Which do you want first?
Too bad, I'm giving you the bad news first.
Bad News: I'm back in school, doing chemistry and algebra and world history and it's just oof. Oof and less sleep than I'd like.
Good News: I have some fun pictures of share with you from last week (ur, uh, maybe 2 weeks ago. Maybe I spent 2 hours on a post that the interworkings of the interwebz poofed away) when we had 8 family members visiting from 2 states and we went to Sea World. Roller coasters and animals and sunsets all included.
Because we visited the park a few days after Christmas it was still decked out with the Shamu's Christmas theme, which meant that we had to trade fewer operating hours and attraction closures for Christmas decor and themed shows.
We attended Seymour and Clyde's Christmas countdown first. Those sea lions were larger than the one I saw in the ocean seemed to be. I wish the river otter would have had more appearances. The storyline was honestly pretty rough, as was the acting. What was astounding was the performing ability of the sea lions. They way they know what a simple hand sign means and execute the behavior quickly and correctly. That's more you can say for most 5 year olds.
3. I think an there in an uneven distribution of concern on the whales, and not enough on trainer conditions. I understand that many activists feel that they must be the voice of the animals, but should the trainers be thrown by the wayside because they can express their concerns? These trainers are young, and they aren't going to make waves about their working conditions or their concerns. The ex-trainers, now adults (they were all teens/young adults when hired) in Blackfish spoke of their surprisingly minimal training, education, or notification of previous incidences. I'm sure they sign their life multiple away before beginning work, but that is not comparable to properly educating employees about the risks they take, tendencies of the animals and their behaviors, past situations, and current events within the park. Those who work with potentially deadly animals on a daily basis deserve to be fully informed, instead of just fed the information pertinent to their position. I wish the media would take a stand for not only the treatment of the animals, but for the conditions of workers.
Well, now that we've thoroughly covered all the sadness and general shortcomings of our day at Sea World, let's chat about the awesome stuff. For me, the best parts of the day were pretty non-aquatic.
Would you consider ducks to be aquatic? I mean, they float all happy pappy willy nilly on the surface while occasionally popping their heads underneath. I mean, I know their birds, (yeah obviously) but are they aquatic birds? Waterfowl? I don't know. But I'm pretty sure these run-of-the-mill-find-em-at-your-local-park birds aren't highly suffering in captivity, so I hope PETA doesn't come at me with pitchforks for telling you that I had so much fun photographing these ducks. You can buy food for them out of gumball machines and hand feed them some they are pretty comfortable around people.
I don't know if yall know this, but I am low-key obsessed with ducks. I mean, it's a bucket list item to raise a duck from an egg to adulthood. Being able to photograph these beauties up so close was a definite highlight of my day.
WATERFOWL!
I mean. Really. Is that not amazing? I guess the lake moderately helped the entire image, but still.
These dorks. I love them so much and I am grateful to have spent the day with them. We had a blast.
We attended Seymour and Clyde's Christmas countdown first. Those sea lions were larger than the one I saw in the ocean seemed to be. I wish the river otter would have had more appearances. The storyline was honestly pretty rough, as was the acting. What was astounding was the performing ability of the sea lions. They way they know what a simple hand sign means and execute the behavior quickly and correctly. That's more you can say for most 5 year olds.
Next we attended "Azul", the Cirque Du Soleil style water show featuring dolphins, divers, beluga whales, aerial acrobats, and synchronized swimmers. The beluga whales were by far my favorite, they're so perfectly white and smooth, like a dry erase board. And they always seem to be smiling. And those round pancake flippers. They're such dorks. The dolphins moved too fast and sleekly for me to capture. And the way they glide back into the water noiselessly, compared to the divers, who, despite being aerodynamic, still entered the water with a decent smack.
The performers and the animals were all so talented, but sadly the arena seemed a bit run down, which in a way took away from the beauty of their performance.
We finished off our night with Shamu's Christmas Miracle. As we walked in the stadium and I saw the giant pool, I was shocked by its size. It's been 6/7 years since I've been to Sea World, and I was thinking that Shamu would be maybe a little larger than the Beluga, so I totally thought the pool was overkill, and that we'd struggle to see the whale. That was, until I saw the killer whale. Actually, the killer whales. There were 5. And they are HUGE. All day I'd been thinking about the controversy that has been surrounding Sea World since that documentary Blackfish came out in 2013. But this brought it into sharper focus. I had not seen the documentary, but containing multiple of these kinds of animals seemed almost immediately wrong. They aren't seals or otters or even dolphins. They are whales. And not petite whales. Huge whales. Killer whales. And as we sat there and the whale performed a large leap into the air, I considered that, if the whale so desired, it could hop right out of the pool and into the splash zone audience.
And if I'm a mite worried about my safety, what about the safety of the trainers? For the bulk of the show I sat saying "They're SO big" and "the trainers are SO close". I decided I'd watch Blackfish in the near future. And I did. And I have some thoughts.
1. I do not believe that the Sea World people ever set out to mistreat animals or injure trainers. I believe that they made a plethora of mistakes and yes, money was the boss of the situation 95% of the time, but I would venture a bet that there was never any malicious intent involved. The way I see it, they got a couple killer whales. And they bred these killer whales. They got baby whales. The whales became their brand. They continued to breed whales to maintain their business. Whales became violent. They handled the situation the best way they knew how to for their business. It is all about business, and sometimes at the expense of animals and employees well being and life, but never purposefully. I don't wish Sea World death and destruction as some do. They are a business in the entertainment industry. I hope they are able to do what is best for the whales for the remainder of their life, phase them out, and rebrand themselves.
2. That said, I do not believe the animals should be kept in captivity at all, but as we know better we do better, and we need to take strides to correct our mistakes. No one person or entity is currently responsible for what has happened. Not Sea World, not Sealand of the Pacific, nor the fishermen who hunted Tilikum and the others. I believe that each entity experienced a certain amount of pressure from industry demands. It was 1983 when Tili was captured. (But the practice has been around since the 60s) It is now 2016. We know better know. We know how complex Orcas are. We know how emotional and relational they are. We know how intelligent they are. We know how rich their lives at sea are. We know that they aren't meant for a life lived in captivity. I see Blackfish as a great catalyst for change and public education, which can cause the end of Orca captivity. That said, the hate towards aquatic parks is excessive. I don't believe anyone is sitting in a cubicle somewhere rubbing their hands together slowly, contemplating how they can abuse the whales next. I do think that Sea World, as a leader in the industry, has a great deal of influence in how other parks treat their whales, and they should be mindful of this power.
3. I think an there in an uneven distribution of concern on the whales, and not enough on trainer conditions. I understand that many activists feel that they must be the voice of the animals, but should the trainers be thrown by the wayside because they can express their concerns? These trainers are young, and they aren't going to make waves about their working conditions or their concerns. The ex-trainers, now adults (they were all teens/young adults when hired) in Blackfish spoke of their surprisingly minimal training, education, or notification of previous incidences. I'm sure they sign their life multiple away before beginning work, but that is not comparable to properly educating employees about the risks they take, tendencies of the animals and their behaviors, past situations, and current events within the park. Those who work with potentially deadly animals on a daily basis deserve to be fully informed, instead of just fed the information pertinent to their position. I wish the media would take a stand for not only the treatment of the animals, but for the conditions of workers.
Well, now that we've thoroughly covered all the sadness and general shortcomings of our day at Sea World, let's chat about the awesome stuff. For me, the best parts of the day were pretty non-aquatic.
Would you consider ducks to be aquatic? I mean, they float all happy pappy willy nilly on the surface while occasionally popping their heads underneath. I mean, I know their birds, (yeah obviously) but are they aquatic birds? Waterfowl? I don't know. But I'm pretty sure these run-of-the-mill-find-em-at-your-local-park birds aren't highly suffering in captivity, so I hope PETA doesn't come at me with pitchforks for telling you that I had so much fun photographing these ducks. You can buy food for them out of gumball machines and hand feed them some they are pretty comfortable around people.
I don't know if yall know this, but I am low-key obsessed with ducks. I mean, it's a bucket list item to raise a duck from an egg to adulthood. Being able to photograph these beauties up so close was a definite highlight of my day.
WATERFOWL!
2nd favorite part was the roller coaster. It goes fast, drops steeply, is smooth as all get out, and is a general whirlwind. I told my family its stats (65 mph, 15 story drop) but no one seemed to realize that it was a pretty legit coaster until we're going down the first and largest drop and I hear a familiar voice behind me scream "I am NEVER. doing this. AGAIN."
I could have ridden it all day.
Another great part of the day, which was completely uncontrolled by Sea World, was the sunset.
I mean. Really. Is that not amazing? I guess the lake moderately helped the entire image, but still.
And, of course, the best part was spending time with my family.
These dorks. I love them so much and I am grateful to have spent the day with them. We had a blast.
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