The story of the original Shamu and SeaWorld begins the lies.
Shamu, a young female orca from Washington, was captured in the October of 1965 as a companion for Namu. During the capture, her and her mother were harpooned, but managed to evade capture. A few days later though, they were seen again and caught, yet by this time the mother had drowned herself by closing her blow hole, due to the harpoon injuries that had punctured her lung and pushed her to suicide. The little female calf was then taken and put in with Namu, and named Shamu, which is basically She + Namu = Shamu. However, due to the fact they were from totally different family groups, Namu and Shamu didn't get on which led to Ted selling her to SeaWorld San Diego for a hefty sum of $75,000. She was aggressive towards both Ted and Namu, which is probably what pushed him to sell her on so quickly. SeaWorld had only just opened and saw Shamu as a perfect opportunity to create a whole new show and play on the success that Namu had. They then trained Shamu to perform with people in the water, which of course was a huge success, and also a surprise considering her brutal and traumatic capture at such a young age. However, her aggression was still a problem.
This history was not passed on to Annette Eckis (in the video below) who sued Seaworld as they were aware that Shamu did not like people without wetsuits in the water.
Shamu died of septicemia and pyometra, an infection of the uterus. It was quite an achievement to have kept her alive in a pool that long, especially back in the 60s, but ultimately she still died at an incredibly young age- she was only 9.
SeaWorld's lies begin....On this video clip:
1, The woman is not a trainer she is a SeaWorld Secretary.
2. They knew Shamu was aggressive but still put people in the water (no change there).
3. Its not a he its a she.
4. The tank is abysmally tiny, but it doesn't matter she makes money.
5. She died much too young (no change again) What is different today - NOTHING.
SeaWorld still uses the name Shamu as a show name for their performing orcas, which was one of their very first lies to the public, they were all called Shamu as SeaWorld didn't tell anyone Shamu had died and didn't want anyone to know. They believed that as orca were so similar they could replace them without anyone knowing and they did just that.
Despite her being aggressive, it didn't matter to SeaWorld, it is still the same today, hence the fight with OSHA. People and Orca are replaceable as long as the show goes on and the money comes in.
DON'T BUY A TICKET, THEY HAVE LIED TO YOU FROM DAY 1 AND STILL CONTINUE TO DO SO TODAY. WAKE UP AND SEE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE!!
Facebook post 12/8/2013
By Cetaceans Stunningly Beautiful, Tragically Sad. Help Stop it Now
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Orca Captures for Exhibition Purposes Began in the Northwest in 1965 with Namu
Killer whale captures for exhibition purposes began in the Northwest in 1965.
The second capture in the Northwest was an accidental catch of a 24-foot long, 5-ton male who got snared in a fishing net off Namu, British Columbia. The two fishermen who owned the net decided to sell him alive to the first person who gave them a bid.
Ted Griffin, owner of the Seattle Public Aquarium, had dreamed for many years of befriending a killer whale. Killer whales are the largest of the dolphin family, and he was convinced that such a relationship was possible. When Griffin heard of the captured killer whale, he jumped at the opportunity and bought the whale for 8,000 dollars, the cost of replacing the net. He named the whale Namu, after the town if its capture.
The main problem was how to transport Namu 450 miles from Namu B.C. to Seattle, Washington. He solved this problem by building a 60 foot by 40 foot by 16 foot deep floating pen that could be towed by boat to Seattle. The journey southward started in July 1965. When Namu was being towed southward he emitted various scream-like sounds and on the 4th day of the trip, 30-40 killer whales overtook the floating pen and seemingly tried to help Namu. They repeatedly charged the cage, but warned by their built-in sonar they stopped just short of hitting it. After several hours, most of the killer whales disappeared, all except a female and two calves. These three whales were probably Namu's mother and siblings, and they stayed with Namu for 150 miles.
Namu was an instant success when he arrived on July 28 1965, in Rich Cove, 12 miles west of Seattle WA. Namu's first Sunday at Rich Cove attracted 5,000 people, and by September the number of people who visited Namu exceeded 120,000. They all came to see the 'killer turned tame'.
Griffin wanted to dispel the notion that killer whales are blood thirsty predators whose only desire is to kill. Griffin knew that in order to prove this attitude wrong, he had to meet Namu on his own terms and in his own environment. Griffin decided that to demonstrate the friendliness of Namu, he had to swim with him. When people heard of Griffin's plan to swim with Namu, they told him that 'swimming with a killer whale is like risking death'.
Before attempting the first swim ever with a wild killer whale, Griffin observed Namu's every move, studied his behavior, and noted his moods. Griffin reasoned that fear would not be a cause for aggression, since killer whales have no natural enemies in the wild. Namu should instead regard Griffin with curiosity.
Griffin first entered the water with Namu on August 27 1965, just one month after Namu arrived at Rich Cove. Griffin approached Namu with a short handled brush. Namu did not move, so Griffin scrubbed Namu's head, nose and chin. Later in the day Griffin slid onto Namu's back and from that day on Griffin and Namu became inseparable. Griffin commented on his relationship with Namu:
"It was as if my every conscious wish became the whales command."
Namu and Griffin performed together for 11 months until Namu contracted a bacterial infection which damaged his nervous system. A few days before his death he became unresponsive to people and on June Namu crashed head-on at full speed into the wire mesh of his pen, thrashed violently for a few minutes and then died.
Griffin had become so enthralled by money and fame that despite his experience with Namu's intelligent and friendly nature he still decided to capture more killer whales for oceanariums. In 1965 he began a partnership with Dan Goldsberry to capture even more killer whales.
Namu's story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ_RVLWXmoY
Facebook post 12/5/2013
By Captive Cetaceans Stunningly Beautiful, Tragically Sad. Help Stop it Now
The second capture in the Northwest was an accidental catch of a 24-foot long, 5-ton male who got snared in a fishing net off Namu, British Columbia. The two fishermen who owned the net decided to sell him alive to the first person who gave them a bid.
Ted Griffin, owner of the Seattle Public Aquarium, had dreamed for many years of befriending a killer whale. Killer whales are the largest of the dolphin family, and he was convinced that such a relationship was possible. When Griffin heard of the captured killer whale, he jumped at the opportunity and bought the whale for 8,000 dollars, the cost of replacing the net. He named the whale Namu, after the town if its capture.
The main problem was how to transport Namu 450 miles from Namu B.C. to Seattle, Washington. He solved this problem by building a 60 foot by 40 foot by 16 foot deep floating pen that could be towed by boat to Seattle. The journey southward started in July 1965. When Namu was being towed southward he emitted various scream-like sounds and on the 4th day of the trip, 30-40 killer whales overtook the floating pen and seemingly tried to help Namu. They repeatedly charged the cage, but warned by their built-in sonar they stopped just short of hitting it. After several hours, most of the killer whales disappeared, all except a female and two calves. These three whales were probably Namu's mother and siblings, and they stayed with Namu for 150 miles.
Namu was an instant success when he arrived on July 28 1965, in Rich Cove, 12 miles west of Seattle WA. Namu's first Sunday at Rich Cove attracted 5,000 people, and by September the number of people who visited Namu exceeded 120,000. They all came to see the 'killer turned tame'.
Griffin wanted to dispel the notion that killer whales are blood thirsty predators whose only desire is to kill. Griffin knew that in order to prove this attitude wrong, he had to meet Namu on his own terms and in his own environment. Griffin decided that to demonstrate the friendliness of Namu, he had to swim with him. When people heard of Griffin's plan to swim with Namu, they told him that 'swimming with a killer whale is like risking death'.
Before attempting the first swim ever with a wild killer whale, Griffin observed Namu's every move, studied his behavior, and noted his moods. Griffin reasoned that fear would not be a cause for aggression, since killer whales have no natural enemies in the wild. Namu should instead regard Griffin with curiosity.
Griffin first entered the water with Namu on August 27 1965, just one month after Namu arrived at Rich Cove. Griffin approached Namu with a short handled brush. Namu did not move, so Griffin scrubbed Namu's head, nose and chin. Later in the day Griffin slid onto Namu's back and from that day on Griffin and Namu became inseparable. Griffin commented on his relationship with Namu:
"It was as if my every conscious wish became the whales command."
Namu and Griffin performed together for 11 months until Namu contracted a bacterial infection which damaged his nervous system. A few days before his death he became unresponsive to people and on June Namu crashed head-on at full speed into the wire mesh of his pen, thrashed violently for a few minutes and then died.
Griffin had become so enthralled by money and fame that despite his experience with Namu's intelligent and friendly nature he still decided to capture more killer whales for oceanariums. In 1965 he began a partnership with Dan Goldsberry to capture even more killer whales.
Namu's story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ_RVLWXmoY
Facebook post 12/5/2013
By Captive Cetaceans Stunningly Beautiful, Tragically Sad. Help Stop it Now
The Orca Captivity Business Starts with Moby Doll
The orca captivity business starts.
The 15 foot (4.6m) long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island in British Columbia. A sculptor, Samuel Burich, had been commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium to kill an orca in order to construct a life-sized model for the aquariums' new British Columbia hall. Moby Doll was harpooned and shot at by Burich but did not die and the aquarium director decided to tow the orca back to Vancouver and put him on display.
Moby Doll was shown to the public in a pen at Burrard Drydocks but was listless and did not eat for the first two months in captivity. The whale seemed to be suffering from shock...For a long time, Moby Doll...would not eat. She was offered everything from salmon to horse hearts, but the whale only circled the pool night and day in a counterclockwise pattern." After 55 days in captivity, Moby Doll begins eating--up to 200 pounds of fish a day... but he died a month later.
At the time, it was not known that "resident" killer whales ate only fish, not warm-blooded prey. After his keepers spent nearly two months offering a variety of inappropriate food items for a resident killer whale, someone offered a lingcod. The whale took it, and when offered more ended up eating 50 kg of cod that day.[3] So little was known of killer whales at the time that furthermore, Moby Doll was mistakenly identified as a female. Most sources say that the whale was discovered to be a male only after his death.
They didn't understand them then and they still don't today.
The first killer whale capture was in 1961 by Marineland of the Pacific in California. They captured a sick, disoriented mature female in Newport Harbor, California. Two days after the introduction into ...her tank, she smashed her rostrum head-on into the tanks' wall and died.
Moby Doll was the second orca (killer whale) ever captured and the first to be displayed in a public aquarium exhibit.
Moby Doll was the second orca (killer whale) ever captured and the first to be displayed in a public aquarium exhibit.
The 15 foot (4.6m) long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island in British Columbia. A sculptor, Samuel Burich, had been commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium to kill an orca in order to construct a life-sized model for the aquariums' new British Columbia hall. Moby Doll was harpooned and shot at by Burich but did not die and the aquarium director decided to tow the orca back to Vancouver and put him on display.
Moby Doll was shown to the public in a pen at Burrard Drydocks but was listless and did not eat for the first two months in captivity. The whale seemed to be suffering from shock...For a long time, Moby Doll...would not eat. She was offered everything from salmon to horse hearts, but the whale only circled the pool night and day in a counterclockwise pattern." After 55 days in captivity, Moby Doll begins eating--up to 200 pounds of fish a day... but he died a month later.
At the time, it was not known that "resident" killer whales ate only fish, not warm-blooded prey. After his keepers spent nearly two months offering a variety of inappropriate food items for a resident killer whale, someone offered a lingcod. The whale took it, and when offered more ended up eating 50 kg of cod that day.[3] So little was known of killer whales at the time that furthermore, Moby Doll was mistakenly identified as a female. Most sources say that the whale was discovered to be a male only after his death.
They didn't understand them then and they still don't today.
Facebook post 12-5-13 with photo of Moby Doll
By Captive Cetaceans Stunningly Beautiful, Tragically Sad. Help Stop it Now
By Captive Cetaceans Stunningly Beautiful, Tragically Sad. Help Stop it Now
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