A few weeks ago, I was excited about visiting the New York Times travel show. Worlds Of Discovery (SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, etc.) had invited me to be their guest at the show. While there, I would be attending a meet-and-greet along with their animals. Although I’m a bit skittish when it comes to strange animals, I was excited about the prospect of being able to see and touch some of the animals up close – especially the baby kangaroo.
I’m certain that by this point everyone has heard about the tragedy that occurred at Sea World a couple of weeks ago. In brief, a trainer was killed by one of the killer whales. Reactions were quick and varied. Honestly, it put a damper on my enthusiasm regarding meeting with the Sea World reps. I’m not good at “elephant in the middle of the room” situations, so I knew that I would feel compelled to address the issue. “Great! There goes my fun, carefree hour with the animals,” I thought. Oh, well…
The Sea World event at the Travel show was actually really interesting. I like animals, but I’m a little wary of them. The baby kangaroo was my favorite – he was especially cute and cuddly. It was also fun to see the other animals (kookaburra, penguins, bearded dragon and blue tongued skink, etc.) up close. The only creature that I would not get close to was a huge snake that I almost bumped into (yikes!).
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After meeting all of the visiting animals and talking with some of the trainers, I sat down with Julie Scardina, SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Ambassador. I had given my condolences regarding the week’s incident and mentioned some of the reactions (positive and negative) that I had read. I asked if Sea World had a response to some of the criticisms.
Basically, she shared the history and benefits of places like Sea World. These are the five points that stood out from my conversation with her:
1. Before places such as Sea World existed, these animals were being shot and killed out in the wild for sport. People (for the most part) did not care about that, because they didn’t know about it.
2. Once oceanariums raised awareness of various animals people started to care…a lot. Then, there becomes a catch-22. After learning about and seeing the value of ocean life, some people now care so much that they don’t want the animals shown in any type of captivity.
3. There have been several studies saying that children are experiencing “nature deficit disorder”. In other words, they are losing touch with the natural world. Institutions – such as zoos, aquariums, oceanariums, etc. help the bridge that gap. It helps them to know and care about the environment that they live in. Unless people have a chance to see and care about the animals, there is no awareness. Several animals have been saved from extinction, simply because people learned to dare.
4. When asked should the whale be released to its natural environment, Ms. Scardina was doubtful. She said that reintroduction for animals (especially predators) for the most part has not worked. She mentioned Keiko (of “Free Willy” fame). Millions of dollars and several years were spent in the effort to reintroduce him to a natural habitat. Ultimately, the project was not successful and Keiko ended up dying a couple of years after his freedom. It didn’t wok.
5. Sea World breeds the vast majority of their animals. Most were either born at a park or exchanged from other parks. They are born into and know their situation. Even Tilikum the whale that killed the trainer, has been in captivity 28 of his 30 years. In her opinion it would be virtually impossible for him to have a successful re-entry into his natural habitat.
Granted, Ms. Scardina works for Sea World, so of course there is a positive spin. However some of the things that she said made sense. Would I know to care about the plight of killer whales (and many other animals) if it were not for zoos, aquariums, oceanariums and such? Probably not. Would my city kids get a chance to stand in awe of the variety of animals if not for the very same institutions? Definitely not. I am not saying that Sea World is right or wrong for keeping their animals captive. Honestly, this is one of those areas that I don’t have a strong opinion. I like animals. I don’t want them to be abused and mistreated. If I had strong evidence that a company was doing that, I would not support them. I didn’t get the sense that Sea World is mistreating their animals. Of course I could be wrong. I only spent an hour seeing the trainer/animal interaction at the travel show. However, it seemed as if the trainers truly cared for the animals and it appeared that the affection was mutual by the way that the animals snuggled with/clung to their respective trainers. Whether it is right or wrong to keep wild animals captive, I’ll leave for each individual to decide for themselves. Personally, zoos, aquariums and such are one of the first things that I look for when I’m visiting somewhere with my family.
I have had several conversations with a variety of friends about this topic since visiting the show. We all have different opinions. One of my friends said, “Tilikum has been involved in the death of 3 different people. He would be just fine if he was released back into the ocean!” Maybe. Several of my friends have said that keeping wild animals captive is just wrong. I don’t agree, but I can see how they draw that conclusion. Ultimately, everyone is free to have their own thoughts. Variety is the spice of life. As such, below are a few links that I found interesting regarding the topic:
– OSHA warned whale would kill (CNN video)
– Sea World And Killer Whales (Jessica Gottlieb)
– The case for captive animals (Anderson Cooper 360 blog)
And
–Where captives put on a show (Los Angeles Times)
On a total side note, have you ever heard a kookaburra make noise? Although they are from Australia, it sounds like something out of a Tarzan jungle movie! Listen…
What do you think about animals in captivity? Have you visited zoos, aquariums, oceanariums and such with your kids? Would you?
Thanks to Worlds of Discovery for my pass to the travel show and parting gifts. My husband loves the dolphin shaped pencil!
