I find it curious that people refuse to believe that dolphins and orcas are every bit as smart as we are. The evidence is substantial, from dolphins intentionally guiding ships to sociopathicallly raping human swimmers.

(September 14, 2015 at 3:28 pm)MTL Wrote:

(September 14, 2015 at 2:05 pm)Salacious B. Crumb Wrote: It seriously broke my heart watching that one orca crying out for one of its family members that was taken away. It's sad that people don't even realize that humans aren't the only ones that can feel these intense emotions, they think god planted it into our minds only.

I know.  Orcas have a proportionally-larger limbic system in their brain than humans do.

There is even one school of thought that when an entire pod of Cetaceans beach themselves,
ONE of many possible reasons is that if one is suicidal,
they are capable of such social sympathy that the entire pod can be "infected" with the suicidal tendency.

Sobering thought, indeed...but it certainly throws cold water (so to speak) on the people who foolishly opine that animals are not capable of social emotions the way humans are.

If anything, they may be more empathetic than we are.

I don't think the prohibition against anthropomorphizing is as strong these days.  Occam's razor clearly cuts away from attributing a mode of  cognition and emotion entirely different than what humans experience to every other mammal.

(September 14, 2015 at 2:10 pm)Little lunch Wrote: I had no idea.
All I can do is spread the news.
Thanks for the info.

Now you know.  But imagine how many others, like you, have no idea!!

Please do!  Spread the news!!!

Tell people to watch BLACKFISH and THE COVE.

Thank you again for reading and responding!!

here's a few I've found with a cursory search;

I cannot vouch for these, I don't know enough about them,
but it's a jumping-off point:

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsand...servation/

http://worldcetaceanalliance.org/ending-...captivity/

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/

To help raise awareness, my daughter made her derby car into an Orca last year, and we named it Blackfish.  I was astounded how much attention it got.  EVERY little girl in that auditorium was cheering for the Blackfish.

Many of the other Girl Scout troops have since gotten very involved in a local "save the whales" movement, and I'm proud to be even a tiny part of that.



Here it is, pictures we took as it was a work in progress.  I have pictures of it finished around here somewhere.

(September 14, 2015 at 6:21 pm)Aroura Wrote: To help raise awareness, my daughter made her derby car into an Orca last year, and we named it Blackfish.  I was astounded how much attention it got.  EVERY little girl in that auditorium was cheering for the Blackfish.

Many of the other Girl Scout troops have since gotten very involved in a local "save the whales" movement, and I'm proud to be even a tiny part of that.



Here it is, pictures we took as it was a work in progress.  I have pictures of it finished around here somewhere.

That is so great!

Not just that she chose that theme and that name,
which was a stroke of genius,

but I'm also glad to hear how much it caught on with everyone.

I wanted to say, I am very into the Blackfish and anti-seaworld/anti-zoo movements currently. It's the dolphins in Japan I have no idea what to do anything about. They are so far away from us. In the case of Orca's they live very close to us (in the wild), and Seaworld in Cali isn't too far away either, so it was easier to get involved in raising awareness about that.

The slaughter of the dolphins is something I feel completely powerless about, and so it is just that much more disturbing. I do hope it gets more and more attention. World peer pressure is one way we can get Japan to stop, I suppose.

(September 14, 2015 at 6:25 pm)Aroura Wrote: I wanted to say, I am very into the Blackfish and anti-seaworld/anti-zoo movements currently.  It's the dolphins in Japan I have no idea what to do anything about.  They are so far away from us. In the case of Orca's they live very close to us (in the wild), and Seaworld in Cali isn't too far away either, so it was easier to get involved in raising awareness about that.

The slaughter of the dolphins is something I feel completely powerless about, and so it is just that much more disturbing.  I do hope it gets more and more attention.  World peer pressure is one way we can get Japan to stop, I suppose.

what you'll learn if you watch "The Cove" is that the capture in Taiji isn't just about slaughter.

In fact, the slaughter is secondary.

They are really after finding dolphins that will train up nicely as PERFORMERS.

a good performing dolphin sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They just slaughter the rest rather than not profit by them.

And they are indiscriminate and brutal about it.

I swear, if there is a Heaven out there, it is full of Animals.

It's Hell that is full of humans.

I watched the cove. I let my daughter watch Blacfish, but not the cove, it is too gruesome for a child.

I am pretty sure the cove made it clear that the capture was actually secondary now, while killing the dolphins as pests (they compete for the same food supply as the people there) is now the main driving reason? I could be wrong. I should watch it again, if I can even handle it. Seriously, possibly the most disturbing REAL thing I've ever seen.

I think the Japanese would still slaughter the dolphins even if they could no longer sell a few for shows, because of how they view them as pests in competition for one of their main food sources. And many disreputable people in Japan still sell and eat the dolphin meat, even though it is known to be toxic with mercury.

The show trade may have pushed them further, but it is not the only driving force, nor even the largest one any more, from what I understand.
It's hard, because the Japanese cover it all up, to know all the why's, but I think it is more complex than just harvesting show animals.

(September 14, 2015 at 6:43 pm)Aroura Wrote: I watched the cove. I let my daughter watch Blacfish, but not the cove, it is too gruesome for a child.

I am pretty sure the cove made it clear that the capture was actually secondary now, while killing the dolphins as pests (they compete for the same food supply as the people there) is now the main driving reason? I could be wrong. I should watch it again, if I can even handle it. Seriously, possibly the most disturbing REAL thing I've ever seen.

I think the Japanese would still slaughter the dolphins even if they could no longer sell a few for shows, because of how they view them as pests in competition for one of their main food sources. And many disreputable people in Japan still sell and eat the dolphin meat, even though it is known to be toxic with mercury.

The show trade may have pushed them further, but it is not the only driving force, nor even the largest one any more, from what I understand.
It's hard, because the Japanese cover it all up, to know all the why's, but I think it is more complex than just harvesting show animals.

Perhaps you're right.  I haven't watched it in years; once was enough for me.

As to their claims that the dolphins compete for food, that's all in my eye.

The real problem preying on the fish is human overfishing and JELLYFISH.

That's another issue I could post about, by itself.  Maybe I will.

but it might sound too much like fear-mongering.

unfortunately it's true.


here's a link, if you're interested....and not already depressed enough, by the dolphin thing:

http://qz.com/133251/jellyfish-are-takin...stop-them/