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Ebonenee β A Fall From Freedom
Published: 2012-07-08 16:18:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 4626; Favourites: 196; Downloads: 17
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Description
World is what you swim in, or dance, it is simple.We are in our element but we are not free.
Outside this world you cannot breathe for long
The other has my shape. The other's movement
forms my thoughts. And also mine. There is a man
and there are hoops. There is a constant flowing guilt
We have found no truth in these waters,
no explanations tremble on our flesh.
We were blessed and now we are not blessed
After travelling such space for days we began
to translate. It was the same space. It is
the same space always and above it is the man.
And now we are no longer blessed, for the world
will not deepen to dream in...
~The Dolphins, by Carol Ann Duffy
This is a piece I've been working on and off in the last couple of days. The work reflects the isolation, pain and tribulation that occurs in the captive dolphin industry in contemporary society. We are often manipulated to believe that dolphinariums are educational 'tools' that allow people to recognise the wonderful biodiversity of the oceans and encourage the public to conserve its' inhabitants. However, I believe times have changed. We no longer need to tear these sentient, incrediblly intelligent beings from their natural homes. We no longer need to cage and isolate their families. People are well aware of the plight of dolphins and whales through media, the internet and other forms of education. The only reason why cetacean captivity occurs is for one, lucid reason.
Greed.
The above illustration depicts an orca named Morgan; a young female rescued from the Wadden sea in June 2010. Despite orca experts locating her family in Norwegian waters and creating a detailed release plan for rehabilitating and releasing her back to the wild, money talked and corporate greed trampled on Morgan's rights. The global whale and dolphin captivity business could never afford for such an effort to be successful.
"Sheβs been sentenced to life in a small, shallow, concrete cell. Sheβll live out her lonely days performing for food in a circus-style show. Statistically, she will probably die in her teens. Her only crime was getting lost."
I was inspired by a documentary called "A Fall from Freedom" produced by EarthView Productions [link] I have vowed to never support cetacean captivity. Ever....
PLEASE NOTE: This is simply my opinion, if you would like to debate the issue, please do it else where (e.g pop me a note) c:
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Comments: 100
This is incredibly powerful. Great work.
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Thankyou so much
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You're very welcome.
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Good work ebonenee - an excellent piece with much emotion...
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no problem - always a pleasure to see your work!
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God. This. All of this. I love you. You put my thoughts & emotions on this subject into words in your artist comment. Beautiful, beautiful work.
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Thankyou so much, I appreciate it <3
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So sad but true.....
IΒ΄d rather watch whales in the wild than in dolphinariums!
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I agree about not taking them from the wild dolphins and whales have strong family connection, however cetaceans that have been born into captivity cannot be released into the wild even if "rehabilitated." I feel that we already have captivity born cetaceans...so why take more from the wild, thats when they suffer.
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They suffer just the same if they are taken or born there! They are the same animal, and they are still a wild animal! They aren't domesticated like dogs in one or two inbred generations. They suffer just as horribly as those that are wild caught, that is proven, and no- being captive born is not a reason they cannot be rehabbed and released, at least into a sea pen.Β
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So let me see if I understand that correctly.
Being put into captivity is bad
Being born into captivity is OK.
And being born into captivity means they don't suffer.
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There still wild animals there not Β like dogs or cats they still suffer
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Ok...lets view this from another perspective. Snakes are wild...Dogs used to be wild yet we still keep them as pets. However dogs have been domesticated (They still carry their instincts like orcas) for generations and we keep them in our homes. They may be suffering..we dont know. We will never now unless we can talk to them.
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Dogs were never wild, we bred them from wolves into all the species you can now get. We made them, and we specifically gave them the properties they have by selective breeding. There's a reason dogs are man's best friend.
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Alright then compare it to reptiles or fish. The point is that theres worse forms of animal cruelty out there that people need to focus on more rather then zoos and aquariums. Those animals were bred to be in captivity just like horses are bred to work. Look at food industries where cattle, hogs, and poultry are tortured daily. And I mean pure tortue, dont believe me I can send you a link to footage. Yeah everyone thinks they're dumb animals but what most people don't understand is that a pig is as intelligent as a dog. At least the cetaceans are being properly cared for.
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Yes but "pain" torture is not the only form of torture. Mental torture is not any less a torture than being in physical pain.
I will go ahead and say that I agree they cannot release captive born orcas, but only because they are hybrids and could compromise the genetics of wild populations. Even though they are not necessarily aware of how they *should* be living, that does not mean it's wrong. The only way I can see out of this is that they put the females on birth control and let them live out their lives - don't put any other orcas through it. Same goes for other captive cetacean species. There are alternative ways for zoos and aquariums to educate the public about whales and dolphins: rehabilitation places, interactive exhibits, you name it. And with the technology now and in the future, who knows how amazing these places could be, cetacean-FREE. Just my thoughts.
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*that does not mean it's not wrong. My bad.
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Having worked on three interspecies communications projects, I can confidently say we can.
Problem seems to be most people don't want to. Maybe they can't deal with all the social / political ramifications that doing so would generate.
Comparing them to dogs is not a good analogy. A dog can still run away if it chose to, happens all the time too. Cetaceans can't. Neither are Cetaceans domesticated animals.
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Maybe instinctively theyre not domesticated. But the definition of domesticated is this: To train or adapt (an animal or plant) to live in a human environment and be of use to humans. You put that cetacean out in the wild they will not survive.
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Wild caught would be able to go back depending on how long they have been in captivity. Joe and Rosie did just fine after being released back to the wild back in the late 1980's. They were seen for years afterwards living happily among other Dolphins. They had been freeze branded with the male and female emblem on their Dorsal Fins and were easy to identify.
It has been successful before and will be successful again. However the longer in captivity the more damaging. Also Joe and Rosie were not subjected to all the Operant Conditioning the Cetaceans are put through to be remolded into show animals. They spent 8 years in a tank.
So maybe it's really more about this Operant Conditioning that's done to them for the shows than Captivity itself.
Cetaceans are not Domesticated in any way. Any Domesticated Animal that had killed one Human, let alone three, would have been destroyed immediately without question.
A Cow
A Bull
A Cat
A Dog
A Pig
A Horse
A rampaging Zoo or Circus animal.
A Human. No, Wait. We put those in storage and stockpile them at taxpayers expense.
Yet here we have an animal that has killed three Humans is being kept around for some reason.
I've been involved in three different interspecies communications projects in my life so maybe that's why I can see the root problem here. They're as Intelligent as Humans and no one wants to hear it.
What does it have to do to make Humans understand it simply wants out? Time Off. Not a Time Out.
Because it is not considered Intelligent like a Human? What if it was as Intelligent as you?
My Cetacean friends and I would like to know.
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What if...but its not. Unless you saying they are more intelligent...
And I agree on releasing rescued cetaceans..don't get me wrong. I am highly against the thought of taking any wild animal out of its enviornment.
I don't quite think people are understanding what I'm trying to painly say. Once an animal is born in captivity the chances of survival decrease. The orca from free willy died only a year and a half after being released. because he beached himself.
If you were to let all the animals out of the zoos and aquariums right now 90% would die.
That and it would be impossible to afford rehabilitating all of them.
Also the killing of the trainer was due to the orca pulling her to the bottom of the enclosure and pinning her there. This is a disciplinary behavior seen in dolphins and is used on their young. I doubt it meant to kill her. That and it wasn't the same orca that killed 3 times in a row.
Lastly Seaworld and other zoos educate people on their animals, this is vital if you want future generations to appreciate them and help protect them. By seeing the animals they can truely understand. Unless you're against that. (And dont tell me they dont educate every show, movie, book, etc is very very enviornmental)
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More Intelligent? Possibly, but at least equal from all my experiences, especially Orcas. They've been around the way they are for several millions of years more than the Human race. We should try to learn from that. Greater or not is not the issue. Captivity is not the issue. The issue is Intelligence. You like most people seem to just dance around it. Is it really so impossible? Humans only occupy 25% of the planet. Cetaceans and the oceans occupy the other 75%. For most of history, those territorial domains did not even overlap. I've worked on the projects so I'm in a better position to speak on that subject than anyone else here.
To acknowledge Cetacean Intelligence as being equal to Human Intelligence would have immense effects on a large portion of Human society which is why it is being ignored and suppressed. The social, religious and political ramifications would shake Human society to its very core. That's what's really as you put it "impossible to afford" to some people. Humans are way to arrogant about their own superiority.
Cetaceans are the ETs SETI everyone is looking for in the sky and forgot the sea. SETI certainly has the computing power necessary to do full two-way communications if they so chose to apply it here.
Please don't use the that tired old "No Hands equals no intelligence" line. Birds can build nests without hands just fine. Cetaceans have been seen using tools. Another indicator of Intelligence.
Or "They haven't created anything like cities or art". We know less about the bottom of the Oceans than we do about the far side of the Moon. How would we know? Art is subjective but here might be one example [link]
We're not talking about releasing all the dumb animals in all the zoos. We're talking about an Intelligent being being held against it's will. Human Law calls it Kidnapping. But human laws apply only to Humans no matter what the injustice.
I know all about that Disciplinary Behavior from A Mother's Wrath. I've personally experienced being grabbed by the Orcas that way over a dozen times. I'll still alive and whole years later. It would seem their special training forgot something. But this is off topic here. Itelligence.
The level of education in the actual shows has dropped from the 1970s. But again that's off subject here. Intelligence.
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You have your beliefs, I have mine. Your points make sense, so do mine. Im not going to waste my time argueing with people it gets no one anywhere. But what I will say is that I can garuntee you that cetaceans dont have a secret city....
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Didn't say they did. All I said is that they are Intelligent as Humans.
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Let me rephrase the other two deaths it wasnt certain if Tilikum actually caused the deaths (I know you would attack me on that)
And the other two cases was due to people falling in the tanks, which couldve been taken as a threat to the orcas.
You drop a person or have them act as if theyre injured in a lions exhbit I garuntee they're going to be attacked.
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No I wouldn't attack you on that because no one saw the actual kills, not even security cameras. Glad to see you know that. I've been asking questions, not attacking anyone. Trying to find out how much of the truths people really know and if they know what's really going on. I'm sorry if they're difficult questions for you. With so many distracting issues around Cetaceans it is sometimes hard for some people to focus on the important ones or even know what they are because they aren't brought up as often. Some of the lesser issues get sensationalized which can keep the more important ones from even being known or discussed.
Actually the whole cap / anti cap thing is irrelevant to me because of there being much more important issues that need to be addressed because when they are, it will simply vanish.
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I just feel that we need others to see them up close, not everyone can afford to go see them in the wild. I educate people around me on their beauty and all different animals, I know dolphins are smart. Personally way smarter then chimps. But we still dont know if they are smarter then humans. They don't have technology they dont better themselves they just survive. Now if you compare them to humans that do the same (that dont care to better themselves or invent, etc they focus more on survival and reproduction) then yes I agree they are just as smart.
I hope you don't take me as being harsh or come off as mean I'm neutral on captivity, however I dont support wild capture because I feel the animal will suffer and become aggressive or unpredictable.
Its just we dont know if they understand morals whats right and wrong and they dont understand mathematics. (Yes they were trained to picka graph with less dots but thats food oriented and any animal can be taught that.) I mean they can work out problems in their enviornment, but thats simply adaptation. All animals have that, some just adapt faster then others.
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Imagine that seeing them up close simply meant going out to the coast to any one of a number of places along it to see them and get in the water with them if they invite you in. No charge. No cost other than the gas to get there and go as often as you want. People are free diving with Orcas in New Zealand. It could be done world wide.
There have been no UnProvoked attacks on Humans by Cetaceans in the wild, only in captivity. Key word here is UnProvoked. A man was killed, I believe it was in Australia, by a Dolphin striking him in the stomach with its tail after the Human tried to stuff a beer bottle into its blowhole. I'd say that was self defense for the Cetacean or if it had been a Human instead. This does not imply that all reported attacks were provoked.
They don't have to be smarter, just equal. Isn't that enough? It is for me.
Tech is unnecessary for them. They have evolved. They are tech. hows that for "bettering themselves"?
Science has shown that Blue Whales communicate between Ocean basins, i.e. between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans using a 5 Hz signal. That's a water path length over 12,000 miles. They don't need the Internet, they have their own.
They can with their Sonar image objects at a distance and view internal organs in great detail. That covers MRI, CT, X-Ray, Radar, Sonar and Sonogram as well. Well, this is where we got the idea for Sonograms anyway. The Cetacean version is just much more detailed. This ability also takes care of TV up to and including 3D TV. They also know range, course and speed on anything moving in their Sonic field, such as the rest of their POD or a school of fish. Wow, social networking.
This is also how some theorize Cetaceans communicate to each other. A stream of images, moving and/or still. The closed Human equivalent would be Egyptian Hieroglyphics that could also be movies. Personally I'm not sure about this one, there are easier methods for us to communicate with them. Maybe later.
I think that is some pretty good evolving...
They are not 'just surviving' as you put it. They are living in Harmony with Nature. Taking no more than they need. No worry about Carbon Credits here. They are happy as they are. As anyone should be. A simple Buddhist or Zen lifestyle or like the Native American Indians or Australia's Aborigines all of which have long oral cultural histories. Some theorize Cetaceans do to. There's nothing wrong with living this way. Human society calls it Living Green today.
Just because some Cetaceans were not wild caught, does not mean there won't be the same problems with them. Some of the issues that are causing the problems with the wild caught Cetaceans will still be here for captive born. Some are caused by the Humans and are at this point are beyond Cetacean control.
As to Cetacean Morals and Ethics, you might want to read my journals where I talk about my experiences with Cetaceans.
They know Mathematics AND Physics. Just like a pole vaulter clearing a 20 foot bar, so for the Cetaceans to leap up 30 feet to grab a fish out of a handler's hand or mouth.
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Well about mathematics clearing a pole thats not a good example. You can make a dog jump a pole too you can make anything jump anything. Dolphins cannot study and explain every physical phenomina that happens with pole vaulting. If you were to try and teach them an algebra equation or try and teach them what the elements are on the periodic table or atoms they wouldnt understand. We have invented and discovered things that they will never understand, yeah you could say well they just don't need it for their simple lives but we didnt either. They havent invented medicines, etc. Sonar and echo location is given to them at birth so that is not considered tachnology therefore you cannot say they are tech themselves, bats contain the same echo location. Blue whales were *born* with their vocalizations to communicate however no one can prove its an actual language. I wouldnt say they have evolved either. You can argue that new hunting skills is evolution but in reality thats simply adaptation all animals go through that if prey becomes harder to hunt or if they need to find ways to spend less energy. Give me some examples of their evolution..im interested to know.
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Ok. that's a nice theory that Dolphins cannot study and explain every physical phenomena that happens with pole vaulting or it could just as easily be about a fish swimming. So Please explain this theory. Explain why they cannot.
Explain also when it goes from what you keep calling Instinct or Adaption and becomes Intelligence? Where is this line. Why here?
You say Cetaceans could never understand the periodic table. What facts do you have to back this up?
Haven't invented medicine because they don't need medicine. Why waste time on something you don't need? That wouldn't be Intelligent. The lack of of having "invented something" is not indicative of the lack of Intelligence.
Sonar an evolutionary development over a long time. Their ancestors didn't have it when they first returned to the ocean.
Why the big fear of them being Intelligent as Humans? You keep coming up with excuses. What facts are there to back up your wild claims ?
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This is my last message as I feel this is a waste of time and energy.
They cannot explain the mathematics that goes into the vault or every single physic based component, humans can study and explain every detail.
They dont understand elements they wouldnt know what certain elements are if you introduced them.
I don't believe in evolution for many scientific proven reasons and Im not going into that further because it contains so many errors and for other beliefs that im sure you do not share.
I have no fear of the "theory" they are as intelligent as humans, however you can neither prove it nor disprove it, which is why Im no longer going to waste my time.
My ideas are certainly NOT excuses and they are NOT wild claims everything Ive stated is backed by scientific evidence, some that I assure you ignore.
Im sure your part of a animal rights group and I know from experience they are close minded, which is good that they have their beliefs, but you need to be cautioned when spreading those beliefs because people will tend to hate nature more rather then respect it, trust me I know my fair stories, and those people now kill more wildlife then save it which truely is a tragedy.
Like I said before, you have your beliefs and I have mine.
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What scientific evidence backs up your claim "they cannot explain mathematics that goes into the vault"? I'd really like to know that.
Sorry, no animal rights group here. Just some real world experience.
I see now that it is about religion for you so I will say good bye as well. You evolution comment. My religion forbids me from discussing religion with you.
Have a nice day.
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Sorry to add again but I did not know this..Tilikum is a wild-caught orca not a captive bred, so I completely understand now. It explains the sudden behaviors and aggression. If any should be released it should be him, you're right he most likely does suffer because hes known what the wilds like. He is in no way domesticated as the others.
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Don't be sorry. This is about sharing information to reveal a truer picture. Like that old saying "Knowledge Is Power".
The ones I got to know at the petting pool, Katina and Kasatka, Kotar and Canuck 2 are also wild caught. Some of the last. They have been captive for so long, since 1980, I not sure if they could be released and survive, despite being able to remember it. The sudden behaviors and aggression are not simply because he is a wild caught Cetacean. Isolation, lack of sufficient Personal Space and a disrupted Social Structure are more important causes. Staff either doesn't know what, as SW calls them, "pre-cursors" to be watching for or isn't paying close enough attention. While swimming with Dolphins I have received serious rakes because I wasn't paying enough attention myself.
Again I wish to point out that Cetaceans are *not* Domesticated Animals in any way shape or form. That would be the same as calling Slaves back in the 1800's Domesticated Animals because at that time they were considered sub-human. Now we know better.
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Basically, yes, that's what he/she is saying.
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he/she?? Can't tell from my photos? lol
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I was referring to *OECDLapushfan101, not you. I was answering your question, of course I can tell from your photos, I'm not blind nor stupid.
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Ah. sometimes it's hard to tell with these indents.
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Yes I am aware of that, however they continue to breed captive orcas under stressful circumstances resulting in physical/mental issues and premature deaths. It's just not right...
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For some, but for some places the orcas just breed themselves..and once one is pregnant they completely lay them off shows. For the seaworld by me, they move the dolphins to a private aquarium and no guests are allowed to come near mother and calf. Now sometimes they perform AI to breed and Im not sure how that process goes and personally im against that. But still the whales that are generations down from their ancestors that where taken from the wild are now more domesticated they have bonds with their trainers and I believe its like a family bond.
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Orcas have never "bred themselves" in captivity. It has always been done with human interference.
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I highly disagree. Ive been going to seaworld since birth. I have seen the dolphins and orcas breed randomly in their exhibits. I have talked to trainers and vetrinarians and they have told me that indeed they will breed during certain times of the year without interference...and what do you mean human interference? Do you mean AI? because other than AI or giving suppliments to the orcas to breed a trainer cant force two to mate.
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I was referring to AI. It is the only way orcas have been bred in captivity.
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I have seen them breed personally in the tank as well as the dolphins.
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Anything will hump when it's horny no matter how miserable it is.
If anything the fact they hump and have babies but parks still need to capture wild ones to keep numbers up only proves further that captivity isn't good for them.
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Clearly you have never had a randy dog or a tank of guppies. Guppies will breed themselves to death. Crested geckos can also breed themselves to death. Animals enjoy sex too. over all Males sepshally do some times just get horny no matter what , females genrally take more care because of their physical cost of reproducing, the possible consequence of humpy time. How ever not always. The special conditions only really apply as to if young are made and if they survive... And if the mother lives through it. There are exceptions but this tend to be in critters like fish who only get horny in perfect water. But whales are mammals, generally hot blooded animals like them tend to get horny in cycles (mating season, periods.) regardless of conditions.conditions really just control how fertil they are, how well the birth goes and if the young reach maturaity.
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Animals dont "hump" just because they want to. They do it to reproduce and wont mate under certain circumatances. They're programed in their instincts to do so when they are in a good enviornment or theres enough food to support the baby.
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