January 12, 2014

blackfish

Okay. Here is the shock of the morning: how much do you know about killer whales, aka. orcas? I think they're adorable (well, now i think they're adorable). Before I didn't think they were adorable. But that was before I watched this movie. I know the website looks really scary and creepy and all of that, so you can just go around the long way and watch the movie on Netflix or something.
My shock after watching this movie started when I really, really wanted to go to SeaWorld in California. My mom read some sort of article on this movie, and suggested we watch it to learn more about SeaWorld and to see if I would still want to visit afterwards. (I was basically thinking, "Of course I'll still want to go to SeaWorld! Everyone I know has gone and everyone says it's the coolest place ever!")
Okay. Let's put a stop sign up in the road for a moment. Blackfish is a movie about orcas (in particular a giant male named Tilikum) who were illegally captured young in the wild and grew up in the harsh reality of- can you guess? Famous amusement parks. Orcas, contrary to popular belief, are extremely docile and gentle creatures, especially in the wild. They have a part of the brain that even humans don't have. It allows them to process emotions. (Imagine being able to look at someone and knowing what emotion they were feeling!) In the wild, orcas live a very close-knit family life, with lots of emotions. Females will live 100 or more years, and males will live 50-60 years. When they are captured, however, they lose their family. They are kept in tiny tubs and forced to do things in order to get fed. They also live usually no more than 25 years. And Tilikum, who is currently being kept in Orlando, Florida, is living a pretty horrible life- so horrible, in fact, that he was driven enough to kill multiple trainers. In the wild, this would never happen.
People are saying that Tilikum is dangerous and should be stopped from having interactions with people. Not only is Tilikum's aggression SeaWorld's fault, but it they also refuse to give him a better life because he is simply too valuable. That, dear readers, is something that I count as multiple offenses. It simply ISN'T humane. At all.
Knowing that whales like Tilikum are still being illegally captured and wrongly treated breaks my heart. It isn't okay. Not only is it dangerous and awful for the whale, but it is also dangerous for humans in the long run.
I know that this was a really serious and potentially boring post, but I feel like this is something people should really care about. (Well, many do care already. Court cases have been done against SeaWorld and all that, but so far, nothing is helping.)

These were all scenes from the movie. There are simply too many good ones to really pick, so i just randomly selected a bunch.
My new dream is to save them and Tilikum. Even though they can't go back to the wild due to their potential inability to care for themselves, people are contemplating building HUGE half-pens near the coast for them. They would probably be able to swim free, but be able to come back to a certain place each day to get the food they need.
I love you, whalsies! 
-Amelie.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I've heard a lot about Seaworld's problems lately and I'm glad you're helping bring attention to the issue!
x Yazmine
www.whateveryazmine.blogspot.com.au

Anonymous said...

Hey girl! Nice post absolutely ADORE your blog! <3

Anonymous said...

Also, love the theme, who made it??

Virta Attirah said...

Hi, I really agree to your post. I have always loved marine life, and I always feel magic when I visit aquariums and watch dolphins do fancy tricks with their trainers. All of them look cute when I was still a kid (which is when I understand very little), and now I realize that exposing animals for the sake of entertainment is bad, and not many people realize that. I am really grateful of your post and all the efforts that people have done to accomplish a fairness to this subject. Thank you for posting this and telling the world about this movie <3