About
In the Summer of 2020, or the year that shall not be named, I along with many others found myself with more free time than I cared to manage. Among a slew of less than educational videos, I eventually stumbled upon clips of SeaWorld’s Shamu shows. I had been to SeaWorld in 2003 when I was eight years old with my brother, mother, and grandmother, but I only remembered portions of the visit. I was studying for my undergraduate degree in 2015 at the age of nineteen when I became aware, four years late, of the death of Dawn Brancheau.
These new videos I was watching at the age of 25, with nothing else to distract me, captured my attention completely. I was fascinated by the Orca’s ability to learn how to gently interact with humans and swim with them in a ballet-like manner. Then I began to remember a documentary I had seen a year prior entitled “Whistleblower: The Case Against Captivity,” in which the film described the heart-wrenching process of removing Orca calves from the company of their mothers for the sake of profit. Now that I was reawakened to the true nature of Orcas, I began to study them more closely.
After a year of admiring Orcas and their ability to socialize with humans, followed by a year of research into their intelligence and social awareness, I have decided to start a research-based blog on Orcas and all Cetaceans. Here I will write about Orca intelligence, behavior, and why they are so important not only to me and those who love them, but also the ocean ecosystem as a whole. I will also write about Cetaceans in captivity, including dolphins, porpoises and beluga whales, and why my position is that they belong in the wild and not in an artificial environment.
My writing will be science-based, but I will also include various spiritual and emotional aspects of my perspective and the perspective of others, as this is an essential part of the dynamic of those of us who believe that Orcas should not be held captive. I have so much to share, and my goal is to communicate my passion for Orcas in particular, though all cetaceans in general, and hopefully bestow that passion upon my readers.
