin is not a synonym for porpoise (different species entirely). Some whales look like big dolphins and some dolphins look like miniature whales. We had to resort to things like tooth counts and specific measurements to identify some of the species that washed up on our beaches. There have been multiple cases of orcas, bottlenose dolphins, etc. being very aggressive in captivity (and occasionally in the wild). They are absolutely NOT big, aquatic teddy bears. We do not know exactly how their minds work, but IMO, after working with them for several years, it is extremely wrong to anthropomorphize them and project human thoughts and emotions onto them. It is in Sea World's interest to promote the idea that the trainer fell into the tank, or that the orca was playing with her and didn't know he was hurting her. But IMO, that is all a pile of public relations spin (or other 4-letter s-word that stinks just as badly). After working with captive and wild marine mammals, I must say that my belief is that no matter how fancy a tank we build them, it is just a jail. We humans do not have the understanding or ability to provide as good a home for marine mammals as they are afforded in nature. In the wild, they live in family groups and have specific home ranges. Grabbing one of them (most sought after are the young, tractable females) from her family and forcing her to live in captivity and work daily to earn her scraps of dead fish doesn't seem right to me. It is only for our entertainment, scientific curiosity, and the almighty dollar that we allow such facilities to continue. It is not surprising that one of the inmates occasionally goes bad and loses control. (Now should I tell you what I really think?;)) Edited February 25, 2010 by hillfarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 :iagree: When you confine wild animals to small spaces and expect them to interact with humans like domesticated animals these types incidents are a natural consequence, unfortunately. Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momzilla333 Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 I did know that because we rented The Cove couple weeks ago. If you want your kids to have an eye opener about places like sea world/marine land, and how dolphins/porpoises/orcas are caught and treated watch that movie. My kids are now extremely interested in marine biology as a result of that show and want to do what ever they can to change the practices of dolphin capture. It was in this movie that they mentioned that orcas were actually dolphins not whales. Yes, we just watched that movie (The Cove) too. Very very relevant to this sad news story. And it was truly a real eyeopener about things we never hear much about, wasn't it? I hope a lot more people see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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