Awesome Orcas

Awesome Orcas

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Saturday, May 29, 2010

ONE LUCKY PENGUIN!!

check this out, some killer whales are chasing penguins, trying to catch one for their lunch, and one little guy gets away, watch where he ends up.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Orca attack prompts debate

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35640543/ns/us_news-environment?gt1=43001
I agree with both sides...I believe orcas should be left in the wild, but I also understand that having some orcas in captivity helps people learn and care about them. As stated in the article, "the captive orcas serve as ambassadors of the species helping to educate the public and help protect them in the wild."

However, my heart goes out to the captive orcas because I know that they were captured and taken from their families, forced to live in conditions that don't compare to their conditions of living in the wild. They are separated for the rest of their lives from their families, no longer able to travel miles and miles a day, hunting and doing what orcas do in the wild.

more from the article..."They are extremely intelligent and the most efficient predators in the sea. Some say they are just too smart to be penned in pools that can bore them and possibly lead to trouble. Orcas are simply too big, to complex and too intelligent to be adequately accommodated in captivity. Their tanks are always going to be too featureless and too small. In their natural habitat, there is no record of any harm to human anywhere."

Thursday, February 25, 2010

In Search of Orcas in the wild in British Columbia, Canada (report by Lester Holt of Today Show)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/130114/nbc-today-show-in-search-of-orcas

List of captive orcas (read about Tilikum, the orca involved in the attack that killed a trainer at Sea World Orlando, FL on 2-24-10)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayla_(whale)#Tilikum

another link and possible reason for Tilikum's attack...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35584261

and another link
http://www.slate.com/id/2246027/

Change of plans

My husband and I won't be taking our trip to Washington this year, June 2010, but instead we will wait for our 25th anniversary in June 2011.

Sea World Orlando Orca Attack

Yes, I still love orcas! That being said, I was very sad to hear about the female
trainer at Sea World in Orlando being killed by their male orca known as Tilikum. Remember that orcas are wild animals and should be left in the wild, but instead some are captured and forced to live at theme parks in tanks much smaller than their natural environment of the wide open seas. Orcas are wild and therefore unpredictable. (I have never heard of a wild orca attacking anyone at sea.) Tilikum has been linked to other attacks, and his trainers did not go in the water with him because of his behavior. Witnesses say that the orca seemed irritated at the time of the attack.
I have visited Sea World in San Antonio several times and my main focus was to see the orcas. However, in the back of my mind I always feel sad to see them in captivity, and after reading about this attack at Sea World Orlando, I firmly believe they should be in the wild and not in captivity. I noticed that Tilikum's dorsal fin is flopped over, which reminded me of the famous orca named Keiko from the Free Willy movies, who was eventually released back in the wild and has since passed away.
My prayers go out to the trainer's family, friends and co-workers.

(See the post below to read more)

SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in orca attack :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Nation

SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in orca attack :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Nation

Monday, January 4, 2010

I'm so excited...


My husband and I won 2 free roundtrip airline tickets to anywhere in the US we want to go, so we've decided to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary a year early and go to Seattle, Washington and go on a whale watching tour while we're there, woo hoo. I can't wait.