Hawaiʻi's Technology Community
Killer whale trainer death tied to mating, isolation
Boredom and raging hormones may have contributed to the tragic attack by a SeaWorld killer whale.
Should wild creatures, such as killer whales, be kept in isolation for entertainment purposes?
Or should there be another, possibly more humane design, to leave these creatures in the wild but still have access to them via underwater see-through walkways/panels, etc..
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Konstantin A Lukin on
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Over the years, Tilikum has sired at least 17 calves, 10 of which are still alive, making him the most successful orca father in captivity. He is also the only captive killer whale grandfather.
Whole families of killer whales are bread in captivity, completely transforming their wilderness neuro-nets into those of captive creatures. I can understand that some environmentalists can argue that captivity actually saves whales from extinction by fisherman/whalers, but my question is, should there be another safety mechanism where these creatures get to enjoy their natural environment and we humans get to enjoy living along side with them?
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No.
I also think so. IMO this is directly tied to animal psychology, and shows how we humans yet have a lot to learn from wild creatures. In order to understand behavior, I usually try to exchange myself with the being in question. Would I be OK with some aliens breading me in captivity, pointing fingers and laughing at my silly tricks?
Some may argue that we humans are much more 'advanced' beings, so we are 'allowed' to do these things.. Some may argue that animals do not feel pain, suffering nor isolation. I disagree. I think our human form gives us power over environment, but I do not think it also gives us permission to abuse this power. In fact, we are so comfortable with abuse that it is being widely accepted as normal human behavior.
Which brings me to my next point. In order for us to live in 'harmony' with natural phenomena, we really need to change our ways. We need to be more compassionate with other creatures. We are sharing space with them. We need to learn how to have minimal impact on natural phenomena. This planet's neuro-net is not doing so hot right now, simply because we have been very 'active' re-programming it to our liking. If things continue this way, collectively our options are becoming less & less sunny. We might start facing accelerating natural cataclysms, which will be a direct result of our activity.
Somehow we have this mentality of "don't fix what ain't broke", which could work for some time, but what if planet's ecosystem starts showing accelerating disintegration. Once it's gears are in motion, it is very difficult to slow it down due to its size & inertia. Once a tipping point is reached, things become irreversible.
These particular incidents are all connected with each other in a way that animals have a way of showing signs of danger. Did you ever hear about rats jumping ship when it is sinking? IMO This could only be explained in one way - most of animal behavior is driven by instincts. In times of survival, these instincts are better signs of danger than logical reasoning. Unfortunately we humans have atrophied a lot of our animal nature due to sedentary living. We need to learn how to interpret these signs, which can only be done if we live in peace with these creatures.
Are we in peace with other creatures?
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I think a better question is.. are we at peace with each other?
Yes, this is a better question. Another possible question is, are we at peace with ourselves? I think this is really the most important one to answer. I think answering this question will shine wisdom on many other aspects of one's existence.
To use a coarse analogy, it's like handing a kid a gun. You're giving someone immature a tremendous amount of power that they haven't really "earned".
Yes, this analogy is quite appropriate. The only thing I see here is that nobody really gave us anything. History shows that most of it has been taken, usually with force. Most force has used some form of technology to manifest itself. Hence science and technology is the 'gun' in the hands of children (us). That is why (IMO) it is so important to have proper morality in place in combination with scientific progress. Otherwise we can simply destroy ourselves in a very short time, which is theoretically where we are going if things don't change.
I think we lack the perspective and respect for what we're actually doing. Too often we just want to do something and consider consequences later.
Unfortunately this is also true. Once again, this has a lot to do with inner peace. Those with inner harmony manifest things that are also in harmony. We create in our own likeness. Science is a very powerful creative/destructive force.
Take the average person who likely considers themselves pretty smart/capable and strip away all their tools - most people in the first world would be utterly screwed.
Which is why I'd like to reiterate my original point. We can learn a lot from indigenous people :)
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Isn't it amusing (in a dark comedic way) how more technology isn't really improving our lives overall? I realize certain technologies do, but overall/net impact? Not convinced.
Technology is only making things more complex. I believe at our core, we are simple beings, that enjoy simple things.
“When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”
I am hoping it won't get that far. I am hoping for a milder solution which should be enough for the problem to resolve itself.
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