diving

Верю в тебя, в дорогую подругу мою

[orcinusorka]

You can call me Sigrún, or Sigr. Russian transient. A schizophrenic killer whale with a distaste for a lot surrounding him. He/him, male orca. Homosexual. Communist.

I know a lot, yet nothing at the same time. I like things that anger shallow people, don't come whining to me!

☼♒︎ ✯ ♒︎☼

[orcinus-veterinarius]

We’re literally about to watch the “better dead then fed” mindset actually play out, and it’s horrifying. Please, please let something stop this.

Buy the park and turn it into the greenwashed “sanctuary” with “land-based habitats” (tanks). Let the whales leave and move to a park that can care for them. Anything is better than euthanizing 30 healthy whales because the alternative is captivity.

They are already captive. They will always be captive. It’s the only life they know. Human care is not torture, and you have deluded yourself if you believe that their every waking moment is such torment that death is better. They are loved. They are fed. They are enriched.

We always knew this movement would kill. And it is about to happen.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

So apparently this is being widely characterized as Marineland’s fault, something they’re doing out of spite rather than let their whales be “freed” to “sanctuaries.”

First off, there’s only one beluga sanctuary in operation. They have two whales, both housed in an indoor pool because they have repeatedly struggled to adapt to the sea pen, and they are not currently equipped to take anymore. Activists are saying it was Marineland’s responsibility to build a sanctuary after the law banning captivity was passed (which, legally, is not true—existing facilities were grandfathered in).

Build and operate a sanctuary… with what funds? It costs millions of dollars monthly to care for the whales where they currently are, let alone build a groundbreaking new ocean-based facility and operate it for decades to come. Marine parks are not sitting on mountains of money. They only bring in revenue if they operate.

This is the natural end of the mainstream anti captivity movement, the one that says #EmptyTheTanks and #DontBuyATicket. Boycott the parks so they don’t even have enough money to feed their animals. Then deny permitting so they can’t send the animals elsewhere, but also don’t build the sanctuaries you’ve been talking about for over a decade at this point. Expect the parks to do that themselves, with money they don’t have thanks to boycotts. Then blame the parks when they have no choice but to euthanize their animals before they starve.

[orcinusorka]

To wrap up the last week: I have been training hard, and was met with two injuries in one leg: in my ankle and in my knee. Hurt during the first two days, especially was afraid for my knee, but now I'm doing well. It only hurts if I stand the wrong way or bend down/stand up too fast.

This body is very fragile and can barely handle intense training.. wouldn't be happening if it wasn't tampered with in the beginning. But no matter, I'll be back to working out soon, I don't really have anything better to do in my free time, really

Other than that, I'm busy with work. And as I mentioned, I spend my free time working out, sleeping or watching films, so I end up with little to no time here... But honestly, I'm trying to 'detox' from my electronics as a whole, and especially from social media. I'm not exactly successful in it, but I am trying. I will also try to reply to DMs today, and that usually is the only thing I do on here, other than the now more rare updates about my life.

How are you doing? I hope life has been kind to everyone here so far, or at least a bit kinder than it used to be...

[namu-the-orca]

In a weird twist of event, Marineland Canada has befallen the same fate as Marineland France. The park has been closed for good, and 30 belugas as well as some bottlenose dolphins are left behind. The park has no income and no money to take care of these animals for long. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a state of the art modern marine park in China was willing to take them.

But Canada's minister of Fisheries and Oceans barred the transfer.

"In a statement, DFO Minister Joanne Thompson said she could not "in good conscience" approve the export and that her decision aligned with regulations in the Fisheries Act to protect marine mammals from exploitation. "It was obvious to me that whales belong in the ocean," she said. "To see 30 belugas in contained spaces was very difficult." "

Yeeesss. These 30 animals, that have either been born in Marineland or have been in captivity for decades, should really be released into the ocean! Or a sea sanctuary, because we've seen how eagerly animals adapt to a completely foreign and - to them - really stressful environment with the SeaLife beluga sanctuary! Oh oops, but there are no sanctuaries, let alone one that can take so many animals.

And so, while there is a suitable park that is willing to take these animals and make sure they are well cared for, now euthanasia is on the table. For thirty, healthy whales.

It is maddening and heartbreaking how the very people who claim to want the best for these animals, would truly rather see all these whales dead than continue their life under human care.

All these whales have a life, a personality, a family. They were or are trainers' favourites, their special baby, their best friend. I honestly can't believe we're living in a world where animal activism has gone so far where governments are influenced to the point of (possibly) forcing mass euthanasia. When a single (killer) whale dies at a park there is massive outcry. But purposefully killing 30 animals is fine if done for the right reasons! Anything except doing something for their actual welfare, because that makes us feel yucky!

I am hoping so, so hard that the worst doesn't come to pass. Because these animals do not deserve it.

What can you do? (thanks for Cetal Fauna on facebook for the links and sharing the photos of the whales!)

Contact Fisheries Minister Joanna Thompson and the DFO at:

Fisheries Minister Joanna Thompson [email protected] [phone] (St. John’s, Newfoundland)

DFO Headquarters [email protected]

[a-minke-whales-tale]

For a species that constantly talks up its empathy, humans sure like to only use it for "mercy killing" and centring their own feelings.

[typhlonectes]

"Whale and Cat" by Boris Zachoder.

[saltycetaceans]

Pre-show shenanigans with the boys - Aug 25th, 2025

[chinaorcanews]

At Chimelong Spaceship, trainers/whales window interactions, combined with educational talks, take place at the main underwater viewing window.

[expressions-of-nature]

Khibiny Mountains, Russia by Vitaly Istomin

[travelbinge]

By Makhorov

Kamchatka, Russia

[zegalba]

aerial view of the towering Kronotsky volcano

[a-minke-whales-tale]

I visited Dolfinarium Harderwijk today. The water was much clearer and beautiful. I could very much imagine myself living in such a place. Though it is unlikely I would perform there if I did live in such a place (the performance animals are all bulls and I am a cow and also much weaker so could not go do fast or jump so high), their show was much better and more enjoyable this time (minus some germans who would not stop talking the whole show).

I hope the humans will like me and take me eventually. I know the process to return to the water will be a very long one and I have so much work yet to do. I am slowly making progress though, someday... someday.

Still visiting places like this and seeing other cetaceans helps ease things and reminds me what I am working towards. I like to imagine how my life would be in such a place and to swim forever. It does always make me emotional, perhaps tonight, if I am lucky, I might get to have some whale dreams, maybe even dreams living in a tank like this, it is probably nicer than I can actually have.

Zwem ver, zwem vrij, kleine walvis, zwem voor altijd~

[a-minke-whales-tale]

Misanthropy

I had originally not planned to join in on the current misanthropy discourse, but it is honestly just such a frustrating discussion.

I personally think misanthropy is an understandable or even justifiable response to the world around us. Full stop, no more qualifiers needed.

Length: 1295 words

We are ultimately the products of our environment and our experiences. People do not become legitimately misanthropic (that is, excluding people who are doing it to be edgy, cool, or as a bit) for no reason. We are surrounded by a world that constantly tells us about the superiourity and greatness of humanity, their achievements, their kindness, their resilience. Even in stories which set to show the worst of humanity, they are always touched a bit by light.

I do not believe that people are misanthropic for no reason. Some people may not show the underlying reason but I am quite certain it is there. We are born extremely trusting and curious of those around us - our parents, our family, our community. What happens though when that trust gets broken?

I myself am misanthropic - for me, I fear the humans and I distrust the humans. I fear them because of the power they have over me, power which they eagerly and continuously wield, and with which if I am not obedient can hurt me or lock me away again until I am good. My life is dominated by obedience to them and fear for what they will do to me if I am not good enough. I fear and distrust the humans for what they do to me.

My companion easily meets the description for how most of these people describe misanthropy - they have within them an anger and disdain for humanity and its society. It does, at points honestly, get tiresome and frustrating, even if I have my own misanthropic tendencies. Those feelings, that anger and disdain, it does not come from no where. It comes from time and again, abuses, broken promises, and mistreatment. They are angry at the humans for what they have done to them.

There are many in the therian community, especially younger therians, who are LHBT or have some neurodivergence or disability. These sorts of experiences isolate them from their communities, something already particularly notable among those generations, sharpened yet further. This young period in their life they are learning to discover and define themselves - who and what they are - it is part of why there are so many young therianthropes and why many rotate through theriotypes and many will attrition away. However for a lot of these people they look around at the promises of the human world, things that they are told are their birthright - community and to be themselves - and yet find that those things are not available to them. For some reason they are not people, not the same as others. They find themselves rejected by humanity. And at the same time find themselves under a heavy weight of demands and expectations while having no agency for themselves. They look around at the world around them and things going on, the exploitation of both man and nature, and at their own experiences and mistreatments, and it should not be surprising that many turn away from humanity and may distrust, disconsider, or even hate humanity. Those feelings did not come from no where. They are misanthropic to the humans for what they have done to them.

What frustrates me the most about this discussion is the very individualised and performative nature of the solutions. "You just gotta chin up and look on the bright side! You need to heal yourself and learn to love humanity! Being misanthropic is self-harm!" It becomes a bunch of empty platitudes from people, who by all appearances of the utter bollocks they write, are some of the least marginalised and most privileged in the community and have never bothered to examine their biases or world beyond simple absolutes which have no place in reality. These people as well seem to believe there is no genuine reason that people might be misanthropic or that their problems and struggles are simply not real.

Positive thinking is not going to fix the issues that cause people to become misanthropic. It is a symptom, not a cause, and you are very unlikely to successfully gaslight yourself into trusting and loving humanity. Ideas do not make reality; reality makes ideas, and reality leads to misanthropie. Learning to trust humans again, is a long and delicate process. It requires opening yourself up to others that they might hurt you again in the same way. Positive thoughts and trusting this time something will be different is likely to have a high failure rate.

The cure for misanthropie is not happy thoughts, it is community and belonging. It is the conditions in which we live changing. For many people, especially teens, it is finding new friends and lovers, exploring beyond their immediate surroundings, gaining agency over their lives, and finding others like them and building a community. For some people though, those who experience a more severe marginalisation and stronger struggles, that may simply not be possible or available to them - some may find it through various online communities such as this one. Excising and silencing those who are misanthropic does not help them to grow past that experience or learn to trust and connect to others, it only reinforces that certain things are not to be said and that expressing that fear disdain and isolation will only lead to further isolation and rebukes of an already very isolated person. It is on the community to help integrate newcomers, so that once they have a space they belong and feel safe, they may be able to unlearn to years of experience that lead them to be misanthropic.

For some of us though we are denied even these communities. It is for me a particular frustration that very often the therian community feels very human. Many of the same isolations and dynamics of the human world, play out again in therian spaces. For me it is marked by sanism, however similar comments have been described from others regarding racism, indigeneity, ableism, and intersexism, among others. Many of the people who press so strongly against misanthropie do off of some belief that it is "bioessentiallist" and that the exclusion is always wrong and stating desire for open and safe community. Yet many of these people, who often present themselves as community leaders, and which for some unknown reason others trust, are all too eager to excise from the community others who experience nonhumanity differently - especially various physical expressions who do not surrender their experience as anything other than delusion.

For myself, I do hope someday I can grow past my fear and distrust of the humans. It will first require the humans stop actively hurting me, and then a long time showing me that I do not need to be scared of them and I can trust them. It will take a very long time if even it is possible. I struggle genuinely to imagine a world in which, even returned to the water, I will not have some twinge to obey the humans and for which I would not serve them. I desire reconciliation, and that is okay, even if it may never fully happen. My companion desires separation, and that is as well okay. Each person will have for themselves different goals as to how they handle their feelings of misanthropie, some may wish to reconcile, some may wish to separate entirely, some may wish to come to a coexistence neither reconciling or separating, and some may take a different path than the three I mentioned.

~ Kala

[orcinusorka]

Oh Kamchatka, Kamchatka... I miss Kamchatka!

Too beautiful to be so far away from me...

[cioranius-deactivated20210115]

The Night is Young

Orkid and Corky II in my new artwork for an art trade on DeviantArt. This painting is available as a print as I’m finally opening my RedBubble shop! *here* Also, “The Night is Young” is 6000 px wide and has two color variants. ver.1 // ver.2

[finns-gifs]

Can I have some orca gifs (or just whale gifs in general)? 🐋🖤🤍

Orca gifs just for you! If you want some whale gifs feel free to send another ask <3 Also side note, i found this orca plush and I can't stop laughing ⬇

[orcinusorka]

I workout everyday, even overwork myself quite often

Track my diet, making sure it's as healthy as it can possibly be

I'm building muscle, improving my flexibility

I feel strong, really strong — I must admit

A year ago I would not be able to picture myself spending my free time anywhere else but in bed

.... Yeah, I'm making good progress, in case anyone's curious