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hyzenthlay76 's review for:
One of the best nonfiction books I've ever read, and one that was very emotionally charged for me. Like many of the trainers and scientists profiled, I once visited SeaWorld as a child and dreamed of being a marine biologist.
Seeing the J,K and L pods in the San Juan Islands around 1990 for the first time was pivotal in changing my attitude about orcas in captivity, and the next time I saw them in 1995, followed by a visit to the Vancouver aquarium where one lonely male was kept in tank hardly bigger than he was solidified the disparity between the two lives for me. From then on my position was uncompromising. I have been lucky enough to see the Southern Residents three times in my life, each unforgettable. They are a part of the wild landscape, their towering fins echoing the treeline onshore, and I believe that is the only place they belong.
Needless to say, I wasn't reading this book to be convinced, but rather to learn more about the wild and captive lives of killer whales, and the events and details leading up to the most recent trainer death.
David Kirby paces this like a thriller, and the amount of research that went into fully developed human and cetacean characters is astounding.
It is unfortunate that while SeaWorld characterizes its captives as "ambassadors," they are little more than a product for yet another ethically-compromised corporation.
While this book made me further question aquariums and zoos, wondering where the line should be drawn, it only solidified my stance that the highly intelligent orca, roaming the sea in lifelong family groups, should not be confined in concrete.
Seeing the J,K and L pods in the San Juan Islands around 1990 for the first time was pivotal in changing my attitude about orcas in captivity, and the next time I saw them in 1995, followed by a visit to the Vancouver aquarium where one lonely male was kept in tank hardly bigger than he was solidified the disparity between the two lives for me. From then on my position was uncompromising. I have been lucky enough to see the Southern Residents three times in my life, each unforgettable. They are a part of the wild landscape, their towering fins echoing the treeline onshore, and I believe that is the only place they belong.
Needless to say, I wasn't reading this book to be convinced, but rather to learn more about the wild and captive lives of killer whales, and the events and details leading up to the most recent trainer death.
David Kirby paces this like a thriller, and the amount of research that went into fully developed human and cetacean characters is astounding.
It is unfortunate that while SeaWorld characterizes its captives as "ambassadors," they are little more than a product for yet another ethically-compromised corporation.
While this book made me further question aquariums and zoos, wondering where the line should be drawn, it only solidified my stance that the highly intelligent orca, roaming the sea in lifelong family groups, should not be confined in concrete.