For all cetaceans great and small

Globicephala melas, the long finned pilot whale, is just one of the dozens of species of cetaceans kept in captivity today. This blog is dedicated to raising awareness for all those kept in captivity and to spreading information about wild cetaceans. Also the self-proclaimed patron saint of J-34 DoubleStuf. And baby J-51.

[from-the-sands-deactivated20210]

J34 Doublestuf

[globi-melas]

I got ridiculously happy when I saw this, thinking it was recent, and then I remembered he’s gone.

[porpoise-princess-deactivated20]

i wonder if they’ll do anything with his skeleton. it would be nice if they could articulate it and perhaps make a little memorial area for him in the park.

[ginkotoothed-deactivated2019050]

Unless a museum offers an gargantuan amount, they’re going to send him to a rendering plant. If they send portions to local universities, I’ll be amazed.

Tilikum has been pretty much a headache for them since 2010. I’m pretty sure SeaWorld’s higher ups are relieved he’s gone and would like to erase his existence as soon as possible.

[lolita-tokitae]

Yeahh. Has Seaworld ever done anything like that for any prominent animal of theirs? I mean, I haven’t heard of them using the methods of Marineland, but nothing like them honoring a dead animal.

[porpoise-princess-deactivated20]

I recall hearing once that Kalina was buried on the property of SeaWorld Orlando since she was the beloved “Baby Shamu” but given that there’s no proof of that it’s likely false.

[theincredibleorca]

SW barely acknowledges the existence of the original Shamu, I doubt they’ll do anything special for Tillikum.

[globi-melas]

put this on the wrong blog first, go me. Anyways,

Winnie’s skeleton is on display at the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, Kanduke’s is on display at Skeletons: Animals Unveiled in Orlando. Those are the only two SeaWorld whales whose remains are on display anywhere that I know of. I’ve heard about Kalina too, and I’ve heard that one a lot so I think that one might be true. I for one would love to see at least Tilikum’s skull somewhere, just anything to not waste him but that’s not going to happen. You guys are right, the executives want any trace of him gone as soon as possible so there’s no way he’s going to be displayed anywhere.

[beetlejuicesgraveyardrevue]

I didn’t realize that was Kanduke at Skeletons, that’s pretty neat. I would love it if SeaWorld would display Tilikum for educational purposes, but I’m not holding my breath. They probably want him gone asap.

[globi-melas]

Yeah he’s over the admissions area. I’m not sure if there’s a sign explaining exactly who Kanduke is or anything, at MO there’s a sign explaining where Winnie came from and how she died.

[porpoise-princess-deactivated20]

i wonder if they’ll do anything with his skeleton. it would be nice if they could articulate it and perhaps make a little memorial area for him in the park.

[ginkotoothed-deactivated2019050]

Unless a museum offers an gargantuan amount, they’re going to send him to a rendering plant. If they send portions to local universities, I’ll be amazed.

Tilikum has been pretty much a headache for them since 2010. I’m pretty sure SeaWorld’s higher ups are relieved he’s gone and would like to erase his existence as soon as possible.

[lolita-tokitae]

Yeahh. Has Seaworld ever done anything like that for any prominent animal of theirs? I mean, I haven’t heard of them using the methods of Marineland, but nothing like them honoring a dead animal.

[porpoise-princess-deactivated20]

I recall hearing once that Kalina was buried on the property of SeaWorld Orlando since she was the beloved “Baby Shamu” but given that there’s no proof of that it’s likely false.

[theincredibleorca]

SW barely acknowledges the existence of the original Shamu, I doubt they’ll do anything special for Tillikum.

[globi-melas]

put this on the wrong blog first, go me. Anyways,

Winnie’s skeleton is on display at the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, Kanduke’s is on display at Skeletons: Animals Unveiled in Orlando. Those are the only two SeaWorld whales whose remains are on display anywhere that I know of. I’ve heard about Kalina too, and I’ve heard that one a lot so I think that one might be true. I for one would love to see at least Tilikum’s skull somewhere, just anything to not waste him but that’s not going to happen. You guys are right, the executives want any trace of him gone as soon as possible so there’s no way he’s going to be displayed anywhere.

[orcinus-ocean]

Tilikum 1980-2017

Rest in Peace, Big Man.

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

I don’t mean to sound negative as shit, but EVEN HERE most people don’t understand that there are multiple types of orca. They don’t know about the issues, other than maybe in abstract. A distressing number of people think that ACTIVISTS have doomed the orcas because of Seaworld’s cessation of breeding. I’ve seen a number of discussions in which people have already written the SR’s off.  These aren’t pro-caps, they’re just casual observers. That’s bad. While there’s a big group of cetacean enthusiasts here, and a huge number of conservation-focused orgs (they do great work!), it’s actually distressingly small in the big picture. And while I hate to bring this up for the thousandth time, this shit is a huge part of why I have so much vitriol for places like Seaworld and now VanAq because they aren’t really helping. They could do so much more. They should be. Lip service, from them, from politicians, from people who don’t change their habits, voice their opinions, DO something, is what gets us to this dreary point of despair in which it’s literally just a relative handful of people against the apathetic horror which is most of humanity. If the numbers we were told at Superpod are correct, something like 97% of charity (and attention) goes to human issues. That leaves the minuscule rest for the environment and animals. That’s awful. This is what we’re up against. How do we fix it? What do we do? 

[globi-melas]

I think this is exactly why so many of us are writing the SR’s off already, because we have no idea how we can fix this or where to even begin. There’s such a small fraction of us who want to be able to do something. A few hundred or so people writing to governors and the president and people like that aren’t going to magically change how this is happening. You’re totally right on the lip service, it WOULD help. Now getting them to actually do it is the problem.

It’s not that I WANT to just give up hope on the SR’s, but it just looks so hopeless right now.

[southern-resident-killer-whales]

J32 Rhapsody with cousin J34 DoubleStuf. [Miles Ritter]

[orcalovingbeing]

I can’t believe they both are gone. Wth is happening

[orcalovingbeing]

This makes me so angry. J-34 Doublestuf was my boy and I know it sounds silly but I really cared about him. The stupidity and greed that humans possess is so scary and just not understandable to me. I’m sad, angry, frustrated and helpless. It broke my heart seeing the picture of him so skinny. I’m looking forward to the autopsy - the not knowing what killed him is aggravating. But what I gather from that picture is simply starvation. Because stupid humans only think about themselves and not the entire ecosystem and all of the lives involved. RIP Doublestuf

[dutchorca]

This is the overwhelming feeling with me too. 

People just don’t care anymore. I feel so helpless and so desperate. No one with the power to do something about this gives a damn, they’re all ignoring the situation and one day it will be too late. It may already be too late because this won’t right itself quickly, just with the removal of the dams, the salmon need time. If they’re still there…

Money is the only thing that matters anymore, who cares that we are destroying this planet. As long as money keeps flowing to the right people nothing will change.

[orcalovingbeing]

You put my every thought into words. This is exactly what I mean.

[globi-melas]

It’s not silly to be upset about his death in particular. I mean I’m always upset when one of the SR’s die but Doublestuf was my whale. (Hope you don’t mind that we share him.) It feels a little more personal when it’s the whale you’ve adopted, the one you’ve really cared about.

And @dutchorca you’re so right. The people who are in power who could do something about this won’t. Because they don’t care. It’s the whales that go or it’s money that goes and obviously everyone in a position of power is going to choose money above all else. And now that we’re pretty sure Doublestuf was struck by a boat, would anyone care to regulate where the damn boats go? No. If it’s not making a profit then it isn’t worth it.

[globi-melas]

So...

I’ve been absent like most of this year, juggling 2 jobs and all that jazz and I just yesterday thought “I wonder how the SRs are doing, I should check on them” and bam my Doublestuf is dead. I think I want to try to get back into this stuff? It’s so important now that we do everything we can...I just don’t know where to start.

Anyway, sort of hi to everyone. I’ll try to be more active on here. I miss you guys.

[b3n3aththesurfac3]

Hey guys, tumblr isn’t working or something ugh but I have another bit of video here, check it out! This is particularly for cetacean blogs, but anyone can watch of course…just a bit of video I found interesting from one of my visits. Let me know what you think! tokitaee bathe-the-whales breakthewhalebowl globi-melas

[porpoise-princess-deactivated20]

Yikes, Double Stuf isn’t looking too good right now, very thin :(

[globi-melas]

No no no no no he has to be okay. Has to.

[globi-melas]

Guys guys guys

How is J-22 Oreo? I haven’t been paying attention lately

[dreams-of-whales-blog]

Since I know there are a few people who love this big guy…here’s a photo with Doublestuf (J34).

Left to right–Cookie (J38), Moby (J44), Doublestuf (J34), Star (J46), J54, Princess Angeline (J17), and Polaris (J28).

[globi-melas]

Lmao this is exactLY why I don’t use this blog anymore

[0ceanspirit]

On January 12th, 2013 I took this screenshot while watching a Sea Shepherd live stream from Taiji. This is an image of a piece of white sided dolphin that fell off of a truck during transport. This animal was swimming in the cove just a couple of hours previously.

Why am I showing you this? Because this is what the captive industry supports. The big money makers from these drives are the dolphins that are taken in to be enslaved as circus performers for the rest of their lives. The rest? Well, they end up like the ones pictured above. Destined to be cooked and sold for human consumption. That’s right. People are eating animals that are just as sentient and intelligent as they are.

While SeaWorld may no longer be purchasing animals from these drives, they did once. And they are still creating the demand to see these animals in the captive environment which is the reason they still have a hefty bounty on their melons.

If the public no longer showed an interest in seeing these animals performing circus tricks in cement fish bowls, there would be no demand to supply. No animals would need to be taken from the wild to keep up with the ones dying in captivity or new abusement parks opening their doors to droves of gawkers.

This is not only an issue of captivity though. Only a small number of animals are “lucky” enough to survive. If you want to call witnessing your family being slaughtered, being transported to a tiny box with strangers, force fed foreign food, and often being bullied… lucky.

The problem is how do we get the dolphin hunters of Taiji to stop this horrendous act? It always come down to three things:

Food. A small number of people actually eat dolphin meat. Which is good, because it is HORRIBLE for you! But here’s the thing… They often lable it as whale meat to trick more people into eating it! Why are people eating whale meat anyway!? JAPAN WTF!?

Pest control: Hey guess what? The dolphins were here before you. If there is less fish in the ocean it’s because of HUMANS. HUMANS are the ones who are overfishing and depleating the ocean of it’s fish NOT the dolphins. YOU are the pests CONTROL YOURSELVES.

Cultural tradition: This has already been proved over and over in Taiji to be complete and total BS. Thank you and goodnight.

Here are some steps that you can take to help this situation:

Cut back or eliminate your seafood consumption.

DO NOT GO TO MARINE PARKS!!!! Boycott places like SeaWorld (and Busch Gardens as they are owned by SeaWorld), Marineland, Miami Seaquarium, Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, Vancouver Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, etc.

Educate. Educate! EDUCATE! Spread the word about the horrifying things that are happening in Taiji. I know this is from last year, but guess what? These things are still happening! It’ll start again in September. Let people know about overfishing, as this is a HUGE contribution to the health of our oceans!

Note: Please let me know if there are any tags you would like me to add to this. I know this is a very disturbing image and it may bother some of you, I have added all the tags I can think of, but I know I probably have missed some.

[cetaceas]

this is so incredibly racist and xenophobic I can’t even breathe.

i hope people realize how hypocritical it is to abhor foreign nations for eating animals that we value in the western world, while eating animals that are of equal sentience and importance.

if images like this anger you, extend your compassion to those on your plates, in the labs being tested on, and behind zoo walls.

go vegan

[0ceanspirit]

How exactly is this racist?

[globi-melas]

Ye except Japan doesn’t really like, EAT dolphins anymore they just kill them for shits and giggles so..

[globi-melas]

I had a dream that I went to Loro Parque and Tekoa was dead and I think Kohana was dead and Kalia was there for some reason and I watched her die right in front of everyone.

[globi-melas]

Okay I know it’s way too earlier to be this worried but

What if something happens to Oreo during this pregnancy if something bad happens to her then something bad is almost certain to happen to Doublestuf and Cookie oh no

[sevenseasoffreedom]

So it looks like Oreo is pregnant?? I hadn’t heard anything prior to this post. Dr. John Durban is a NOAA researcher, by the way.

[globi-melas]

I just gasped so loudl you would have thought a ghost was in my house

[freedom-for-orcas]

Not to sound dumb, but how can you tell looking at this picture?

[globi-melas]

Oh I just assumed this was the only recent photo they had of her on hand. Odd that they wouldn’t have gotten a more “revealing” photo but I wouldn’t let a NOAA researcher steer me wrong!