Dancing with orcas: Does closeness really matter?
March 11th, 2010 by cdunaganI’m happy to share this space today with Kitsap Sun reporter Steven Gardner, who offers his personal perspective on orcas.
BY STEVEN GARDNER
Journalists received what might be deserved suspicion of being haters of George W. Bush. If it’s true, I don’t think it’s for the reason most people surmise, that we’re all socialists at heart intent on killing every American Amendment that isn’t the first one.
If we disliked Bush the younger, it had more to do with his reported statement to Joe Biden that he doesn’t “do nuance.”
Reporters dance in nuance. We eat it. For the purposes of this blog, let’s say we swim in it. When we retire, the hardest thing to unload is all the “other hands” we’ve considered. Dunagan has a file cabinet full of them. When Bush said he didn’t do nuance, it was like he was insulting all our mothers.
Dabbling in nuance gives us room to partake in things we might not otherwise do were we among those who take stands. In late 2007 I took my family to SeaWorld in San Diego. In my heart I’m really troubled by the idea of watching animals that can travel entire oceans confined to pools a little bigger than the one I had in my backyard as a kid. But it was when I was a kid that my affection for orcas began, because of a splashing I got from Shamu.
Growing up in Southern California, it was the only way I was going to see orcas in person. As the years went on, I managed to see probably a dozen dolphin shows. I don’t think I grew to have any angst about it until I was working construction during a summer off from college and was sent to a house in an exclusive neighborhood in Laguna Beach. There, on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I could see a school of dolphins (Maybe they were porpoises. I couldn’t swear under oath that they weren’t two-liter soda bottles with fins.) swimming by beyond the waves.
It sounds cliche, but something can happen to a guy like me who suddenly sees something in a different context, particularly a natural context. Not only did it make me feel good about them, it made me feel good about myself, that I live in a world where animals can be in a place they’ve been for thousands or millions of years, that we haven’t institutionalized all of them. It’s not a thought that comes naturally when you spend most of your days winding your way through asphalt and concrete.
That elation came again when I moved here and the Orcas visited Silverdale. Then on Christmas Day in 2004 I was on a ferry to Seattle and saw an orca off in the distance. That chance sighting was better than the sure thing you get in San Diego.
Still, I thought maybe my kids would appreciate the SeaWorld show. They did.
I, on the other hand, had much the same reaction Steve Lopez from the Los Angeles Times did when he went.. I wouldn’t say I was creeped out, but I was uneasy.
I expected a fun, maybe funny presentation. What you get is a full-on, well-orchestrated production that clearly had been crafted following the pressure that must have come once Free Willy was released in theaters.
And yet months later, when another friend shared pictures of her daughter being one of those who got to go out and touch the whale, I was genuinely happy for her.
Of course the idea that she could have been yanked by her pony tail into the water — something that has apparently never happened in the wild — changes all that.
I’d rather see all those Shamus out in the wild. I would have felt so relieved if SeaWorld officials would have said, “We get it now.” On the other hand, maybe the Tacoma Pocket Gopher wouldn’t have vanished in 1970 if someone had made money by teaching a few of them to jump through hoops. On the other other hand, maybe these animals should matter to me even if I never get to see them.
Tags: killer whales, orcas, SeaWorld
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
March 11th, 2010 at 10:28 am
I haven’t been to a captive killer whale show yet, but I certainly enjoy hearing them live through the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network: ( http://orcasound.net ). I wonder whether the Ocean Observing Initiative, a grand U.S. effort to push the Internet out into the oceans, will create a new way for children to be inspired by charismatic megafauna like orcas.
Though it’s not currently working, the steerable webcam at the Center for Whale Research was in high demand when orcas were heard on the nearby hydrophones. Could Lime Kiln (aka Whale Watch) State Park and The Whale Museum compete with the conservation-ethic-formation of SeaWorld if they offered not only the world’s best land-based orca watching each summer day, but also high-definition streaming video — from atop the lighthouse and underwater where the whales often play just outside the kelp beds?
March 11th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I agree about the orca shows – I’ve been to a couple of shows, Seattle and Vancouver 25+ yrs ago. Even as a teenager, I was not comfortable with keeping a magnificant animal like like in a small pen.
I took my son out on a whale watching cruse in the San Juans 6 or 7 yrs ago, and I felt uncomfortable with that too. The boat followed the laws of the time, and I think what made me the most uncomfortable was the sheer numbers of boat’s watching and following the whales.
I have seen them from the beach in Silverdale, and Hood Canal, and from the ferry as well. I agree that the best encounters have then those that were chance, or even if we were looking for them, we weren’t in their environment.
I’d like to see a story about how to see the Grey Whales around whidbey and the best places to see them from the beach. I know they come in close, and I think that would be awesome to see.
Thanks
Connie
March 11th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Watching Gray whales from Whidbey or Camano Island shorelines is a great experience! The whales are here from March – May (the past two years they have arrived in Feb. and remained through June or longer!), and often feed very close to shore. The main feeding areas are in Saratoga Passage – from Whidbey Island, the town of Langley offers one of the best views, but they can also sometimes be seen from Possession Pt. Waterfront Park or from the Clinton/Mukilteo ferries & docks. On Camano Island, Cama Beach and Camano Island State Parks offer great views for seeing the Grays as well. The whales also feed off Everett & up into Port Susan – Kayak Pt. park is another great public viewing place for the grays. The past 2 years we have had reports of them feeding off NW Whidbey Island as well – there are several parking areas at the north end of West Beach Rd, and Joseph Whidbey State Park, where you might also catch a glimpse of the whales. To find out where the Grays (and orcas and other whales) have been seen recently, join Orca Network’s Sighting Network or look on our website (www.orcanetwork.org), or go to our Orca Network Facebook and Twitter pages. We are blessed with many miles of shoreline from which to watch the whales in their natural habitat – and no need to see whales held in captivity performing unnatural acts for the enjoyment and greed of humans. You can learn more about captivity on our website as well -
March 11th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
We happen to have a couple of links on the topics of the ethical wisdom of watching captive whale shows and the possibility of seeing gray whales around Whidbey Island:
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/03/former-sea-world-trainer-whale-captivity-grossly-unjust/
Former Sea World Trainer: ‘Whale captivity grossly unjust’
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/wnt/news/85544297.html
Gray whales arrive early to Whidbey Island
March 12th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I have never been to a circus or animal show. I did watch some trained birds at a fair once. I have visited various wild animal parks, such as Northwest Trek and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. At San Diego, we saw condors picking t a carcass – fantastic. And definitely NOT artificial (citing Koontz’s statement from Lopez’s article that “We don’t feel that there’s anything about it that’s artificial at all,” .)
I must ask, do you think that children would show any less interest watching animals in their natural setting versus doing tricks in an unnatural and clearly artificial setting….
Maybe they would even learn something about the animals if they saw them acting natural….I do not see much educational value in watching a trainer feed an animal and make them do backflips.
March 12th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
“Doesn’t do nuance”…means what?
The first time I walked out of a ‘show (Shriners”?) was at the KC Fairgrounds some 25 years ago. A ‘circus’ was performing and I was sickened to see an elephant cooped up, thin, droopy, clearly unhappy .. and for the first time I wanted to provide a space for elephants to live out their lives in dignity and peace.
The second time was the one and only time I visited the Sequim wild animal place.
Chained bears performed for tidbits tossed out of car windows – they appeared content enough…the tigers didn’t. They paced tiny cages out in the open as the visitors squealed in excitement.
I don’t go to zoos, no matter how ‘open and free’ they appear…they’re nothing more than attractive cages to make the visitors happy. The animals are imprisoned. Maybe there is a valid reason such animals are caged…I don’t know…but no wild animal I’ve seen performs with zeal, joy and force as the whales and dolphins interacting with their human trainers.
They appear in tune with the humans they perform with in enthusiastic movements. They ‘appear’ happy in performance but I’ve only seen them perform live once. They appear happy and content where they are…
Sharon O’Hara