I go by Pacific. I have a huge interest in marine mammals - especially dolphins, orcas, and sea lions!
My other posts will often be about conservation and zoos/aquariums.
🐬 About Me 🫧
★ I support accredited zoos & aquariums. I believe that they’re a valuable tool in both conservation & public education. I think the majority of animals can thrive in captivity, if cared for properly.
★ I consider myself anti captivity/pro-welfare with orcas. Although I wish we didn’t have captive orcas, I believe the last captive orcas should still live out their final years in a high quality zoological setting.
★ I’ll often post about endangered or extinct species. Conservation is a huge interest of mine!
★ I may post about dog training & animal training on the side.
★ I’m hoping to work with marine animals one day.
★ I’m a wildlife photographer. One of my dreams is to photograph wild orcas!
★ I haven’t used Tumblr much, so I might not know everything about etiquette or certain features. Be patient please.
★ My favorite orcas - Chimo, Keiko, Kamea, and Frosty.
★ Cephalopods - Bigfin squid & humboldt squid.
🦈 Before You Interact 🦈
★ I’ll likely block you if you’re aggressively anti captivity. This includes orca related captivity as well. I personally see a lot of toxic behavior from these sorts of people.
★ Pro captivity people are welcome here! I’m always interested in hearing more POVs.
★ Under 16 or over 20 - feel free to follow & interact with my blog, but keep it casual please. Respect any boundaries I set. Do not expect to be viewed as a friend, as it makes me uncomfortable.
★ NSFW accounts - I likely will block these. I just don’t feel comfortable with that content!
★ Dolphin hate - I am willing to dispel a lot of the harmful myths surrounding dolphins. However I will not allow blatant dolphin hate on my blog.
The Whale Sanctuary Project’s Lori Marino is throwing a tantrum about not being able to get orcas for her sea pen that doesn’t exist.
“Trafficked” okay Lori, I know you love the emotive and unscientific language but this is ridiculous.
“We are getting there” - Lori, their tank is falling apart. They can’t wait for you to “get there” - which you’ve been saying for the last 10 years.
No one is “preventing” your sea pen but you. The industry hasn’t done anything to interfere - they just need your sea pen to actually exist and for you to prove basic competence before giving you whales.
Honestly this is pure projection. Wikie and Keijo were the last orca candidates that WSP had the slightest chance of getting. The death knell is for their project that even the French Government knows now is nothing but a scam.
One of the most interesting things about animals under human care is that we often get to see them from a perspective we’d never get to experience in the wild.
Especially for species that are very socially complex (such as cetaceans, primates, and elephants), we get to see the depth of their social bonds in real time. Some nights, I’ll stay up for hours reading about captive whales. I’ll read about their incredibly strong bonds, the intricacies of their personality. We get to see how deeply emotional they are — and how they’ve changed each others lives.
Was the only seal indigenous to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Extinct due to overhunting of their species and overfishing of their food sources.
Meet the Caribbean monk seal. These were a species native to warm, tropical waters. They were the only seal species found along the coasts of Texas and Florida.
In 1494, Christopher Columbus found these seals during a voyage. He referred to these as sea wolves. His crew killed all 8 that were spotted on the shore. This was the beginning of it all.
These were related to the endangered Hawaiian monk seals and Mediterranean monk seals. Caribbean monk seals were known for their docile nature and lack of a flight response, which made them vulnerable to colonizers who hunted them for their blubber.
They’d often be found in groups of 20-40 on land, or occasionally in caves. Their diet consisted of fish and small marine invertebrates. Overfishing of their food sources is also thought to be a cause of their extinction.
At the start of the 1900s, sightings became much more rare. The New York aquarium acquired 4 Caribbean monk seals. There were sparse sightings during the next few decades, and a final seal was found and killed by humans in 1939. It would be 10 more years until another was spotted, until 1952 — the last confirmed sighting to take place.
After extensive expeditions, the Caribbean monk seal was confirmed extinct. Alongside the Caribbean monk seal, a mite went extinct (Halarachne americana - Caribbean monk seal nasal mite), as it was unable to adapt to the loss of them. Additionally, the loss of the Caribbean monk seals left a big hole in their ecosystem as they were a prevalent predator. Not only that, but they were prey for larger species of sharks and potentially even transient orcas.
Their loss left a lot of questions that can never be answered. Not only that, but this serves as a reminder for the devastating effect that colonizers not only had on indigenous people — but also the local ecosystems and native wildlife.
My favorite thing is watching people call marine mammal training abusive - or equating positive reinforcement with food deprivation.
Meanwhile dolphin trainers are responsible for bringing positive reinforcement training to other fields, such as dog training. Dolphin trainers are why clicker training exists, and decades ago pushed for society to view animals as sentient and emotional beings.
Marine mammal trainers played a huge role in creating kind training methods for animals. I don’t think anyone would go through years of college, unpaid internships, a low salary - just to abuse an animal. For all the effort they go through, it requires a genuine passion and love for these animals.
If there is one thing I wish I could drill into people's minds, it's this:
Fish and reptiles have personalities too. The differences are more subtle, and maybe not as relatable as something like a cat or dog, but that doesn't mean the personality isn't there.
This is true even for some invertebrates, such as tarantulas. Even among individuals of the same species, many will exhibit wildly different traits. Some are more defensive, more skittish, and have different feeding responses.
As a keeper, I’ll occasionally even hear of people getting a species that is known for a calm temperament turn out to be a total nutjob. Even very simple creatures are very individualistic and deserve so much more credit than people give them.
Moon jellyfish at Monterey bay aquarium - photography by me. This exhibit was extremely mesmerizing and I spent a fair amount of time watching these jellyfish
please stop calling the california sea lions that are acting abnormally “demonic”. they are experiencing domoic acid toxicosis. domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin that is made by an algae called pseudo-nitzschia australis. fish eat the algae and the sea lions eat the fish. this buildup of DA in their system is what causes the behaviours we’re seeing. symptoms of DA toxicosis include: lethargy, disorientation, unpredictable behaviour, seizures, brain damage, and eventually death.
as far as we know, there have only been two unprovoked sea lion attacks on beaches. the vast majority of sea lions with DA toxicosis are not aggressive unless provoked. they are disoriented and they are acting out of fear.
DA is naturally occurring, but the algal blooms of pseudo-nitzschia australis have been increasing due to rising temperatures from climate change and water pollution. we are doing this to them.
affected sea lions seem to have pretty much a 50% chance of survival with treatment. they need IV fluids to flush out the toxin and some will need seizure medication as well. the marine mammal care center is completely overwhelmed with the amount of sick sea lions they are taking in and they need funding to keep up. you can donate to them here.
always stay at least 45 meters / 50 yards away from marine mammals! it protects both them and us!
Wildlife tourism isn’t always a more ethical choice.
I often see people who are under the assumption that wildlife tourism is free from ethical concerns, or that it’s inherently a more ethical choice than visiting a zoo/aquarium.
Wildlife tourism encompasses a wide variety of activities that involves watching wildlife in engage with their natural habitat. This includes safaris, whale watching, birding, photography tours, and a host of other activities. Wildlife tourism by itself can be an ethical way to see wildlife, however that is not always the case. There’s actively many harmful parts of wildlife tourism, that people may overlook since the animals are “free.”
So.. what would be some examples of unethical wildlife tourism?
- Whale petting in Baja Mexico. This activity actively contributes to the habituation of whales and disrupts their natural behaviors. Habituated whales are at a higher risk of encountering boat strikes - which can lead to physical injury or even death.
- Fake/bad acting sanctuaries. Sanctuaries are not always ethical, and many advertise activities such as elephant rides, elephant bathing, and advocate for people to touch/hold animals. The training methods they often utilize use fear or coercion, this is often actively stressful to the animals, and can be particularly dangerous to the tourists engaging with these animals.
- Swimming with whales. Studies show that commercial swim with whale tours can negatively impact the behaviors of some baleen whale species. These behaviors include avoidance and decreased rest time.
Spoiler: Injured wildlife
Is there ethical wildlife tourism?
Absolutely! Wildlife tourism should be done with respect for the animals. There should be careful steps taken to avoid habituation and harassment of wildlife.
Some of my favorite options include visiting a national park, bird watching, and doing careful research to find ethical whale watching companies. Additionally, many AZA accredited zoos offer animal interactions that are done in a safe & non-stressful manner for the animals. These may even include giraffe feedings and up close educational encounters.
Originally considered a subspecies of Californian sea lions, later were confirmed to be a separate species in 2003.
Extinction due to over hunting & habitat destruction.
The Japanese sea lion was a species of pinniped found in the western North Pacific, including Japan and the Korean Peninsula. They typically resided on open beaches, and occasionally in rocky areas. They also often would rest in caves.
Rare footage of Japanese Sea Lions
Japanese sea lions were victims of both over hunting and habitat destruction. They were primarily hunted for oil, with other parts being used for medicine and other goods. The commercial harvest of them is considered to be a primary factor in their extinction.
Habitat destruction, particularly destruction brought on by WW2 submarines is also believed to have played a role in their extinction.
Along with the Caribbean Monk Seal, these two make up the only pinnipeds to go extinct in modern times.
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