There are three things that are bringing attention to these matters to the fore: the death of the SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, the recent Small Group meeting of the International Whaling Commission to discuss a fundamental shift in whaling (basically going from “banned” to permitted commercial whaling), and the Oscar win for Best Documentary to The Cove (congrats to all involved in that film!).

What can we do, those of us who are not working for marine organizations or right on the front lines?

At the moment, the most urgent thing we can do is to contact our government representatives. There is a serious effort being made to create a plan that allows for some commercial whaling towards the goal of ending all commercial whaling. The US is one of the countries working on this – it is critically important to increase public pressure to say that this is NOT acceptable. Killing whales on a commercial level needs to end, period.  This proposed compromise simply rewards Japan, Norway and Iceland – who have been flouting the ban on whaling for decades and even increased their kill numbers – by given them legitimacy without an enforceable way to ensure that the killing DOES end. Meanwhile, thousands more whales will suffer inhumane deaths. President Obama has promised not to allow whaling – contact the White House and make sure he does not become the president who DID move towards killing whales.

In the case of The Cove, which works to expose the slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Japan, you can send the text DOLPHIN to 44144. Be aware that this will place you on a text alerts list (from which you can easily opt out) and will be subject whatever text charges you have on your cell plan.

Stay up on the news. If you’re on Twitter, there are loads of marine, whale and conservation groups you can follow which post stories and developments. For ideas of some, check my follow lists for oceans, whales, and green/nature. You do not have to be on Twitter to see what people are saying, and you can often find websites for organizations by clicking on their @ nicknames to reach their individual pages.

Greenpeace is another organization that posts current news and offers e-petitions that can be signed and shared. These e-petitions do NOT replace direct individual contact from us to our representatives. Individual letters still hold more weight.

I keep a list here on the blog of whale research and conservation orgs. Again, it is not comprehensive but is a good start. Go to their sites, read up on their work, and support them however you can.

In the end, there are  countless matters of concern for ocean conservation: ending shark finning, establishing marine parks, ending destructive fishing methods like bottom trawling and long lining, cleaning up pollution. There are countless organizations involved in many of these causes. Use the web – find out who is working on the issues that matter to you most, and get involved. All it takes is one voice to get the ball started.

I’ve been following a lot of the stories and commentary about this latest incident of a captive orca’s killing a human trainer. Not surprisingly, that leads to having thoughts of my own.

I used to have a strong aversion to orcas, or killer whales. When I was 9 years old, I went to see a movie called Orca, a thriller. My one enduring image from the film is of a large orca surging up onto a beach, trying to grab some human(s) there. We left the movie before it was over because it was so terrifying to us. I have also once been to SeaWorld in Florida, around the same time, and seen a killer whale show, though I don’t honestly remember much about it. I knew just about nothing about the reality of orcas.

Then, as an adult with a growing interest in and passion for whales, I finally picked up a book (that I had passed over multiple time before) called “Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us” by Alexandra Morton. This is a highly engaging and accessible book which demystified orcas for me and made them much more intriguing animals. They were no longer in my head as mindless, vicious killers, but as intelligent, complicated animals. Part of the book talks about how she started by working in marine parks and then moved to study orcas in the wild as she became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea and practice of orcas in captivity.

I find that one of the things bothering me most about the coverage of this latest killer-whale-kills-human story is that almost universally it is called a killer whale, not an orca. While  I know that killer whale is a legitimate and commonly used name for this species, I feel like it is also deliberately ramping up the monster image of this particular whale, Tilikum. That he has a history of killing another trainer and having been found with another deceased human just adds to that portrayal. BUT, in the wild, there are no documented cases of a killer whale’s killing a human. There are rare stories of attacks, usually attributed to a whale’s presumed perception of a human as prey. The name “killer whale” seems to come from a mistranslation of Spanish fisherman who dubbed these whales as “whale killers” because they witnessed orcas pursuing and killing other whales.

It is a good thing that this is sparking a lot of discussion about captive large marine mammals and shows, though it is a result of an unquestionably tragic event. Captive whale shows are undoubtedly big money for marine parks. But are they really educational? What do we learn about a whale’s life in the open oceans by watching them perform tricks? It’s a pretty safe bet that wild orcas (or sea lions or dolphins etc etc) are not bouncing balls off their noses or leaping through hoops out in the wild. I am sure that some facts about orcas are conveyed through the show’s narration, but do any of them make the sort of impact which will lead to greater awareness and efforts towards conservation? (Really, if someone could tell me, I would like to know.)

Animal expert Jack Hanna chimed in today, with unwavering support for both the whale and SeaWorld. I am glad he points out that this is not the whale’s fault (what we as humans attribute to the human condition of fault, that is), but I am struck at how he names SeaWorld the world experts on killer whales. I am sure their body of knowledge is immense, and it does seem that they partner with scientists from around the world. Their site is unclear (on quick review) as to what scientists they have on staff who are out in the field. I hope they do have some because there is no way to fully understand a wide-roaming animal that is stuck in a cement tank. I am going to keep digging because I would like to know more about their work and programs overall.

I think Hanna’s saddest statement is:

“Let’s say 20, 30 years from now, there’s 200 killer whales left in the wild. Let me tell you where we’re going to go: We’re going to go to SeaWorld and see what to [do] to save this magnificent creature. That’s how valuable it is for what we’re doing with research.”

Not a single word is in this interview about conservation, or about how human activity has threatened all of the populations of all whales around the world, making this sort of captive breeding/preservation necessary in the first place.

He also said:

“Some people said they know what the whale [is] thinking. That’s impossible. I don’t know what the whale is thinking I don’t know what stress is to a whale. All I know is that SeaWorld provides the best possible care, and I’ve in been going to those parks for 30-something years. And I always seen nothing but animals that seem to be very, very happy.”

Which is it, Jack? How can it be impossible for people to know what the whale is thinking, and yet you then assert that the animals seem happy.  That strikes me as a dramatic contradiction. If you do not know what stresses the animals, can you really know if they are happy? (Maybe they are, I don’t claim to know one way or another. I’m just reacting to the mixed bag of anthropomorphism that this story is generating.)

I am glad that this whale will not be euthanized as he was acting out of instinct and not likely out of any malice, but have we also condemned him and his fellow killer whales to a life of torture caused by confinement, all for the sake of research?  I don’t know what the best answer is – there are no magically large water parks that simulate the ocean environment. There are no easy answers, period.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have done a “swim with dolphins” thing, when I was on a cruise that stopped in Cozumel. These dolphins were captive in a pen fenced off the beach, not in a cement tank, but yes, still captive. I admit that I could not resist the opportunity. I do realize now the very very mixed good/bad about doing this sort of activity. I also fully acknowledge the powerful draw of these charismatic animals which is hard to resist. Does make one wonder if dolphins think about swimming with us… (No, I don’t for one second think that they do, but it would be an interesting thing to discover, what they think of us wacky humans.)

What can we do? Well, a lot, but here’s a start:

If you smoke, dispose of your butts in a container. Stamping them on the ground just means they will get washed into some waterway and it has been shown that the filters contain plastics that make water toxic to fish. And the butts are eaten by fish, turtles and other marine life, which also kills them. Butts are trash. They shouldn’t just be tossed around and beaches are not giant ashtrays.

If you like seafood, make sure you are choosing something that is sustainable. Aquariums like the Monterey Bay Aquarium keep a close eye on this issue. Here’s a list of “good” fish to eat in a relative list. Overfishing is a massively important issue, and really greatly ignored. Some people are starting to make a stand, including against high end restaurants serving highly endangered bluefin tuna. Don’t eat at restaurants that serve shark fin soup. Sharks are disappearing at alarming rates because of being finned for a soup, where the fins add no taste and it’s simply “fashionable” to eat. Now, sharks are disappearing so fast that manta rays are being caught in increasing numbers for the soup. Human greed and consumption is vastly outpacing the oceans.

Go on a whale watch. See the ocean at work with your own eyes. What people know about, they tend to better protect. Not near the ocean? There are a bunch of great IMAX films available on DVD which is like being right there. I rather like Deep Sea 3D, myself, and am looking forward to one day getting “Dolphins and Whales 3D” on DVD.

I am still learning about the oceans and the myriad wonders, mysteries and problems. A lot of people out there have posted hints as well, so Google it and see what you can do. We must all make the effort, or there will be no more fish, no more whales, no more coral reefs, etc etc. As the oceans go, so will go our entire planet. Just because we can’t see the bottom of the ocean from the surface, doesn’t mean there is no bottom. And as Lucy Lawless said in a PSA, “there is no Planet B”. (Yes the PSA is primarily about climate change, but the oceans’ ability to absorb carbon dioxide is key to our climate.) Taking care of the oceans means taking care of us and all of this planet’s residents.

It’s a gruesome thing, but I’d never seen a necropsy, so once we came back to shore, I hopped in the car to go over. Much of the whale had already been removed by this time. It seemed still “whole” at around 10 when our whale watch boat passed by, but when I arrived at 2, it was apparent that no time was being wasted. This was, after all, a holiday weekend, and having a dead whale on a popular beach was not a good scenario.

I had heard/read about some necropsies and that dead whales have a pretty intense and awful smell. Those stories were not kidding. I watched for about 45 minutes before I had had enough. It makes me having enormous respect for the folks who were out there and literally IN the whale for the duration of the day. It is clearly not a pleasant, easy, or fast process, and I can only imagine how those folks managed. From what I could see, folks working on the whale were from Cape Cod Stranding Network (part of IFAW), and WHOI. It’s entirely possible that other organizations were there too, but I couldn’t tell.

No one seemed to be saying much, if they knew yet, about how this whale might have died. Ship strikes are a pretty common killer so I have to wonder if it may have been that. Since the whale had clearly been dead for a while before scientists were able to get to it, the decomposition may have been too advanced to get “good” tissue samples. This is purely conjecture on my part so I have no idea for sure. The only thing I did know was from a woman who was working to extract the ear bone from the head. (She studies hearing in whales, and the impact of human noise. I wish circumstances were more amenable to talking to her more about that topic as I find it very intriguing.) I asked her if, as in humpbacks, the fin whales develop wax rings in their ears which help to ascertain age. She replied that they probably wouldn’t be able to tell since “the whale was pretty well cooked.”

Onlookers were actually able to get fairly close to the process, so I took some photos with my point and shoot camera. That being digital, I can offer photos now. I don’t think I am going to link them from the main gallery since the photos are pretty gruesome to view. But I do offer them here. Just please, be aware of what’s in here because it’s graphic stuff. View the fin whale necropsy photos – viewer be warned!

The planet as a whole takes a step towards being better off today. Here’s to a successful administration!

So, yep, I’m a whale geek. Decided I should start a blog to more properly chronicle my whales watch experiences, post photos, talk about news in the world of whale conservation and protection, etc etc.

And when I grow up *grin*, I want to be a professional whale watcher. (Ok, this means doing things along the lines of naturalist on whale watch boats, research, education – whatever way I can be more immersed in the world of whales. If I am really lucky, I can also help contribute to our learning of whales. To that end, I’m trying to prepare myself for grad school. Will possibly talk about that here too).

In 2007 I set a personal record of 13 whale watches in a season, which is no small feat given that I live 2.5 hours from the coast. And I would have done more if I could. Let’s see what happens in 2008.

In any event, whale fans – welcome! :-)