visiblog

I shared this video with everyone at work. Musta watched it ten times. It’s amazing. And yes, sad too.

It’s like the sardine circle room at our aquarium, only bigger.

David: I think it’s great that we’re keeping the White Shark for a while. She acts as an ambassador to us monkeys and we learn a LOT from studying her while she’s with us.

Cayla: Totally agree with you. The data we gather is a good, the incarceration bit is tough. One thing to note, however, is that many animals actually live longer in captivity. The question is what’s better, a short, free life or a long, captive one?

I totally agree with you. The long captive lifespan trend is especially true for many mammals, birds, and small animals in general. There’s also the advantage of captive breeding programs, as well as contact with the public to spark a connection between human and animal specimen, which will hopefully encourage the general public to care about said specimens more. With some animals that are large or hard to keep but need protection in the wild, you’re sort of damned if you keep them in a captive environment, but damned if you don’t have a way of physically presenting them to the public’s attention (for conservation, mainly.). I’m really glad this subject got brought up!

Agreed. Just look at the classic battles for saving marine mammals versus the comparatively lackluster attempts/campaigns to conserve equally (or even more) ecologically crucial animals that aren’t as fuzzy or cute, like most sharks. Ideally, scientists should objectively address the issue that: 1.) A population of , say , a top predator species is in drastic decline, and repercussions from said population loss will affect lower organisms in that food web, ultimately impacting fisheries, chemical processes in the ocean, and large-scale bio-productivity. Next step: 2.) The animal is not warm-blooded, fuzzy, cute, or extremely intelligent. Thus, the public has little or no focus on the issue, simply because there’s no view of that animal as “worthy” of saving. Step 3: Taking more or less the Aquarium’s approach- a wide array of programs dedicated to researching captive and wild specimens of that species, studies of population history and migration, as well as collaboration with similar agencies to assess the real impacts of a worst-case scenario in which the species disappears. What do we think will happen? This should take years, if not decades to understand if it’s done right. Meanwhile, the populations of said species continue to drop from overfishing or even new diseases that the species cannot deal with that were probably introduced from humans. Final steps: The successful compilation of population dynamics and physiological data, as well as population assessments of the species that directly intercact with said declining species. Possible attempts at keeingcaptive specimens and *appropriate* “showcasing” to the public through physical presentation and empowering public interactions that reinforce positive stimulation to avoid businesses or products that threaten the existence of said organism. (seafood watch, for example.) Also, celebrity chefs using sustainable foods, the creation of *good* documentaries, (sharkwater is a good example. It’s an eye-opener.), and someday, legislation for fisheries protection, various collection bans, marine reserves creation, etc. etc.

Meanwhile, when using captive animals as ambassadors for their species, it is crucial to strike that oh-so-delicate balance between getting the public excited about that animal, and coming off like it’s there just to look cool. In other words, the “this animal really matters for the future survival of oceanic food webs, which will definitely impact bio-productivity, fisheries, our economies, and our atmosphere” versus ” Well! That’s a badass fish you’ve got there… Um, hey, do you guys also have any dolphin shows, by chance? We came all this way… We’re looking for some real entertainment, you know?”

Oh dear God that was a long comment. I think some people get banned for stuff like this….

It’s called a “gravitar” in WP for some reason. You should be able to change it in the main panel somewhere… I’ll go check.