Pimpin' Killer Whales in the Name of Pleasure, Education and Entertainment

What's the difference between a street pimp putting a girl, boy or woman on the street to boost his economy and provide a perverse kind of entertainment and bringing a Killer Whale or other wild species into captivity to be pimped for education, entertainment and pleasure? In this case six tons, anger, frustration and living under other than natural conditions for this species.

On February 24th, Tilikum a 12,000 pound Orca (Killer Whale) dragged his SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau into the pool and thrashed her to death, while the audience watched in utter horror. I can only imagine the imprint this made on the minds, hearts and spirits of the children in that audience. Profit from misery is pure and simple exploitation. Tilikum was born in the wild off the shores of Iceland. Orcas need to swim endless miles to lift the tons of weight, ever so powerfully into the air, navigate its known and instinctive world, and live their lives fully.

There are those who've called for the whale to be euthanized and others demanding he be released into the wild. According to SeaWorld’s own records, he’s killed twice before. Keeping a free range sonic animal like a Killer Whale is no different than incarcerating a human while depriving us access to the natural environment that nurtures our minds and spirits, at times allowing us to express the most evolved level of our socialization. But, according to experts, having been in captivity for so long Tilikum would not survive. Like so many other species, the invasion of their natural habits also is making it more difficult for them to survive.

The killer whale shows continue at SeaWorld's three parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego. At these parks, VIP visitors were sometimes invited to pet the whales and that practice will no longer be allowed. What this animal did to his trainer was not about a breach of trust; these animals are acting on their natural instincts and how do we know the whale wasn't "simply" playing with the trainer and tossing her around like a doll or enraged and frustrated by being in captivity? I can't even stand to see a bird caged, but I have “offed” a cockroach. Can a trainer really read an animal’s mind? I think there is a real difference between understanding the behavioral patterns of a species and “presumptuously” reading its mind. For me, holding these animals runs parallel to the mindset related to colonization.

In November 2009 while on a trip to Mozambique and South Africa, I visited South Africa's Kruger National Wildlife Reserve. The park ranger who led our tour at Kruger told us of a man who became a meal for a pride of lions. Whether it was hubris, seduction by the magic of the moment or thinking there was backup rescue plan, if he was attacked, the man got out of his car to take photographs of the lions; only his bones and camera were left. Feeling very much like a voyeur, I spent four hours in that park experiencing an intense level of discomfort while "observing" the hippos, elephants, and rhinoceros in their natural habitat. That night, I dreamt a white rhino rang my doorbell and said, "You was all up in Kruger looking at my stuff, now let me see yo' shit." The dream ended with me standing at the door trying to figure out whether to open the door and invite the rhino in. I'm still wrestling with the ending of that dream.

This may have been Brancheau’s dream job, but is it Tilikum’s? She had a deep bond with the whale, but what we must remember is that those relationships are on their terms and not ours, with wild being the operative word. Choosing to educate ourselves and our children about wild animals requires some seriously mindful actions. It’s clear that pimpin' them for our education, entertainment and pleasure is not the way.

Daphne Muse is a writer, social commentator and poet has no empirical expertise in animal behavior, but as animal of a different species shares a morally based compassion for them and their plight.

msmusewriter@gmail.com

Unbeknownst to her, her domain name www.daphnemuse.com was purchased by a Japanese real estate investor and her website appears in Japanese. Her new website is under construction.