Seaworld could have the potential to be something.

     What if...Seaworld was a place you could go to be educated on the rehabilitation of sea animals? A center that shows the process of rehabbing animals back to health. Exhibits showing rescue missions. Live on-screen releases back to the ocean. 

     

     What if...Seaworld was a place you could go to be educated on plastic reduction and ways to prevent plastic pollution in our oceans? Interactive games showing what should be recycled and where. A water ride through a polluted ocean and the effects it has on sea animals.  

    

     What if...Seaworld was filled with interactive rides that stimulate the brain and teach about how marine animals live. "Orca Encounters" but instead of Orcas performing tricks for entertainment, it's a 4D simulator ride that takes you on the journey of a pod, how they hunt and live day to day. 

     

     What if...Seaworld released their Orcas to a sanctuary and let visitors watch them from afar while they live in their ocean homes. Or had a whale tracker that tracked their whales and pods and you could follow them in real-time, on their time.  

     These are just a few things Seaworld could do that would make them money, get their clientele back, and make it as educational as possible. Empty the tanks and make a profit off educational experiences instead of the abuse techniques they use to teach their animals tricks. 

     #EMPTYTHETANKS

Hundreds of whales die in mass stranding.

     On February 9th, 2017, rescuers flocked to a New Zealand beach after hundreds of whales were found stranded. This mass stranding is thought to be the largest mass stranding in decades with 416 pilot whales beached. As the morning went on the DOC plead for locals to drop work and school to help the whales by bringing towels, buckets, and sheets to keep them cool and wet. High tide came at 10:30am and the remaining whales that were alive were relocated to their ocean home but early afternoon 90 of the whales ended up back on the shore. 

     It is very common for masses of whales to beach themselves as they are social beings and never leave their pods too far behind but most are now dead. New Zealand has had 3 mass strandings in its history. An astounding 1,866 have sadly died because of these mass strandings. NZ has one of the highest stranding totals in the world with around 300 whales and dolphins beaching themselves in a year, every year. There is no known cause as to why this issue is so overwhelming and prevalent in this area but it is thought to be most injured, sick or dying whales that end up on the beaches. 

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/10/hundreds-whales-die-mass-stranding-new-zealand-beach

     

Whalesome Goals in 2017!

     Ringing in the New Year with two blog posts, the first was a recap of 2016 and now we're moving on to 2017 personal goals to help protect and conserve our oceans. Before moving on to that, let us talk about the above painting. In July I went to a paint night ready to paint a lighthouse at sunset and came out of it with a breaching Orca and educational experience for everyone at the paint night. As we revealed our paintings at the end of the night everyone (including the instructor) was memorized by my Orca. It sparked conversations about Killer Whales, Free Willy, and Shamu. I used this opportunity to educate about captivity and the impacts it has on these beautiful creatures. I will never know what came out of my lecture but I do know it left a mark since I went back in September and the instructor remembered me as the "Orca girl." This is how I want to inspire and educate all throughout 2017. Now onto the goals!

      1. Clean up at least 10 beaches. 

- There is an app called "Clean Swell" that I use to help keep track of what I'm picking up. The app is free and available on iPhone and Android. This app was created by Ocean Conservancy and you can track what you've picked up, total distance cleaned, a record of your cleanup efforts and you can share your efforts with friends on social media. Find out more here.

      2. Reduce the use of plastic by 30%

- I already have started to avoid plastic water bottles and have started getting my co-workers to at least recycle their plastic and cans. I want to take it a step further and; 

• Begin using reusable cups and bags instead of plastic one-use cups and plastic bags.  
• Stop using plastic straws in restaurants.
• Start using a razor with replaceable blades instead of disposables
• Start bringing a reusable container for leftovers at restaurants
• Avoid frozen convenience food  
• Give up chewing gum 
• Start using bar soap instead of liquid hand soap
• Find a plastic-free hairbrush

      3. Adopt at least 3 marine animals. 

- There are great websites like the WDC and WWF that provide ways to adopt animals. On WWF they donate 85% to conservation programs and the WDC donates proceeds to releasing captive Cetaceans and conserve ocean habitats. 

      4. Promote websites that help make a difference at least once a month. 

- In 2016 I discovered two amazing websites that donate some of their proceeds to different causes. The first one is Devoted To The Ocean, they raise awareness about pollution and the growing effects it has on marine habitats. Devocean donates 20% of its net profits to the FAU Marine Research Lab at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. The second website is Beautiful Baleine, they raise awareness for captivity and commercial whaling. 10% of their net profits are directly donated to whales.org to fund efforts in research. 

      5. Sign and promote at least 6 petitions relating to marine life on Change.org

- Change.org is a platform for change, by taking action and signing petitions on their website you could help in success and victories of things you are passionate about. Last year I signed 4 petitions from pledging to re-use plastic, to Seaworld issues. This year I am aiming for 6 or more signed petitions, as well as promoting each petition on my social media.

     

Whalecoming 2017!

vinyardvines.com

      Happy 2017, we are whalecoming it with open arms are getting ready for bigger and better achievements and accomplishments to come in this new year. Here's your 2016 overwhalming recap, the achievements, and downfalls. 

  - January 

• NOAA expands Critical Habitat for Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales
• The DOC has started a 3-year research project on the Taranaki coast, studying Blue Whales
• Taiji Dolphin hunt continues
• Manatees are no longer endangered
• Pollution could drive UK Orcas to extinction 
• Victory for WDC in the battle against commercial whale hunting
• Seaworld Orlando stops Beluga Whale interaction program 
• Nearly 40,000 square miles of protection granted for 500 Right Whales

   - February

• Seaworld admits their employees spied on PETA 
• Seaworld reports they've lost $11 million in their quarterly earnings
• A new film looks at the issue of whale and dolphin rights 
• Toxic chemicals found in brains of beached whales
• Beachgoers cause the death of a baby dolphin

    - March

• Seaworld announces they will be phasing out their killer whale shows 
• Seaworld is ending their breeding program 
• National Dolphin Awareness Month
• Japan to resume Antarctic whaling despite a court ruling 
• New maps reduce threats to whales and dolphins

    - April

• Seaworld reveals Tilikums state of health 
• Seaworld withdraws plans for expansions of Orca Tanks 
• Green Sea Turtles no longer endangered in Florida
• Gulf of Mexico perinatal deaths likely a result of oil exposure

    - May

• Seaworld San Antonio announces new plans for dolphin habitat 
• Seaworld reports more than an $84 million loss 
• Whale Sanctuary Project to create seaside sanctuaries for whales and dolphins

    - June

• Orca Awareness Month
• WDC in the UK held "Walk for Whales"
• Seaworld releases a new update on Tilikum's health
• Sea Turtle recovering after being stepped on and beaten for selfies
• Captive dolphin facility to close in Singapore
• Pilot whale dies at Seaworld
• US aquarium wants to create a sanctuary for captive dolphins
• Georgia Aquarium will no longer take whales or dolphins from the wild 

    - July

• Rare fin whale spotted in Puget Sound, WA
• Sea Turtle Awareness Month
• 115 whales killed for "science"

    - August

• Seaworld's stock hits an all-time low
• Whale older than the Titanic seen off the coast of Washington
• The FFWCC has reports Florida boaters are killing Manatees at a record-setting pace

    - September

• California bans Killer Whale shows and breeding
• Most Humpback Whales are no longer endangered
• Seaworld cuts dividends  

    - October 

• Adventure Aquarium to release Sea Turtle back into the wild

    - November 

• Manatee Awareness Month 

    - December 

• Captive dolphin park to be sued after dolphin death
• Seaworld announces a plan to build a park in the Middle East 

    

SeaWorld: Their Reason For No Freedom

www.pinterest.com

     On March 17, 2016, SeaWorld announced they were ending their captive breeding program and the orcas currently held in captivity would be the last. Later on, in the month SeaWorld announced that they would not be sending their orcas to Sea Sanctuaries.

"While most are celebrating these announcements, some critics want us to go further; they believe we should simply 'set free' the whales and release them into the ocean. We

believe that would likely be a death sentence for our whales."- SeaWorld Cares

     SeaWorld claims that "sea cages" are dangerous for the whales because they would be helpless to contagious diseases, that they'd be "sitting ducks" stuck in one place. A captive Orcas' current living conditions sound about the same, stuck in a tank with nowhere to go. These whales have more dangers living in the state they're in right now than they ever would in a sea sanctuary. 

     Orca whales need to swim and dive down far below the surface but in their tanks, there is nowhere to go, many suffer sunburn from the lack of depth in the tanks. Lack of space also causes a backlash, whales will get frustrated and become violent, when this happens there is nowhere to go. Many whales and dolphins as well have suffered from the skin being ripped off, being pushed out of their tanks and some have even died from the violence. This is what these whales endure every day and what they will continue to endure for the rest of their lives if they are not released. 

     In the article, SeaWorld Cares wrote they bring up Keiko. Keiko is a whale who was born into the wild and then captured and used for entertainment before being retired to a sea sanctuary. SeaWorld Cares, states that sea sanctuaries for whales are not a concept and there is not one sanctuary around the world. This is a false statement. They continue to say that Keiko was released into the wild and then died soon afterward. This is a false statement as well. Keiko lived years after being rehabilitated into the wild and reunited with his family; the point is that he died happily. 

     SeaWorld can make all these claims and a lot of people will believe them, but we can't, in order to make a difference you have to see right through them. There is multiple, factual evidence out there that this can happen. SeaWorld could make this happen if they wanted too, but they don't care, they care about one thing; the money.      

Read More About This Topic Here: 

- https://seaworldcares.com/2016/03/Why-Sea-Cages-Are-Dangerous/
- https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-orcas-sea-sanctuaries-pens-1700373682.html

Their Story; Tilikum.

Picture from www.independent.co.uk

     My name is Tilikum, I am currently living in SeaWorld Orlando. I am the largest recorded Orca in captivity, I weigh over twelve thousand pounds, and am a lengthy twenty-two feet long. I was captured near Iceland in November 1983 when I was only two years old. I spent almost a year in a cement holding tank before I was sent to SeaLand Of The Pacific in British Columbia. My tank there was only 100x50 feet, and it was only 35 feet deep. Food was withheld from me a lot like a training technique and I was often abused by Haida and Nootka, the two females I lived with. I was forced to perform every hour, eight times a day and seven days a week. After performing I would have to go to a metal-sided module with the other whales for fourteen hours before I could get out again.
     On February 21, 1991, my trainer Keltie Byrne fell into the pool, I was so frustrated and sad I pulled her down to the bottom and killed her. Not too long after that SeaLand closed and sold me to SeaWorld. SeaWorld wanted me for their breeding program. I now have lots of children and grandchildren, they make up 54% of SeaWorld's whales. I have been in captivity for a long time and I can get very aggressive. I chew on metal gates and concrete sidewalls. I also killed two more people, Daniel P. Dukes and Dawn Brancheau. After I killed Dawn I was put in a tiny enclosure where I couldn't swim, communicate with the other whales or interact with humans. I floated in that pool a lot and that's very rare for a whale like me. After a year of being alone in that pool, they made me return to performing.
     But now I am very sick and have been for a while. I have a drug-resistant bacterial lung infection and I am dying. Please help me, check the link down below.

Sign the petition to get me into a rehab: https://www.change.org/p/seaworld-inc-humanely-release-the-orca-whale-known-as-tilikum-to-a-seapen-for-rehab 

Why I Support SeaWorld Rescue.

     I know what you're thinking. "How do you support SeaWorld Rescue but not the parks?" Well, I'm going to tell you. There is a lot of facts and research that go behind my decision to support their rescue efforts. What you see in the parks, at the shows, those are mostly captive-bred animals who have never seen the ocean and have been forced to perform. But, a majority of the other animals who are living there are in rehabilitation and will soon be free to roam their homes again soon. 

     - Did you know that SeaWorld has rescued over 25,000+ animals? 

https://seaworldcares.com/2015/04/twenty-five-thousand-rescues/

     

     - Did you know that SeaWorld is the largest rescue and rehabilitation program in the world?

www.seaworldparks.com

     - Did you know only a small percentage of rescues do not get released? 

www.seaworldparks.com

  

     - Did you know that, though SeaWorld's Orcas are not rescued, they have assisted in whale rescues?

www.telegraph.co.uk

More sources to check out below:      

Four reasons why condemning SeaWorld is a bad idea: - http://awesomeocean.com/2014/12/04/four-reasons-condemning-seaworld-really-bad-idea/

SeaWorlds Rescue/Rehab information book: 

 - https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/rescue-and-rehab/

SeaWorlds conservation blog: 

- http://www.insideconservation.com/?pos=2&webSyncID=a2510d23-1981-970b-9c5c-397c8c067d79&sessionGUID=7aeda78b-7c04-10ba-124a-05bb30323c72

The rescue of a Gray Whale Calf: 

- http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/10/11/blackfish.seaworld.27-03_stewart_papers.pdf

Fact Check:

- http://www.seaworldfactcheck.com/