At some point during my adolescence, I threw around the idea of becoming a marine biologist. Partly because I love the sea, partly because I figured I didn't want to be a broke artist (!), but mostly because I knew I could go to college in San Diego. Par-tay! But as the years progressed, I discovered a strange quirk about myself that quite possibly shut the coffin on that elusive marine biologist career.
Looking at creatures underwater gives me the serious heebie jeebies.
The chills, I tell you.
It also gives me a suffocating feeling, which makes total sense because helllllooooo, we aren't made to breathe underwater. On our trip to Sea World last year, I explained my weirdness on the subject.
I mean, I love to swim in the ocean. That doesn't really freak me out. Its just viewing creatures underwater, through the observation glass, that is highly unpleasant for me. Just the fact that all that water is so close to me....and those huge creatures are just behind a sheet of glass...and are that close to me. Oh em gee....
Shamu? SHIVER.
Then I read this today. And I begin to think that maybe my weird quirk isn't a quirk after all, but just plain old, bare bones self-preservation, yo!
I told Michael, "Ahh-ha! See! I'm not crazy after all! Shamu is evil!"
People just weren't created to be frolicking with 12,000 lbs. sea creatures. Noooo. Reports said he dragged her down by her ponytail. Her ponytail! He could have just jumped up and swallowed her whole, right? Instead, he decided to use some finesse and snatched her up by her hair.
Tell me these animals aren't intelligent and calculating. And mad as hell that they are stuck in these tanks dancing for their meals.
Its so sad that this had to happen but seriously, let's stop using these animals for our entertainment. To be honest, I'm not taking the PETA angle, but the human angle. This is not the first trainer to be killed. This is the third for this particular whale. Interestingly, he is also worth millions of dollars, since Sea World uses him to sire other whales. That and use his fins (which measure the span of about six feet each) to splash the crowds.
Doooood.
They aren't called killer whales for nothing.
