4@ — Wednesday, March 13, 1991 - North Shore News Two aquarium deaths and are they any the wiser? ON THE captive whale front, it is hard to know whether to weep or rage. With the death of Keltie Byrne coming so hard on the heels of the death of Hyak, we have a double tragedy, yet a single cause. 1 am not trying to equate the death of a whale with the death of a human, although there are peo- ple who would make that argu- ment. There is no doubt in my mind that the death of the poor young trainer, killed when she was drag- ged into the orca pool at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, was by far the more horrifying event, if only because | can relate to her as a fellow human. The death of Hyak fills me with sadness, and a certain bitterness. Hyak’s premature death, after all, had been predicted, not just by me, but by everybody who has studied the life expectancy of cap- tive orcas. The death of Keltie Byrne fills me with anger — because, despite the denials of Sealand’s owner, Bob Wright, the evidence of previous aggression problems in- volving his captive whales is part of the public record. It is an axiom that wild orcas have never attacked a human be- ing. The term ‘‘killer whale’? was a misnomer, except to the extent that they do attack and kill other kinds of whales, as well as seals. But an orca in captivity is another matter. Between 1987 and 1989, two people were pulled into the Sealand pool and mauled. There have been numerous reports in the United States of captive orcas displaying similar aggression, al- though this is the first incident in which a trainer was actually kill- ed. We will never know, of course, what was going on in the minds of the whales who killed Keltie Byrne. Eye witnesses report that all three orcas, Haida II, Tilikum and Nootka IV, were involved. They pulled the woman under- water and pushed her around. They might have been playing, but, if so, it was play that was far too rough. Frankly, I don’t buy the ac- cidental death argument. From my own experiences with whales and dolphins, I know that these creatures are totally aware of the needs of humans for air. They likewise have fantastic coordina- tion. Many years ago, I had an expe- rience with Skana, one of the first captive orcas at the Vancouver Aquarium, who of course died prematurely. Through a previous arrange- ment with the aquarium staff, | was allowed down on the platform beside the pool, whereupon | began stroking both Skana and Hyak. They were like huge, friendly dogs, their skins warm to the touch. They were so sensitive that just by blowing on them gently, I could get them arching luxurious- ly, almost sensually, in the water. Skana, however, abruptly changed behavior, sank back underwater, then lunged upward at me, seizing my head between her teeth. She repeated this action twice before I lost my nerve and retreated. I will never forget that moment of looking out at the world from between two rows of massive fangs realizing that my survival was now entirely subject to the Bob Hunter STAICTLY PERSONAL whim of an animal. ft went without saying that Skana could have bitten my head off as easily as me biting a grape. She didn’t. I believe to this day she was conducting a little experiment of her own, testing my reactions perhaps. Whatever the case, one thing was clear: she had magnifi- cent coordination and balance. Similarly, a few years later, I was in a pool with a dolphin in Hawaii, hanging on to the creature as she sliced through the water. I was underneath, my arms and legs wrapped around her. Yet there was never a problem with breathing. The instant I needed air, the dolphin surfaced and stayed up long enough for me to get my breath before plunging back and speeding along. In both cases, the dolphin and the orca displayed full awareness of my weakness and needs. If they had hurt me, it would certainly not have been due to clumsiness or accident. Accordingly, I have to believe that the orcas in Sealand had been driven partially mad by their long, horrifying confinement in an acoustically hostile, claustrophobic, polluted aquarium, The fact that they are forced to perform repetitious stunts to lure the customers in and keep Sealand’s profit margin high has definitely got to be another factor in increasing their resentment toward their trainers. ‘‘Trainer”’ of course a nice word for master, in what is nothing more than a master-slave relationship. I do not believe it is going too far to suggest that the whales may in fact have risen in rebellion against unbearable conditions. In the aftermath of the deaths at Sealand and the Vancouver Aquarium, it is difficult to say which organization has behaved the most appallingly. Probably Sealand gets the nod for promptly re-opening and car- rying on business as usual, al- though the ghouls who paid their bucks to go down to watch the whales — by now, for the first time, actual ‘‘killer whales’? — and applauded them, deserve special mention for morbidity. But the Vancouver Aquarium’s Stephani Payne deserves some kind of award for doubletalk, stonewalling and intransigence for bucking a park board request for @ moratorium on the capture of any more whales on the grounds that ‘‘we can’t be subject to polit- ical influence or whim as per the DON’T SMOKE F British Columbia Lung Association terms of our accreditation with the Canadian and American Associations of Zoological Parks and Aquariums.”” In other words, the aquarium thinks of itself as a power unto itself. Commissioner Tim Louis was perfectly correct in serving notice that he will introduce a motion at the next park board meeting to renegotiate the aquarium’s lease so that the board would have the authority to order a moratorium. As for Sealand’s Bob Wright, the only thing he should be allow- ed to do now is to begin working on a program to release his three captive orcas back into the wild, where they belong, instead of put- ting any more of his employees at risk. If enrolled in two sessions, 2nd clinic is $60 And if enrolled in all 3 sessions, 3rd clinic is $50 © 100% cotton © 115 cm wide § SALE PETER PAN PRINTS 99 VOGUE PATTERNS | “BUY. 4..GEF FREE! DUPION! 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