Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 A lot of insanity here ... glad to see ... for a while I thought it was gone.
Originally Posted By dizkid Just a little bit of info, the Orca is not actually a whale, it is the largest member of the dolphin family. People referring to them as "whales" is just one thing that sort of annoys me. On another note... >>isn't time to put it down.<< >>I think it may be time to euthanize this particular animal.<< and >><<Sea World isn't going to put down this whale.>> Of course not. It's worth too much to them.<< Just to clear things up, orcas cannot be euthanized due to the fact that they are endangered species. And the idea that they are not because of money is a little off, because he was no longer valuable as a breeder since he is advanced and age, and he would have likely no longer breed because Sea World would most likely not want any chance of inbreeding if the majority population were his kids. All in all they didn't kill him because.. 1. It's illegal and 2. It would be a PR Nightmare, I mean can you Imagine PETA's response. I have a lot of sympathy for this orca, mostly because it was taken from the wild, I understand that most of the orca's are born in captivity, but this one was snatched away from home. As for Sea World closing, I wouldn't bet money on it, every single day a car will spontaneusly fry it's occupants alive, due to design problems, but you don't see ford or toyota being shut down, because of it. Deaths don't slow big companies down.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<orcas cannot be euthanized due to the fact that they are endangered species. And the idea that they are not because of money is a little off>> Quotes: (Sea World President) "Atchison rejected a suggestion they get rid of the orca. “That would be a shame. This is a wonderful animal. He will continue to be an active, contributing member of our team.” "Atchinson said the 22-foot whale, the largest of the company's 25 orcas, will continue to be displayed and appear in shows." Ergo, they are keeping him because he's a moneymaker.
Originally Posted By Mr X Yup. But they are in the convenient position of harboring an endangered whale...SO, if anyone gives them any crap about it, they can claim they have no choice but to keep the animal. Convenient, indeed.
Originally Posted By Mr X Also, I'm sure that talk about the animal being a moneymaker will SURELY be quashed post-haste by the lawyers, in favor of "we can't destroy an endangered animal!". (oh, and we LOVE him!) Just watch and see.
Originally Posted By danyoung >...the Orca is not actually a whale, it is the largest member of the dolphin family.< While this is technically true, they are generally referred to as "killer whales".
Originally Posted By dizkid >>While this is technically true, they are generally referred to as "killer whales<< Yes The following is a quote from the Wikipedia page for Orca's. "The killer whale (Orcinus orca), commonly referred to as the orca and, less commonly, blackfish, is the largest species of the dolphin family." They are in the scientific classification of the Delphinidae Family unlike the Blue Whale which is in the family sub order of Balaenopteridae. I know it is weird to think of the "Killer Whale" as just an oversized dolphin, but whats weirder is that the Manatee's closest relative is the Elephant.
Originally Posted By danyoung But it's like saying a strawberry isn't a fruit or a tomato IS a fruit. It doesn't matter what the specific family is, strawberries will always be considered fruit, tomatos will always be considered vegetables, and orcas will always be considered whales. Welcome to the English language!
Originally Posted By disney pete This topic went a bit world events i think a period of mourning for the trainer and her family should be incured before he rights and wrongs are given by all who think they know best,eah she knew the risks but she just lost her life through a tragic accident lets show her some respect.
