Sinking rocks

Another strong connection between animals and a facet of human society is the connection between animals and literature. Animals have played a big part in the world of books, graphic novels, and comic books, fictional or non-fictional. From superheroes using animal names in their title to stories revolving entirely around an animal and its interactions and reactions. Some stories consist of animal characters entirely without using a single line of dialogue or speech bubbles, some anthropomorphize the animal characters and have them essentially act like human brains in animal bodies.  Some books are just simply about animals and some various facts about said animals.

The portrayals are wildly different across the massive spectrum of story genres and story themes and it is fascinating as to how animals are portrayed in these settings, genres and themes. Looking at the survival genre, animals are usually portrayed as an obstacle or as an enemy to the main character or characters. However, some survival stories feature an animal as a companion to the main character or characters. Some survival stories feature an animal as the protagonist itself! 

An equally inseparable pair is animals and the massive field of science. Entire sections of science are all about animals and animals alone such as the field of biology, animal science, genetics, zoology, animal behavior, veterinary medicine, dairy science, equine science, poultry science, marine biology, agricultural science, and much more. Animals in these fields of science are one of a few things. They can be the focus of the field by being observed in captivity or observed out in the open wilderness from afar. They can be the simple subject of study and discussion where everything revolves around their existence. They can also be the subjects of testing and analysis of the field, where they are tested and experimented on in various ways and in various methods. 

This last example is a source of controversy and heavy debate as animals have been the subjects of extensive research, especially in the medical and cosmetic fields. Testing in the fields have been revealed to be very painful and lethal to the animals being subjected to testing. It has led to much debate and further discussion as laws and regulations fell into place regarding animals being used in scientific discussion. 

Animals and agriculture are almost inseparable from each other. It’s hard to not think of agriculture without farm animals coming up right after. Animals in agriculture are just an inseparable part of life, and are totally inescapable, no matter how hard you try.

How inescapable? Animals have been a part of agriculture ever since the World’s first city was founded. From cattle and sheep being kept in stables for milk, meat, wool, bones, leather, and other materials for either self-use or for trading. Cattle and bulls were also kept to help till our fields so we could set up massive crops to grow food for ourselves and for trade with other human beings. As time went on, our technology improved, we found more lands to set up farms on, we got better farming equipment, and we improved our methods of farming, increasing our yields greatly. 

Unfortunately, these advancements have led to the rather divisive subject of animals in today’s agricultural practices. One major debacle being the advent of factory farming, where animals are confined to spaces that are just big enough for them to turn their heads and for them to sit down. 

There have been many attempts to mitigate or even eliminate this issue completely. Various laws have been passed in effort to improve the living conditions of farm animals. Others have tried to straight up eliminate farm animals by eliminating the consumption of meat altogether. While they have made some impact on helping farm animals, they haven’t really done much at all. However, a recent development has the potential to change all of this and even outright make some of those laws void. This recent development is the successful creation of meat from cultured cells. This development could potentially void the need for farm animals and possibly end the connection between agriculture and animals for good. It has the potential to taste exactly the same as real meat produced by farms and be produced in the exact same quantities. 

https://certifiedhumane.org/niman-ranch-wins-people-magazine-food-award/

We all love pets. We love our furry or scaly companions that keep us company and help our homes feel less empty. They provide us with a source of comfort, a source of joy, a source of purpose, a source of fun, and many other things. They come to us when we’re sick, they greet us in the morning, they greet us after work, they come to us when we’re upset, and they do many more things that we like. We also do the same for them in return, tending to them when they’re sick, comforting them, coming to them when they’re upset, greeting them in the morning and after work. It’s more often than not that the connection or relationship we have with our pets is mutual. 

Then we have sheltering, where many animals go to be fixed up and set up to be adopted by someone. It’s where we take a ton of animal care and “fostering” for a ton of animals. In a way, we become a temporary companion to them. 

Wildlife is an inescapable aspect of our lives. We witness it in our zoos, in our aquariums, in our backyards, and on our camping trips if Lady Luck frowns upon us. It’s just simply an unavoidable part of life no matter what profession you have. Wildlife is inescapable because of how important all of it is to our World and to our daily lives as well. 

Unfortunately, Wildlife has also begun to suffer greatly as well. As our technology has improved and expanded the past years, it has led to species going extinct or getting close to falling into extinction. 

A notable example of this is Northern Bald Ibis. A bird I recently did a presentation on for my class and a bird that is in great danger of going extinct. It’s a species of ibis that doesn’t go wetlands like most other ibis birds and instead goes to drier environments and lives among cliffs instead of trees unlike most ibis birds. It became a cultural icon in some of the areas it migrates and lives in, one of those areas being Turkey. However, as time went on, its numbers began to decline as it began to fade human culture and was just seen as a run of the mill bird again. 

Zoos and aquariums have been around for a very long time. We see them in just about every other city or town we visit or live in. They contain a variety of animals and plants that would normally never be seen in person by most of us. They allow us to get a closer look at animals that live hundreds of miles away from our backyards and homes. They are a true novelty that can be experienced alone, with some friends, with some family, or with a big group. It is both an entertaining and educational experience for all ages.

However, they have had some troubles in the past. As stated in one of my previous posts, documentaries like Blackfish and other books have caused zoos and aquariums great trouble in the past. While Blackfish never actually said anything about other zoos in the film, it created a negative stigma around aquariums and zoos for quite a while. This was exacerbated by big celebrities at the time denouncing SeaWorld and companies cutting ties and sponsorships with SeaWorld. This in turn caused park attendance for SeaWorld and other aquariums and zoos to go down. While it wasn’t as drastic as SeaWorld's profit declines, it still put a hurting on them. Aquariums and zoos are facing a new financial problem recently. The COVID 19 pandemic. It has greatly reduced park attendance across the World’s aquariums and zoos, reducing their profits and reducing their capabilities to properly take care of the animals there. 

Below is a general list of observations on Mark the Shark by looking at his Facebook page, and his personal website. (Instagram was not included as I did not have a Instagram account and I decided making one was not needed for these observations as the limited info I got from Instagram told me virtually nothing)

Looking at Facebook, he kills one shark almost daily and performs a jaw cleaning on it. 

Facebook reviews note that he has filmed the floating dead bodies of a dog and a cat.

Reviews seem to come from audience that he is not appealing to

Many note that he is being cruel to animals or performing illegal action, while technically true he catches one shark in international waters where law does not apply.

Though the species he hunts are endangered, he catches one shark or fish almost daily and never catches more.

Upon reviewing both Facebook and personal website, Mark the Shark appeals to a certain audience with a very macho approach. 

Mark the Shark seems to have little perspective on sharks or any of the animals he comes across as a whole. While not demonizing or insulting them, he has very little compassion or little respect for animals too as noted in the dead dog/cat video. This is especially true for sharks as he kills and cleans out their jaws frequently. 

Though not expressed on social media pages, a disclaimer on his website throws shade at PETA, indicating that he most likely does not think highly of those that would most likely give him trouble or harass him. This is reinforced by the fact that on his personal website he has a warning label that more or less prides his standing in being politically incorrect.

Overall, his demeanor and portrayal almost resembles someone trolling or intentionally sparking negativity from other people directly to him. 

For those of you familiar with both of these names, I think it’s safe to say to those that aren’t familiar with these names that they mix together poorly like a box of nitroglycerine and an earthquake.

Blackfish is unarguably one of this century’s most influential documentaries. It had greatly impacted Seaworld as a whole and had severely changed people’s perceptions on not just Seaworld, but also other aquariums and even zoos. It has led to people being more critical of Seaworld and a massive hit to Seaworld’s stock price. Aquariums and zoos also felt the indirect shock of the documentary as their numbers dropped as well. 

Several days ago, I visited Seaworld on a class trip after watching Blackfish a couple days before. I had observed several shows, did some interviewing with a few educators and staff, and listened to what people were saying and asking about the animals on exhibit. I spent a total of about 8 hours in the park, visiting each exhibit that was open that day. At the end of the day, I had come to one conclusion on three things: Seaworld being educational or entertaining, the staying power of Blackfish, and how applicable Blackfish is to current Seaworld. That conclusion being that Seaworld has a bigger focus on entertainment than education, that Blackfish has lost its luster on the current public, and that Blackfish is hardly applicable to modern Seaworld.

Seaworld is more entertainment than education for a few reasons. One reason that supports this was some of the exhibits some of the animals were kept in. Some of the exhibits were more themed around a certain region or occurrence than their actual habitats. Another is that most of the information presented about the animals was very basic info on them with nothing exactly deep or of substance about them. 

During my visit to Seaworld, I couldn’t help but feel that the impact and message that Blackfish had more or less worn off on the public. I didn’t expect to see anyone voicing their dismay at Seaworld in person, but I also didn’t expect the park to be moderately packed during the still on-going pandemic situation.