I'm sure you've all heard about the trainer who was killed at Sea World by an Orca Whale.

Eye witness reports say the whale grabbed her by the waist and violently thrashed her to the point that her shoe fell off.

Sea World is claiming the whale grabbed her long pony tail and pulled her under.

Here's a link to the article if you haven't seen it:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/25/florid ... tml?hpt=T2

Jack Hanna's take on the situation:




Now I ask, should Orca Whales, who spend their lives traveling thousands upon thousands of miles at sea in the wild, be kept in captivity like they are?

It's considered cruel to keep a high energy dog in a small house without much exercise.

Why is this acceptable?

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Wheelhouse

I say no at this point...

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

They should be kept in captivity until the time that they're fat enough to be slowly smoked with apple and cherry wood, rubbed with a brown sugar and paprika based rub and served with cole slaw.

Mmmm...killer whale.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Been looking at the Japanese sea food cook books again Cross

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Lord Stanley's Cup is what its all about.
Mr. Pegula, your destiny awaits you sir.

I've been to a few zoos, with decent sized habitats, and while it's kind of cool to see animals you normally would not, it's depressing at the same time. It's like taking a human being and saying, okay the only places you can visit are your house/yard, the store, and this one restaurant.

Unfortunately, capitivity is becoming the only way more and more species survive.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Tragic accident, but not sure this means anything about whether animals should be kept in captivity. I do know that since this particular whale had a history of killing humans, it was really fucking stupid to continue using it in the show. It was only a matter of time.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

I'm not necessarily saying all animals.

True, Sea World has performed and done shows with Killer Whales over a million times (quite literally) since they opened without any deaths, but they've also had lots of instances where the whales become rowdy like they did in this case.

I think humans should have the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures, but only through whale watches.

At what point does an animal get too big to keep it in captivity?

Have you seen how the fins on these whales curl? That isn't natural in the wild. It happens to these guys because they're in captivity and can't fully exercise them way they would in the wild.

Tilly, the whale responsible, has killed before at another theme park, btw.

I don't know... it just doesn't seem right to me.

The area of the world's oceans:

1,390,000,000 miles squared.

The area of the holding tanks for the whales at sea world:

< 1 mile squared (based on a google earth look... I could not find this information, however 1 mile is generous.)

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Wheelhouse

It's going to take a lot of charcoal...I'm taking donations.

What do you think would go best with killer whale? A Kansas City sweet sauce or a Carolina vinegar sauce?

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Seeing how Orcas are part of the dolphin family, and not the whale family, I don't think they're considered a source of food, although I could be wrong.

More evidence that keeping whales in captivity is unhealthy:

Life expectancies are 1/4th that of those who live in the wild.

While attacks by those in captivity aren't common (24 since the 70's), swimming with WILD orcas has been deemed even more safe than swimming with the "domesticated" ones.

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Wheelhouse

I'm thinking a red curry sauce would be scrumptious.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

It's a 12,300 lb. chunk of protein that just signed its own death warrant....it's food now.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I think it is a rich red meat, so maybe Stubs bold and spicy, and I want to hook and real in our dinner

I also have a good supply of dried apple wood

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"I don't feel like Satan, but I am to them"
Neil Young

Cross, can you recommend a beer (accessible in most of the country, please) to go with some 4 alarm curry orca?

Thx.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

I guess it's futile to try to have a serious conversation about this subject at this point, sooo...

Barbecue sauce is good on EVERYTHING.

Whale ribs, smoked?

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Wheelhouse

they wont kill that orca. i dont think. time to release it back into the wild.

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It definitely won't be killed.

Not sure if they can release it into the wild, either.

Time will tell I suppose.

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Wheelhouse

they caught the thing, they can release it. orcas arnt captive bred and born. its rather sad.

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"Save the whale's, but shoot those funky seals, cause they eat all the fish"

Cheech & Chong

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"I don't feel like Satan, but I am to them"
Neil Young

Actually, since 1999, 40% of the 48 animals on display in captivity were captive born.


This whale is older, and he appears to be a pretty aggressive bull, so perhaps he was a wild animal at one point.

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Wheelhouse

well, thats a stat i wasnt aware of. i saw something about an orca enclosure in miami, florida. the whale is 24 feet wide, his enclosure, 30 feet wide. he had been in captivity since the late 70s.

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