miceandmagic:

Vicky,

You deserved much better than the depressing 10 months of abandonment and isolation that was your life.

Your mother was too young and inexperienced to care for you. I’m very sorry that she was put into that situation. An 11 year old kid with 2 inbred pregnancies under her belt, unable to take up the responsibilities of raising her own children. I can’t blame her for what happened to you.

Keto, your father, is an teenage male with raging hormones and no outlets. He had nothing to do, no room to exercise, nothing to unleash his pent up frustration… Except his own niece. In the wild, young males will play and mate with each other until they are ready to breed, but Keto wasn’t given that opportunity. He was denied everything natural to him and was forced to inbreed. I can’t blame him for that.

You certainly did nothing wrong. It was not your fault that the staff of Loro Parque did not stop your mother’s uncle from mating with her multiple times. It was not your fault that, after your poor mother’s first calf, Adan, was born the staff still did not separate your mother and her uncle or put your mother on birth control. 

And it’s certainly not your fault that four related, unruly, children were knowingly sent to one tiny marine park on a breeding loan.

So, if I can’t blame you, and I can’t blame your mother, and I can’t blame Uncle Keto… With whom does the blame fall?

Oh… right. The humans who set the whole thing up.

Sea World knowingly sent 4 related adolescent orcas to one park with the specific intent to breed them.

Sea World, and Loro Parque for that matter, don’t care if their orcas inbreed. They don’t care if their orcas constantly abuse each other. They don’t care if a few die off here and there, because you know what? They can always milk a few more inbred calves out of Kohana before she dies. 

All they care about is making money and tricking the public into thinking that they genuinely care about ‘their’ animals and the environment.

Vicky, you were the product of carelessness and greed. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.

Rest in peace, baby girl.

(via fightingforwhales)

endkillerwhalecaptivity:

After the tragic news of the death of 10 month old Vicky this morning, it is vital that we don’t forget the whales that are still living in captivity. 

Up until the 28th of June NOAA are excepting comments from the public regarding their opinion on whether Lolita should be listed along with the rest of the Southern Resident orca population.

This is one of the best chances we have ever had in getting Lolita out of that box, because if Lolita is listed, it will endow her with more legal rights and make it harder for Miami SeaQuarium to keep without the companionship of another orca.

But just 250 people have left comments so far. To put that into perspective, over eight and a half thousand people left comments on the document concerning Georgia Aquariums appeal to import 18 wild belugas from Russia.

Please consider leaving a (polite and concise) comment here. 

If you want some advice with want to write or you want some links, feel free to send a PM to any of the anti cap blogs, we’d all be happy to help.

Photo by N.G

tubely:

A Surprise Diving Encounter with a Humpback Whale

(via fightingforwhales)

rhamphotheca:

A Ray of Hope for Threatened Mantas

Isla de Plata, an island off the coast of Ecuador, is home to the Machalilla National Park. This hub for marine research is where conservation biologist Andrea Marshall, founder of the Marine Megafauna Foundation, leads her team in discovering new and conserving known manta ray species. While this National Geographic emerging explorer has seen her fair share of rays in the surrounding waters, Marshall views every encounter as a breathtaking experience. Here, on a day with particularly high manta activity, she shares a dive with her favorite gentle giant, nicknamed “Super Manta” for an S-shaped propeller scar on its back…

(read more: National Geo)

Photograph by José Alejandro Alvarez

BREAKING: U.S. Government Hits SeaWorld With Safety Violation—Again

Ever since the death of whale trainer Dawn Brancheau, OSHA has pushed the park for higher standards, and the park has pushed back.

(via fightingforwhales)

animals-animals-animals:

Jellyfish (by adjacency)

sixthrock:

astronomy-to-zoology:

Opabinia (Opabinia regalis) another unique arthropod from the Cambrian period, noted for its five eyes and proboscis.

From David Attenbrough’s First Life watch it like right now!

BEST ANIMAL

I love this depiction, I can really imagine having a fishtank full of them. XD

(via bogleech)

rhamphotheca:

Enchanting Whale Songs, Stories of a Changing Arctic

by Douglas Main

By tracking and listening to whales, scientists have unlocked secrets about the dramatic changes currently underway in the Arctic. They’ve also learned that these whales are talented singers.

In a wide-ranging talk here at the American Museum of Natural History, researchers and a documentary filmmaker revealed how declining levels of ice have affected the Arctic, as well as the humans that dwell there. Their stories, recounted during a session of the World Science Festival, billed as an annual celebration and exploration of science, reveal the difficulty and beauty of working in the harsh, and quickly changing, environment of the far North…

(read more: Live Science)     

(photos: T - Two bowhead whales in Disko Bay, West Greenland, by M.P. Heide-Jørgensen; B - Narwhals, by Glenn Williams, NIST)

thelovelyseas:

Humpback Whale Ascent by C. Kornylak on Flickr.

(via fightingforwhales)

astronomy-to-zoology:

A Bobbit Worm (Eunice aphroditois) being fed a Butterflyfish 

video source

India To Recognize Dolphins As “Non-Human Persons”

lazyyogi:

“[Their] unusually high intelligence as compared to other animals means that dolphin should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose.”

So cool!

Rock on, India!

(via fightingforwhales)

outpostmagazine:

Newfoundland and Labrador is one of absolute best places on earth to catch a glimpse of these majestic animals.

For more pictures and information on whale watching in Newfoundland and Labrador check out: http://www.facebook.com/Outpostmagazine

(via fightingforwhales)

blackfishsound:

nearness by Paul Tixier on Flickr.

(via fightingforwhales)

rhamphotheca:

calehor:  Sharks and Dolphins Preying on Mackerel   

British Wildlife photographer Christopher Swann swam in the midst of this frenetic battle of life and death to capture this images off the coast of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.

Thousands of mackerel swam into a huge shimmering ball 30 feet in diameter to protect themselves from the predatory onslaught of dolphins and sharks. But as the shoal flees from deeper waters towards the surface, clusters of Cory’s shearwaters begin to dive-bomb them from above. Left with no escape, the blue jack mackerel have little choice but to wait until the pod of short-beaked common dolphins have had their fill.

(source)

(via fightingforwhales)