The Collectivist Hero of Sea World?
Posted by overmanwarrior 11 years, 7 months ago to Culture
Carlo De Leonibus believes that he saved the day for a poor “dolphin” by putting pressure on Sea World employees to react to his media coverage. But sadly, the truly disturbing aspect of this entire situation is that Carlo should have had a better understanding of the situation before reacting so poorly to his panicked 11-year-old daughter which is why Carlo was at Sea World with his family—to celebrate her birthday. It was Carlo’s job to explain to his daughter that the creature was not a “fish” and would not drown because it was out of water. The animal was not a dolphin, but was a breed of whale related to dolphins. It was a mammal and breathes air just like all people in the world. The pilot whale could have remained out of the water for hours and been just fine. The Sea World staff knew that the best way to teach the whale to survive is to let it learn how to put itself back into the water on its own, rather than waiting for someone to come and save it.
So many people are so far removed from interacting with animals, domestic and wild that they are totally clueless. Case in point the idiots who get eaten by lions, tigers and bears in zoos and parks because they want to commune with the animal.
Again, beached cove dolphins ("pilot whales") are commonly known and they do die from exposure and suffocation. This one apparently was foisted on SeaWorld by the federal government after it beached itself once in the wild was deemed unfit for survival in the ocean. (Read SeaWorld's press release in my comment above or find it yourself.)
We all like to line up behind any business, but the fact remains that corporations are just social institutions and the animal might have died right there if no one was actually assigned to do anything -- "Sorry, I'm on break right now... Oh, well, I'm a ticket taker and I count crowds 126, 127, 128 ... " Ask the dolphins if SeaWorld knows best.
SeaWorld parks have had deaths and injuries to their own workers and to visitors. It happens. It does not make them immoral, but it does underscore their fallibility. They do not get a blank check just because they are in business for a profit.
Moreover, suppose the crowd had sat by and quietly watched the animal die? Oh, how could they be so cruel? Why didn't anyone say anything?
In fact, the reality was that someone was concerned and others responded in kind. They could have told him to shut up and sit down.
Everyone likes dolphins. What's not to like?
"corporations are just social institutions and the animal might have died right there if no one was actually assigned to do anything -- "Sorry, I'm on break right now... Oh, well, I'm a ticket taker and I count crowds 126, 127, 128 ... " Ask the dolphins if SeaWorld knows best." I suppose if this corporation is unionized or a government institution. But without knowing the answer to that question-if I were the dolphin I'd throw my chances in with Sea world over the federal govt :)
Yes, that is one of the facts. And it is why I noted that simple -presence- of a person would have gotten their attention, but the crowd could not -see- anything happening. Crowd control is a basic skill for business like that. They let the crowd get out of control.
It's complicated. So, I prefer not to join the other hysterical mob shouting their outrage at the outrage of the mob.
"The safety of guests and employees and the welfare of our animals are SeaWorld's highest priorities. The pilot whale shown in the video is not stranded or beached on the ledge at SeaWorld Orlando's whale and dolphin stadium. The whale was never in danger. This is social and play behavior our trainers see daily and sometimes hourly by the pilot whales. If you listen closely the trainer on microphone is trying to tell the audience just that.
This whale was beached and stranded when it was saved by our animal rescue team last Labor Day weekend in South Florida. After it was rescued and rehabilitated, it was deemed un-releasable by the federal government.
The younger and more inexperienced animals -- like the one on the video -- sometimes take a little longer to find their way back to the water because they haven't completely mastered the technique yet. When this happens the animal is constantly monitored by our animal trainers. The whale was never in danger. In fact, the pilot whales are trained to swim onto the ledge so we can monitor their growth and give them veterinary care."
I am not sure that Darwin, Spencer, and Huxley would agree with them on this. If you search for "beached pilot whale" you will see that this is a known problem of unknown cause. One suggestion is that parasites affect the brain. In fact, beachings of all kinds of cetaceans are known. Unless rescued, they usually die. Dehydration and heat take them. Out of the buoyant water, their bodies collapse and crush their internal organs. If not on their bellies, they suffocate.
Among very many articles, see for instance:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/09...
If this were a horse show, and an animal were in distress, say caught in a sand pit, or suffering from a parasitic disease, would you say that such is life in the wilds and everyone ought to get over it?
On a different topic viewing the same problem, I was surprised that SeaWorld did not respond to the crowd better. If a few of their people had been present near the cove dolphin, the announcer's message might have gotten through. In security, we say that visible presence works.
Concerning the crowd and filming father-I am so amazed at the busybody nature of people. Based with an emotional response as their tool, they often leap into the fray understanding nothing of the situation in front of them-or more importantly, solid logical premises that should underlie their actions. sigh.
Humph!
Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity.
Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry.
This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.