Wildlife and Tourism

Wild VS Captive

Evidence of human interest and interaction with wildlife can be traced back to prehistoric times through stories told in petroglyphs, when animals were fellow travelers and sources of food for survival rather than captive exhibitionists or laboratory specimens. The documentary film, “The Cove,” should inspire us to ask the question, are the economic advantages worth the consequences imposed on the wildlife we abuse, hold hostage and senselessly kill every year? Not to mention the carbon foot print sea life amusement parks have on the environment.
I would have to admit, many years ago I took my kids to Sea World, zoos and dolphin encounters, thinking I was giving them an interactive animal adventure they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience. However, in recent years I have had the privilege of experiencing dolphins and whales in the wild. Last year on a very special sailing trip with dolphins (photos of those dolphins in this blog were taken by my son Ryan). The dolphins swam next to us, as if escorts, as we made out way from the coastline to the open waters at the beginning of a 1900 mile trip from NC to the Virgin Islands. It is a sailors belief that their presence is a sign of good luck and I can not really find the words to describe how their presence made me feel. At the very bottom of this blog, there is a photo of a whale that we encountered years earlier, that swam next to our sailboat for 2 hours, breaching and gently interacting with the silent hauls of the boat. These experiences offered me to a far greater, soul touching encounter that could not have happened in a captive setting.
In regards to zoos and captive animal entertainment, I realize that states like Florida and California rely heavily on the revenues and the jobs generated by these facilities. However, if you are trying to convenience yourself that they encourage some bonding experiences, research has shown that encounters with wildlife in captivity are not as affective in generating bonds with animals as those in the wild.
I am sure that zoos and places like Sea World do have their advantages and are not going to disappear. I would like to recommend that there are some better alternatives for viewing and observing animals in the wild, such as nature excursions with guides out in the field and sailing trips in waters where dolphins and whales live. We don’t need to touch them to feel their presence, they are wild after all and have been known to exhibit their wild and unpredictable nature even in captivity. If you have not already, I would encourage you watch "The Cove." It was nominated for an Academy Award this year.

In the News this Week! Tragedy struck at Sea World in Orlando 2/24/10. Trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, died when she reportedly slipped into the tank and was attacked by the killer whale named Tilikum. The whale in question is claimed responsible for two previous deaths - a previous trainer in 1991 and trespasser in 1999.


Thoughts and Facts to Ponder Before Your Next Visit to a Zoo or Theme Park

FACTS: Mammals in Captivity From the American Humane Society- www.husus.org

* 300,000 dolphins, whales and porpoises die every year as unintentional victims of fishermen's nets, and some end up in captivity for our amusement parks.

* Life for captive whales and dolphins is nothing like a life in the sea. It is almost impossible to maintain a family group in captivity. Tanks only allow a few strokes in any direction before coming to a wall. Because tanks are shallow, the natural tendencies of whales and dolphins are reversed—they spend more than half their time at the tank's surface.

* Captivity violently disrupts social groups, splits up families, and snatches individual animals from the water; it is a completely unnatural event. Capture stress can be very severe and even fatal.

* At first look, a whale or dolphin show may seem exciting, even for the animals. But when you look past the show to the high mortality rates and stress-related causes of death in captive whales and dolphins, the effects of captivity suggest a far harsher reality. The public display of whales and dolphins in marine parks and aquaria is waning in Europe and Canada, but it is still prevalent in the United States and is increasing in developing countries, particularly those in Asia.

* The U.S. government allows the capture of wild marine mammals for public display, justifying this exemption from the Marine Mammal Protection Act's prohibition of exploitation and harassment by contending that public display serves educational and conservation purposes. However, experience has proven that public display does not effectively educate the public and that profit is the main motive for conducting traumatic and stressful captures. For a marine mammal, tanks are prisons. The monotonous, confined life of animals in captivity is a mere shadow of what life was like for them in the wild.


Remember this movie?? "Free Willy"
When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale. Made in 1993, I watched it today, the theme rings true with the information given in the facts above. Watch it sometime as a reminder of the negative effects imposed on wild life and in this case the bond that was formed between a young boy who had an unique interaction with a whale.

I leave you this week with this quotation:
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace". Author unknown