Lost Freedom; 20-30

• Hyak 2/Tung-Jen, captured in 1968 at 1 years old, died 23 years later at Vancouver Aquarium - pneumonia. 

• No name, bred in 1968, died in Marine World California - stillbirth. 

• Ahab, captured in 1968 at 8 years old, died 5 years later at U.S Navy Hawaii - unknown.

• Cuddles, captured in 1968 at 2 years old, died 5 years later at Dudley Zoo - abscess.

• Mamuk, captured in 1968 at 3 years old, died 5 years later at Sea-Arama - blood poisoning. 

• Haida, captured in 1968 at 4 years old, died 14 years later at Sealand Victoria - lung infection.  

• No name, bred in 1968, died at Marine World California - stillbirth.

• No name, captured in 1969 at 5 years old, unknown time of death at Seattle Marine Aquarium - unknown. 

• Ramu 2, captured in 1969 at 9 years old, died 1 year later at Marineland Australia - unknown. 

• Calypso, captured in 1969 at 6 years old, died 1 year later at Marineland Antibes - unknown. 

 

Straw By Request Movement

     The "straw by request" movement is taking restaurants, cafes, hotels and cities by storm. When a straw is requested you get an alternative to plastic. This movement is slowly making our oceans a safer place. 

     Here is a list of places on the straw by request movement:

• Joe Coffee, 100% compostable cornstarch straws upon request
• Teds Montana Grill, paper straws upon request
• Luke's Lobster, upon request 
• Inday, upon request
• Revival Food Hall, upon request
• Lettuce Entertain You, paper straws upon request
• Fox Restaurant Concepts, eco friendly straw upon request 
• Starbucks, strawless lid
• Eataly, no straw 
• Intelligenstia Coffee, compostable straw upon request or $3 metal straw 
• Shake Shack, no straw 
• Edition Hotels, no straw
• Royal Caribbean Cruise, no straw 
• 1Hotels, biodegradable straw upon request 
• Hilton, no straw 
• Sixty Hotels, no straw
• Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, compostable or metal straws or no straw 
• Four Seasons, paper, bamboo or cornstarch straws 
• Hyatt Hotels, eco friendly option upon request 
• Alameda, California, straw upon request and reusable foodware
• Carmel, California, straws upon request, and biodegradable, compostable or recycled foodware
• Davis, California, straw upon request only 
• Manhattan Beach, California, straw upon request only, and non-plastic foodware 
• Oakland, California, straw upon request only 
• San Luis Obispo, California, straws upon request only
• Miami Beach, Florida, straw upon request only
• Ikea, phasing out straws and other plastic ware

  

Endangered Dolphins, Whales and Porpoise

  Vaquita - Critically Endangered 

• Entanglement in fishing gear 

  Whale Shark - Endangered 

• High value in shark fishing industry 
• Entanglement in fishing gear 
• Injury from boat propellers from whale shark tourism 

  Dugong - Vulnerable 

• Sea grass habitat loss
• Coastal development 
• Ocean pollution 
• Entanglement in fishing gear

   Maui Dolphin - Critically Endangered

• Entanglement of fishing gear
• Ocean pollution 
• Boat collisions 

  Hector Dolphin - Endangered 

• Entanglement in fishing gear
• Ocean pollution 
• Habitat loss
• Boat collisions 

  Indus and Ganges River Dolphin - Endangered

• Habitat loss
• Ocean pollution 
• Entanglement in fishing gear

  Southern Resident Killer Whale/Orca - Near Threat 

• Loss of salmon prey
• Chemical contamination 
• Noise pollution 
• Military activity
• Boat collision 
• Oil spill
• Entanglement in fishing gear

  Beluga Whale - Near Threat 

• Habitat destruction
• Entanglement in fishing gear
• Ocean pollution
• Noise pollution 

  North Atlantic Right Whale - Critically Endangered 

• Boat collisions 
• Entanglement in fishing gear
• Noise pollution 

  Western North Pacific Gray Whale - Critically Endangered

• Entanglement in fishing gear
• Noise pollution 
• Boat collision 

  Blue Whale - Endangered 

• Boat collision 
• Entanglement in fishing gear

  Sei Whale - Endangered 

• Whaling 
• Climate change
• Ocean pollution
• Entanglement in fishing gear
• Boat collision 

  Fin Whale - Endangered 

• Whaling 
• Climate change 
• Habitat loss
• Chemical contamination

Their Story; Orkid.

Picture from www.orcahome.de

     My name is Orkid, I was born in Seaworld San Diego, September of 1988. My parents are Kandu 5 and Orky 2, and I am the oldest captive-born orca. I was named after my das Orky who died just a few days after I was born. 

     In 1989 when I was only 11 months old, my mom was involved in a fatal accident with Corky 2. My mom attacked Corky and crashed into a wall, she died of hemorrhaging. Corky became my adopted mother and we are still together to this day and very close. 

     I love making new friends, and I get along with most everyone around me. I had a very close relationship with Kasatka for a while, I'm also close with Keet, Shouka and Ikaika. I used to have issues with Ulises in the past but we get along okay now. I've mated with lots of guys but I've never gotten pregnant. 

     I have had some pretty bad incidents with my trainers, I have been involved in 17 of 87 attacks on them. In 2002, Splash and I attacked a trainer named Tamarie. In 2006 I attacked another trainer attempting to do a sonogram. I've also dragged trainers underwater and wasn't allowed to perform in waterworks shows after that. As of lately, no one has reported much on me, I'm still in my tank in San Diego, performing every day with my best friend Nakai.

Lost Freedom; 10-20

• No name, unknown, died at Seattle Marine Aquarium. 

• Kilroy, captured in 1967 less than 1 years old, died 11 years later at SeaWorld San Diego - pneumonia. 

• Skana/Walter, captured in 1967 at 4 years old, died 13 years later at Vancouver Aquarium - fungal infection. 

• Ramu, captured in 1967 at 4 years old, died 15 years later at Seaworld Orlando - heart failure.

• Orky, captured in 1967 at 4 years old, died 2 years later at Marineland California - pneumonia. 

• No name, unknown, died at Seattle Marine Aquarium. 

• Hugo, captured in 1968 at 3 years old, died 12 years later at Miami Seaquarium - brain aneurysm. 

• Corky, captured in 1968 at 3 years old, died 2 years later at Marineland California - abscess. 

•  Kianu/Clyde, captured in 1968 at 8 years old, died 12 years later at Adventure World Japan - gastrointestinal disease. 

• Orky 2, captured in 1968 at 6 years old, died 20 years later at Seaworld San Diego - kidney failure and acute bronchopneumonia.

SeaWorld CEO steps down!

   
BREAKING NEWS: FEBRUARY 27, 2018. JOEL MANBY STEPS DOWN AS CEO AFTER FALL IN SEAWORLD ATTENDANCE. 

     Since Blackfish was released in 2013, Seaworld has had a massive drop in attendance. Seaworld announced Tuesday morning the news of Manby resigning. Seaworld has lost $200 million just in the fiscal year of 2017. The company is hoping to attract guests with 15 new rides and is cutting $65 million in costs and as of last year, they laid off 350 workers. 

     $eaworld I have questions. 

     1. Where are you getting the money to add 15 new rides?

     2. Where are you cutting $65 million in costs from? Vet care? 

     3. Why expand when you need to cut? 

     Common sense tells me that no matter what you do, nothing is going to bring you back. We want to empty the tanks. 

Source: 

http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/27/news/companies/seaworld-ceo-joel-manby-steps-down/index.html

Is swimming with dolphins ethical?

      Swim with dolphin programs can be found all over the world, they have become extremely popular in the Caribbean for Americans. You may be wondering if it's okay to swim with dolphins or not, and as a dolphin lover it may feel hard to pass up an opportunity like this but you should. Here's why.

     Dolphin holding pens are extremely small and shallow, they have multiple dolphins in small pens together, it's not a natural experience. Many open sea pens do not have any sort of veterinary care and when things go wrong, there is nothing anyone can do. Enclosed pens at marine parks have so much chlorine in them it can sometimes be hard to breathe and it eventually makes the dolphins blind.

     Many dolphins will experience stress and can become dangerous to humans if they become too frustrated. It has even been seen that dolphins in captivity will drown their babies because they don't want them to live a life of stress for human entertainment.

     These programs entail serious health risks, not only for dolphins but for humans too. Swimmers have come out of the water with bruises, scratches, bites and in some cases, broken bones. Diseases can also be spread to dolphins from humans and vice versa. Another major risk is exposure and pollution, for those dolphins living in sea pens, they risk injury from falling debris during hurricanes, shallow waters can become too hot from sun exposure, high pollution levels can lead to death.

     You have to remember these dolphins have no escape, dolphins can not leave when they don't want to be interacted with. Dolphins can collide with other dolphins or humans. Dolphins can also be injured by humans fingernails or jewelry. Most people come out of the program feeling some regret or no satisfaction because what they just encountered was not a natural experience.

     Another popular alternative to sea pens and marine parks is programs that allow swimmers to jump from the boat to swim with wild dolphins, this is extremely harmful. It can lead to the dolphins leaving their homes to find quieter areas. They've also been known to become dependent on humans for food because the program will drop food into the water to coax the dolphins over. Injury to dolphins have been reported as well from being hit by the boats propeller.

     So the question is, will you still swim with dolphins after hearing these non-ethical facts?