Watching Blackfish on CNN right now

[stevestevens]

Pretty good documentary so far. I recommend dvring it tonight. They are reshowing it again in a couple of hours.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackfish_2013/

98% fresh.

[Lhalo]

I'm not a greenpeace type of guy but I'll check it out. I learned something from a preview for it the other day: orcas are actually dolphins, not whales.

Edit: I guess dolphins are whales. Humph.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Lawrence

[Eric]

Blackfish? Sure, I'll watch.  I love nature programs.

 

Blackwater? What's that? Is that a muddy river somewhere?

[Redondo]

Interesting show. My wife and I watched and learned a lot about behind the scenes at Sea World.

 

Lot of it is very sad when you consider what the whales have to go through. Living in a concrete pool and restricted area. Kind of like being in prison and having to perform.

 

The captive whales dorsal fins are bent over, and the ones in the ocean are straight up. They know.

 

But we as a society enjoy seeing animals up close so we can learn from them. So is it right to condemn these few to what they have to do for our viewing pleasure?

[stevestevens]

I did find it interesting that they were ok with zoos. Basically Said with other animals they do not parade them around to music, train them to do unnatural motions, etc. It did not seem anti everything about animals in zoos just specifically orcas. I thought it was pretty well done. A little too long. I don't know if the information warranted a full length movie.

Sea world's response to the movie was pretty weak

[katie]

Did they talk about how whenever there is an injured sea animal in San Diego they are the ones who are called to rescue, medicate, and release the animal?

[stevestevens]

Did they talk about how whenever there is an injured sea animal in San Diego they are the ones who are called to rescue, medicate, and release the animal?

I can't remember if they did during the movie or on the news discussion after or both. From what i watched, the point I got from the movie and news discussion is sea world does a lot of good and positive things. They just made a point that as we learn more about orcas, they should not be captive.

[Sam Sanchez]

I've heard good things about this. But a Rotten Tomatoes score on documentaries doesn't mean much. Most are in the high 90s with 100% not being rare either.

[St1ck]

I was at Sea World on Wednesday. The Shamu show is pretty much a waste of time now. It's cool that they added roller coasters now though. 

[Lhalo]

The part where Ken Peters kept getting dragged underwater for minutes at a time was crazy. I can't believe how calm he was.

[Schildog]

i clicked on that thinking it was about brynden tully

[Ray McKigney]

DVR is the only way to watch a doc on CNN. Commercials every 5 minutes. Annoying. That complaint aside, this doc is terrific. 

[Tank]

I was at Sea World on Wednesday. The Shamu show is pretty much a waste of time now. It's cool that they added roller coasters now though. 

 

thanks for the invite.

 

jerk.

[St1ck]

thanks for the invite.

 

jerk.

 

 

By the way, kids are free through October. Also applies to SD Zoo. 

[Tank]

i love sea world. i think they good they have done to help us in our understanding of sea mammals and other sea life has been terrific. if i could find a way to dive into the shamu tank and swim with the big fella for a while without getting arrested, i'd risk it in a heartbeat.

 

that said, i realize that these big beautiful creatures need a much bigger pool in which to swim if they're going to be kept at a sea park. right now it's too much like keeping a bird in a cage, prohibiting it from flying, or putting fish in a small tank. i don't like the commercialization that sea parks do with their animals, but i understand it generates interest with kids and families. i appreciate that sea world includes a good deal of education in their programs.

[Tank]

i dvr'd this documentary and will watch it later. 

 

as for zoos, i think the wild animal park in san diego (or whatever they're calling it now) does it right. big huge areas to roam around in, not small pens. if zoos are to continue, and i think they should, they need to be huge, wide-open areas.

[wopphil]

I literally just watched it and came here to post a thread on it, then saw this posted.

Great movie. I never knew the history of orcas being captured, and like most people just assumed SeaWorld had a legit reason for having the animals. But I was shocked and saddened by the history behind the orcas' capture, especially the emotional distress caused by the capture. I will definitely think twice before going to SeaWorld again.

[katie]

I have a few friends who have worked at sea world, and was interested what they thought of it. I still haven't watched it, but my friend said that while facts are true in the documentary, they portray things falsely. For example, they make it seem like they took a certain whale away from its mom when in fact it was actually 13 at the time. Also hey said that all males at sea world San Diego have a bent dorsal fin and that isn't true.

[Jay]

Are we supposed to boycott Sea World or what?

[Stradling]

Are we supposed to boycott Sea World or what?

No, we are still boycotting Chick Fil A, because Orcas are dolphins and dolphins are gay.

[CaliAngel]

The thing is its a tough call to let animals back into the wild after they've been "domesticated" in the tanks, as there is a fairly likely chance their instincts may not be as astute as they need to be and they might not be able to survive. Perhaps even if they found family and communicated with other orcas, they may not be accepted back into the pod. No tank could ever be big enough for a whale, but compared to how it used to be at other zoos and sea parks where they had really bad disgusting conditions, Sea World really does try to have a nice sized tanks for the whales.

 

It actually disgusts me that the movie (or activists) would suggest not to take kids to these parks, because as a kid I was so fascinated by Sea World and the Shamu. It helped me put into perspective their sheer size and beauty, and made me into the ocean and sea animal lover I am today. Do any of these "activists" even consider the positives and educational experiences provided by Sea World? Do they care about the experiences they would take away from kids and families who might otherwise never see an Orca in real life? Sure doesn't seem like it.

 

I also think it is important in some aspect for people and kids to be able to see and learn about these wonderful creatures up close like they do at Sea World in order for them to understand and have an appreciation for the ocean and the animals in it. While I can understand some people think there should be no whales in captivity, I think there needs to be an exception for the reasons I laid out, and I think if any company is responsible and caring enough to be able to provide a nice place for them to be, it's definitely Sea World.

[Tank]

good points, cali. i think in the days when these park first opened and they were making dolphins jump through hoops of fire, there was a valid argument about education vs. entertainment/captivity. it's a lot better now when they showcase animals doing natural behaviors as opposed to making them do tricks merely to entertain us. the parks are evolving as they learn more and more about these animals, and thats a positive.