Feb. 24, 2017
OPINIONS
Blueprint 3
Open oceans not closed captivity: leave animals in the sea Jessie Fortin, Online News Editor An orca named Tilikum passed away on Jan. 9, 2017. He was 22.5 feet long and weighed 12,000 lbs, passing as the largest orca in captivity. Trapping an orca of his size in a jail cell for three decades impacted him mentally, physically and took a toll on the trainers that interacted with the massive animal. Tilikum was only two years old when he was ripped away from his family in Iceland and brought to Sealand of the Pacific, a marine park located in British Columbia, Canada. The next 33 years would be a life of forced tricks for food, tiny enclosures and a miserable experience. Orcas need constant stimulation in the water to entertain them such as fish, toys or other orcas. Due to a lack of any stimulation, Tilikum would want to play with anything that entered the water. As a result, Tilikum had killed three people since he was torn away from his family in November, 1983. Orcas did not get the nickname “killer whale” for nothing. These animals are capable of a lot of destruction despite the cuddly perception they have been given. If Tilikum was never captured, the three people who have been killed by an orca in the U.S. would still be alive. The lack of interaction literally made the whale psychotic, which made it impossible to release him into the wild, even if trainers taught him again how to survive without the help of people. Tilikum lived a terrible life--alone and trapped. Although he is now free again, I hope
the people who made his life this way forever remember that they ruined a beautiful animal. Since the release of the Netflix documentary “Blackfish”, endless controversies of the marine park
Open oceans and interactions with other animals is what orcas need, not performing in a tiny tank in fear of not getting fed for the day. When comparing the sizes of the ocean and a tank, it is almost like trapping a hu-
man Seainside of world a room for arose their entire Photo illustration by Claire Pikul and became lives. It’s unreaknown to animal sonable to expect lovers across the nation. The intenthese animals to thrive in such poor tions of the park is to inform the conditions. public about the animals they have, These animals may just seem like not to abuse them. But this indirect- brainless things, but they are so ly happens when you compare how much more than that. They have their lives could be in the wild. feelings, friendships and family, just
like people do. Pods of orcas can contain four generations of families, yet it is still considered acceptable to tear them away from their family at a young age and sell them to Seaworld for entertainment. The natural habitat where these animals live in is nearly impossible for humans to recreate, even with professionals working on it. According to Shark Bookings, Great white sharks have been tracked and studied to find out that they migrate each year, sometimes even covering 1,800 miles in just three months. It is impossible to recreate a tank that would be large enough for fit their lifestyle, and it is impossible to keep a great white shark alive in such poor conditions. According to Shark Bookings, the longest that a great white shark has lived in captivity was 44 days. After the short period of time the shark was released back into the ocean, but soon died from the stress of being relocated too much. Maintaining a tank for an aquatic animal is extremely complicated and involves a lot of dedication because one small problem can lead to a fatal ending. In July of 2015, the Brookfield Zoo lost 54 stingrays due to the malfunction of oxygen levels in the tanks containing the rays. The staff of the zoo tried to fix the issue with no avail, thus the death of four southern stingrays and 50 cownose rays. Although Tilikum’s story is important, it is not unique--it is happening to every aquatic animal in captivity. It’s upsetting to see these animals in such a miserable state, but it is even more upsetting to know that most of the animals will never return to the ocean.
A letter to the editors: response to global warming article Dear Michelle Hroma, Eileen Tyrell, and Marisa Kasher, Thanks, and with our deepest gratitude for the editorial you posted on December 16th, 2016, “The Global Warming Debate Heats Up.” We can agree this is a serious issue that, unfortunately, is not looked at enough by Americans. We all know global warming is an issue, but many people don’t know a lot about what makes it so serious. We are not only thankful for your efforts writing and posting the article, but also because you were brave enough to mention Donald Trump being against these ideas and how much of a problem this can be. Unfortunately for us, small solutions are no longer enough to stop climate change. The only way to significantly affect climate change is through leaders that will try to make clean energy a possibility without usage of nonrenewable energy resources. Currently the possible ideas for America are to cut emissions down to almost nothing through laws and regulations or to set a price on carbon pollution. Either one of these will lower carbon pollution and help us stop global warming. You are right that time is running out. Perhaps within the next few years, we will have reached a tipping point where we completely lose the ability to affect the climate by changing to renewables. With Donald Trump in office hope is small, but like everyone who pushes for clean energy, we still have hope for change. Feel free to join our Earth Action Club meetings every Tuesday after school in C260. We are always talking about spreading the word and are so happy you all spread it through the Blueprint News Network. Signed, Kyle Kotula (member), Kirk Hoffman (secretary), Shana Johnson (co-president), and Aleida Iriarte (member) for Earth Action Club Theresa Quain, Sponsor