Various Whalings

 But if you ask people who think about things, the answer is vague. Killing a hibernating bear would just feel… impolite? You can’t fucking shoot a man when he’s sleeping, that’s just fucking rude. It’s just not the right thing to do.

 Long before hunting laws were established in Finland, you couldn’t kill a sleeping bear, and what commands you is something older than law: tradition. Even at a time when hunting was a matter of life and death, and a bear fighting for its life is mainly a matter of death, you just didn’t kill a hibernating bear, you have to wake it up first. Hunters risked their lives, the lives of their brothers and everyone in the hunting party, who were friends, family and men that they loved, to give the bear a fighting chance.

 In the modern time, the hunting season of bears is in the summer, for the warmest summer months. There are many reasons for why they are allowed to tread safely in autumn and to sleep in peace through the cold months, almost all of which are rational and scientific, and do not touch the old traditions.

 Old faith says a living thing has many souls - henki, luonto, itse. Plants only have one - the one that wills them to grow. Animals have two, both the spark of life and nature that enables them to act. A human being also has the third, one that makes them a person, personality, itse, literally “self”. But the soul that travels in your dreams is not the soul that defines a human - animals have that one as well. When your dog runs in her sleep, her soul is elsewhere, where a dog is needed.

Thoughts & Prayers

Pro-caps are trying to discredit these photos of dolphin pox by saying the pox in wild dolphins do not look like this. However, the one photo they used to compare this was literally the second result on google images and of course it looks absolutely nothing like the photos of those at SeaWorld/The Mirage.

Someone even went as far as telling me my photos are fake because she didn’t “see anything like this” during her “one week” trip to SeaWorld. I showed her a picture of the SeaWorld trainer with a whistle interacting with the pox-infected dolphin, yet she says this proof won’t change her mind.

I’m sorry some people are so stubborn when they’re slapped with the truth, but here’s the very scientific study I linked in my original article—which I doubt they even took the liberty of viewing:

“Poxvirus has been identified morphologically from skin lesions in captive and free-ranging bottlenosed dolphins, Tursiops truncatus and a stranded Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus. The lesions, commonly referred to as ring or pinhole lesions, appear as solitary or COALESCED CIRCULAR GREY BLEMISHES. Advanced ring lesions may take the form of black punctiform stippled patterns known as ‘tattoo’. Histologically, the stratum externum is thickened, and there is ballooning degeneration and eosinophilic intractyoplasmic inclusions in the stratum intermedium. These includions contain virus particles which exhibit typical poxvirus morphology. Stress, environmental conditions and general health appear to play a major role in the clinical manifestation of dolphin pox.” – “Dolphin pox: a skin disease of cetaceans” (J R Geraci, B D Hicks, and D J St Aubin; 1979)

So, dolphin pox can take multiple forms. They don’t always look the same.

The argument shouldn’t be “the dolphins in the wild have pox worse than those in captivity” because the point is, captive dolphins have access to “superior medical care” and are supposedly “healthy and happy,” yet they still have pox! If you love these animals as much as you claim, don’t overlook the skin abnormalities. Ask SeaWorld how they’re helping to heal the skin condition and how keeping cetaceans captive will help us heal the wild populations affected by pox.

Keto’s skin problems. (x)

Figure 26a. Keto on the ‘slide out’ during a show on 20 April 2016. This photograph includes part of his collapsed dorsal fin to facilitate correct identification. 

Figure 26b shows a close up under his dorsal fin. Figure 26b. Keto, a close up of the area under the dorsal fin, showing rough and sloughing skin. 

Figure 27a. Keto, whilst swimming (head to left of frame), showing the area under the dorsal fin, with rough and sloughing skin indicative of skin issues in cetaceans. (See Figure 27b for comparison). 

Figure 27b. Keto, whilst swimming. Photograph taken nine seconds after Figure 27a, to show that the rough and sloughing skin is not just a manifestation of reflections or other light properties. 

Since that transfer his dorsal fin, like that of all adult male orca in captivity has collapsed completely. With that collapse have come signs of skin issues such as excessive sloughing in the area slightly anterior to and under the dorsal fin (Figure 26a-d). Such build-up of sloughing skin is apparently a result of poor hydrodynamics due to the collapse of the fin. Typically, a state of selfcleaning of the skin in cetaceans is facilitated by the epidermal surface of the skin including intercellular gel formation and water flow (Baum et al. 2003) but this is apparently interrupted by the subsidence of the fin.

Figure 28a. Keto on the ‘slide out’ during a show on 20 April 2016. This photograph includes his collapsed to facilitate identification. His left saddle patch area shows extensive ‘pock-marking’ (see Figure 28b). 

Figure 28b. Keto, a close up of the saddle patch area showing ‘pock-marked’ skin. See text for discussion. 

Keto also exhibits ‘pock marks’ of unknown origin which are clearly visible on the paler pigmentation of his saddle patch (Figure 28a-b).

Figure 29a. Keto, tail flukes and caudal peduncle out of the water. This photograph includes part of his curled flukes and under tail pigmentation to facilitate correct identification. 

On the 22 April 2016 he also had two patches of skin anomalies on his right caudal peduncle (between the flank patch and the fluke inserts) that aetiology of these injuries is unknown and they may be from a skin disease or from rubbing against a hard surface (Figure 29a-b). They appear to be comprised of lesions in various stages of either recovery or development as some parts appear paler in discolouration than others and in at least one instance one of the paler patches appears to be developing over the top of the darker coloured area Figure 29b).

Figure 29b shows a close up of the area on the caudal peduncle that shows skin issues. 

Figure 29b. Keto, a close up of the area between the flank patch (white) and the tail fluke inserts, showing rough and sloughing skin indicative of skin issues in cetaceans. 

Figure 30a. Keto on the ‘slide out’ during a show on 20 April 2016. This photograph includes the unique ‘eye patch’ to facilitate correct identification and his collapsed dorsal fin can be seen at the top right. 

Figure 30b. Keto, a close up of the lateral thorax area (above the pectoral fin insert) showing ‘wrinkled’ skin. See text for discussion. 

Figure 30c. Keto on the ‘slide out’ during a show a day later (i.e., on 21 April 2016). This photograph includes the unique ‘eye patch’ and his collapsed dorsal fin to facilitate correct identification. Note that he is more parallel to the water (i.e., orientated differently from his position in Figure 30a-b). 

Figure 30d. Keto, a close up of the lateral thorax area (above the pectoral fin insert) showing ‘wrinkled’ skin from a different angle, albeit less than visible in Figure 30b. See text for discussion.

This led to a debate on gun control and in 1997 2 firearms amendment acts were passed making it illegal to own a handgun for personal use in the United Kingdom.  We have had no shooting on a similar scale to this since.

6 weeks later in Australia was the massacre in Port Arthur when 35 people were killed and 23 wounded, which led to the imposing strict gun control. There have been no shootings on a similar scale to this since, either.

A very interesting article and very detailed about Alexis Martinez death. Here’s an outline of what most-likely happened during the fatal training session.

As noted, SeaWorld and Loro Parque declined to make anyone with direct knowledge of the incident available for comment. But marine parks investigate and create formal reports after serious incidents, and there is a confidential corporate-incident report, dated December 30, 2009, that tells the story of Martínez’s death. I learned the details contained in it, but when I asked SeaWorld’s Fred Jacobs and Loro Parque’s Patricia Delponti for comment, they declined to offer any, citing the OSHA litigation, and added that they would no longer be communicating with me or Outside about the story. (Jacobs also stated that there were errors in my reporting but declined to specify them or offer any corrections.) What follows, as a result, is based on the details of the corporate-incident report.

According to the report, which was written in Spanish, Keto “appeared in a good mood” that day and had behaved well during routine animal care and a swim session with Skyla. However, the report notes that Keto often showed more interest in what was going on with the other whales than in working alone in the show pool. It also alludes to a September 2, 2009, incident—presumably the same incident with Rokeach that Martínez mentioned in his journal—and says Keto was emitting vocals during a perimeter ride and then left “control” and took off, swimming fast around the pool and bowing (porpoising in an agitated manner) after the trainer who’d been riding him had hopped off.

During the fatal session, Rokeach worked from the show pool’s main stage, Martínez joined Keto in the water, and the other Loro Parque trainers were at different locations around the pool. According to the report, Keto started off well, but then Martínez tried a behavior called a stand-on spy hop, in which he stood on Keto’s rostrum as Keto drove his body vertically up and out of the water. Keto had good power but was leaning slightly as he rose from the surface, and Martínez fell off. Because the stunt had not been executed cleanly, Keto was not bridged.

A short time later, Martínez initiated another spy hop. Again, Keto came up twisting, and this time Martínez responded with an LRS. To help get Keto back on track, he was called to a shallow ledge across the pool from the main stage, and when he obeyed another trainer rewarded him with two handfuls of fish. Keto, according to the report, seemed calm. Martínez then told Rokeach and the others that he was going to ride Keto down into the pool and up onto the stage, a sequence called a haul-down into stage haul-out.

On the way down Keto went too deep, and as he approached the bottom of the 12-meter pool Martínez abandoned the haul-out and asked Keto to follow his hand with his rostrum. Together they drifted up to the surface, and again Martínez responded to Keto’s failure with an LRS.

This time, though, Keto responded oddly. According to the incident report, “Keto surfaced with Alexis and seemed calm, but appeared to position himself between Alexis and the stage. Alexis waited for calm from Keto and requested a stage call via underwater tone.” Keto responded and swam over to Rokeach, who was standing on the stage. But Rokeach observed that Keto appeared “not committed to remaining under control” and a little “big-eyed.” Instead of walking back to get a fish bucket, Rokeach asked another trainer to bring it to him. Like Martínez, Rokeach gave Keto a hand target to focus him, one of the simplest and first behaviors most marine-park killer whales learn. When Rokeach felt Keto was under better control, he asked Martínez, who had been waiting patiently near the center of the pool, to swim slowly toward the slide-over (a ramp connecting the show pool to the back pools) at the edge of the main stage so he could get out of the water. Notably, the incident report makes no mention of Rokeach feeding Keto any fish.

As Martínez started to paddle gently through the water, the report indicates, Keto took note and started to lean in his direction. Sensing he was about to lose control, Rokeach gave Keto another hand target. This time Keto ignored it. He went after Martínez, driving him to the bottom of the pool with his nose. (In his testimony to Canary Islands’ investigators, Orca Ocean assistant supervisor Rafael Sanchez said, “The animal in question moved towards him and hit him and violently played with his body.”)

Rokeach and the other trainers did what they could, but a powerful 6,600-pound killer whale is the master of his domain. Rokeach slapped the water and banged the bucket on the stage, both signals for Keto to return. He slapped the water again, and this time Keto responded, leaving Martínez at the bottom of the pool—Martínez had been under an estimated 30 seconds by then—and surfacing without him. Rokeach sounded the emergency alarm. Keto took a quick breath, returned to Martínez, and then came back to the surface carrying Martínez’ limp body across his rostrum. Rokeach called for the team to get a net in the water while others raced to corral the other three killer whales into one of the back pools. It took almost two minutes to get Keto out of the show pool and secure the gate between the pools (Keto slowed the process by about a minute by interfering with the gate as trainers tried to close it).

By this point, Martínez—apart from the brief moment Keto brought him to the surface—had been on the bottom of the pool for almost 3 minutes. Rokeach and another trainer dove in and resurfaced with Martínez, who was unconscious and had blood coming from his nose and mouth. A distraught Rokeach immediately initiated CPR. A defibrillator was brought out, and Loro Parque called for an ambulance. But Martínez was never revived.

Loro Parque issued a statement saying Martínez’s death was an “unfortunate accident” and that he had likely died due to asphyxiation resulting from compression of his chest. “After completing the [exercise],” the statement said, “Alexis was knocked by the orca in an unexpected reaction of the animal,” adding that “the study of the facts shows that the animal’s behavior did not correspond to the way in which these marine mammals attack their prey in the wild, but was rather a shifting of position.”

But as with Dawn Brancheau, the autopsy report on Martínez was telling and states bluntly that his was a “violent death.” It describes multiple cuts and bruises, the collapse of both lungs, fractures of the ribs and sternum, a lacerated liver, severely damaged vital organs, and puncture marks “consistent with the teeth of an orca.” It concludes that the immediate cause of death was fluid in the lungs (i.e., drowning) but that the fundamental cause was “mechanical asphyxiation due to compression and crushing of the thoracic abdomen with injuries to the vital organs.”

That’s Louis Rossman, a repair technician and YouTuber, who went viral recently for railing against Apple. Apple purposely charges a lot for repairs and you either have to pay up or buy a new device. That’s because Apple withholds necessary tools and information from outside repair shops. And to think, we were just so close to change.

Finally news from National Aquarium!!

When they break ground to actually start building it, I’ll be happy.