What does the future hold?
Mystery Illness
For the past few weeks I’ve been sick with some sort of viral infection (according to the doctor at the hospital, at least). I, honestly, have no idea. It comes and it goes randomly. Sometimes I go an entire day without any symptoms. And sometimes I can go for days being practically bedridden due to being in pain from headaches and strange ear pains. I’ve missed a fair bit of school, but I went yesterday. I think that was a mistake. By the time I got home, I was so exhausted, yet I continued with my normal activities and fell asleep at my normal time (1am). Today I felt worse, so I did not go to school. In response to this my mom says I am not allowed to go to my best friend’s birthday party tomorrow. Well no matter what, it’s lose/lose for me. Lose 1) If I went to school I would have been in pain, and then in pain at my friend’s place. Lose 2) I stay home and miss out on long-awaited fun, but get to rest in attempt to ease the pain.
So no matter what, I lose.
Three New Calves
This past week or so the Center for Whale Research has identified three new calves in the Southern Resident orca community, identified as J-44, L-112, and J-45. This is pretty good news, as the community has lost six to eight orcas this past year, two of them being reproductive-age females who wouldn’t die in normal circumstances. Why did they die? Lack of food. Why is this a non-normal circumstance? Because we’re taking away their main diet—chinook salmon. We have taken away much of the habitat which the chinook use for reproduction. Another reason, is that the salmon are loaded with PCBs, a now-mostly-banned flame retardant which is still being dumped in some countries. It induces a weakened immune system, chance of infertility, among other unhealthy things. As a result, the Southern Resident orcas have the highest levels of PCBs in their bodies. Nearly two centuries ago these orcas numbered around two hundred. Today they number in the eighties, with an entire generation missing due to the mass capture of youngsters for captivity (profits) forty years ago.
J-45’s mother is Samish (J-14). The identity of L-112’s mother is still unknown.
The mother of J-44 is Princess Angeline (J-17). She already has two daughters (Polaris (J-28) and Tahlequah (J-35)), and was also my first adopted orca.
Bad things that happened to me this year: A compilation
Here I’m just venting. Vent vent vent.
Both of My Siblings Have Been Laid Off
That’s right. In June my sister was laid off, because the place she was working at was closing in August. As she hadn’t even been there for a year, she was among the first to go. This past month my brother was told that he was not driving enough miles, so he was laid off (he’s a long-distance truck driver, same as my dad). He wasn’t even warned about not having enough miles. I’m especially pissed, because our dad worked for that same company until a few years ago when he ‘provoked’ a higher-up into knocking him unconscious. Clearly that company is going to the dogs… it’s been taken over by the founder’s son. Now my brother is going to be working for the company that my dad is now working for.
Ps: If I ever have the chance to meet this owner of the stupid trucking company in question… I’ll be sure to give him a piece of my mind. 
Nootka 5 Dies at Marineland
On January 8 of 2008, Nootka passed away at Marineland Niagara Falls. She had a number of calves over the years, but they have all since died.
The Passing of Pleco the Pleco
Since 2001 I owned an algae eater, whom I named Pleco. He was a plecostomus, and never reached a foot in length (he was stunted to being about seven inches long, probably genetic or something). It was in late February, when I noticed he seemed to be acting different. Knowing fish, I knew he was ill, and so I isolated him into a smaller container filled with his favourite log and tons of java moss to hide in. Right when I placed him in there, I could tell he appreciated it. Two mornings later, he died. I was going to bury him in the backyard this summer, but I had no time. Maybe next summer.
Cletus the Betta
I just remember that he died in the middle of March, on the morning when I was to leave for a jazz festival that was two hours away. I rescued him from a local pet store the previous April—his water was only two inches deep, and was so filthy you could barely tell he was there. He had no colour whatsoever. When I first got him, I just thought he was going to die, and I was ready for it. But then he lived for a week… two weeks… two months… and then he started to develop a beautiful blue colour on his fins. His fins grew a bit, and he seemed to be a happy little betta. He loved chasing me whenever I walked past the tank (I kept him in the 33gal community tank). At least he died happy…
Charmin, My Beloved
In 1994, my brother had finally convinced my mom to go out and get a cat. We eventually picked a cat, named Charmin. She was a manx with a long tail… and the same age as me—two years. She had quite a few stories enacted for us to tell for years to come: she jumped off our house’s balcony which is on the second floor, had five male kittens when we were told she was spayed (we made sure after she had given birth, though), and she always made her presence known whenever she wanted something. Whenever I was sad, she would always find me, lay on my stomach, and purr. This always made me feel better.
On March 5, my sister and I were sitting in the living room (we were the only ones in the house as our parents were on a road trip), when Charmin came into the room and stared at us both. She then headed toward my sister, and we saw that she was pretty wobbly on her feet. So I was dropped off at my brother’s house with Charmin so then he could keep an eye on her (because my sister had other things to do), and I slept on the couch with her that night.
The following morning my brother brought me to school, and I spent the entire day worrying about Charmin. Then during the afternoon in science class I called my brother, and he said that she was taken to the vet that morning, and that we could go visit her when I got out of school. He picked me up after school, and he, his girlfriend, and I all went to the vet. We were set in a small room with Charmin, and got to visit with her for a bit. Some minutes later the vet came in, and explained that her kidneys were failing, and the only treatment available at the point of how damaged the kidneys were would only let her live a few more months and she would have to be heavily medicated 24/7. We took Charmin home to my brother’s, and I stayed there a second night.
I did not go to school Friday the 7th. We waited until my parents arrived back in the area, and my dad dropped off mom, and then we all went back to the vet’s with Charmin. We were escorted into a room with a door leading outside, and there were “Rainbow Bridge” poems and pictures here and there. We were then given time alone with her, for maybe half an hour. Then the vet and a helper came in, and gave her the fatal dose. As she slipped away, I hugged her softly and whispered in her ear, “I’ll always love you, beautiful girl.”
She was cremated, and her ashes now sit in an urn in my home. I still miss her a lot.
Six Southern Resident Orcas Gone
This past year, seven orcas from the Southern Resident orca community have disappeared. Two were senior females, two were reproductive females, two were newborn calves, and one was a juvenile male. The last orca mentioned will be spoken about in the next piece.
Rest in peace:
Lummi (K-7) – est. 1910-2008
Ankh (L-21) – est. 1950-2008
Blossom (J-11) – est. 1972-2008
Splash (L-67) – est. 1975-2008
Unnamed (L-111) – 2008
Unnamed (J-43) – 2008
Aurora
Born in 2002, L-101 (Aurora) was the second offspring of L-67 (Splash). Aurora’s older sibling, Luna, was born in 1999 and disappeared in 2001, later reappearing in that same year in Gold River, BC. He was alone. Over the course of five years people had tried to capture Luna to relocate him closer to his family so that he could be with his pod again, but the Mowachaht-Muchalaht’s thwarted every effort—claiming Luna was the reincarnation of their recently deceased chief. On March 10, 2006, Luna came too close to a 104-foot tugboat, and was killed by the propellers. This should not have happened. Anyway, that’s for another blog entry…
Aurora seemed to be quite the character, as there was one time where he appeared out of nowhere in front of a boat with a salmon in his mouth. There have been other funny incidents, but I do not remember them.
In 2004 I entered a naming contest for The Whale Museum, of which I had just become a member through the Orca Adoption Program—I opened it as a gift on Christmas of 2003. After learning of Luna’s story and seeing that there was a calf—L-101—that needed a name in that contest, I decided to submit a name: Aurora Borealis. Some months later, the name Aurora won by popular vote. I received a letter saying that even though the full name I submitted was Aurora Borealis, I still won along with the person who also submitted Aurora. And since I won, I got a free one-year adoption of Aurora. Every year since, at Christmas, my adoption of Aurora would be renewed.
I kept track of all the monthly updates through the e-mail system, reading for any news on Aurora. In this year’s e-mails, there was no mention of Aurora or his mom Splash. This worried me. And then I received a letter in September, saying that I can choose to adopt another orca in place of Aurora, or keep the adoption of him until a full year past after his last sighting (with which that would be the time he would be confirmed to be dead).
Well my mom, yesterday, said, “Oh, what the hell… Merry Christmas.” And dropped a large envelope in front of me. It was a renewal of Aurora’s adoption. And with it, was a large photo never before seen by any other person other than myself, the owner of The Whale Museum, and the photographer (I may be wrong, but this is how it is for now). I may put it online… but I haven’t decided yet.
Debby, the World’s Oldest Polar Bear
On Monday, November 17, Debby was euthanized after blood tests confirmed that her organs were failing. She was just some weeks short of turning 42 years old. On Saturday there was a ‘celebration of her life’. About two hundred people were there. We had to hold the ceremony outside because the restaurant was not big enough for that many people. One of our local celebrities was there, and he spoke to us a bit.
In her four decades of being at the zoo, Debby had attracted around eighteen million visitors. She had been the star attraction for many years, because of her age, the fact she was a polar bear, and her wonderful personality.
She has had six cubs in her younger years, all of whom are still alive today.
Rest well, Debby.
Back once more from the East coast
It was a fairly good trip—especially because my dad and I did not have to be in NYC for long (just an afternoon). And even then, it was just the Bronx.
Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy
On the 17th my dad and I went on a whale watching boat. We saw at least a dozen whales, most of whom were humpbacks. About six of them came right up to the boat. We also saw two fin whales. That was a wonderful sight to see, even if they were hundreds of yards away.
A humpback mother and calf had come up close at one point, and the mother dove under the boat. Meanwhile, the calf spyhopped right beside the back of the boat! My dad got it recorded on the digital camcorder, so I shall see if I can show everyone how awesome it was.
Marineland Niagara Falls
On the evening of the 20th and in the morning and afternoon of the 21st, I spent at Marineland. The entire time I watched the orcas. Kiska seems depressed. On Thursday during one of the splash sessions, she just circled the pool, not bothering to listen to her trainers. I think she misses Nootka 5 quite a bit.
Ikaika seems to be doing quite well. He’s grown a lot since last year, and he eats at every chance he gets… and then he makes calls for his trainer when she goes to leave because he ate all the food. I would say his dorsal is going to be sprouting soon, even though he is not even in his teens yet. But maybe not… I honestly am not an expert on that.
Athena is bigger, but seems to be underweight and looks a little ill. When I watch her swim I can see her ribcage every once in a while. There’s also some weird white patches in her skin down her back near the fluke. Plus the black around there is lighter than it should be.
Hopefully Kiska and Athena both get better soon. I would really hate for them to die, because the employees who work with them are really involved in their job. (You would not believe how dedicated they are.)
Lolita: A life worth dying for
Lolita, originally known as Tokitae, was captured on August 9, 1970. Since then she has lived a life of slavery. Imagine living your life, then one day you’re captured in a net, and forced to do repetitive tricks twice a day for nearly four decades, in a kiddy pool? Never mind that, because killer whales’ brains are five times larger than our own! Imagine what goes through her mind every day.
Here’s a quote from Miamiseaprison.com:
“ The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) states that the primary enclosure for a killer whale (Orcinus Orca) must have a minimum horizontal dimension of no less than 48 ft in either direction with a straight line of travel across the center. You must be able to draw a circle with a 48-foot diameter in the pool.
Lolita’s tank is only 35 ft. from the front wall to the slide-out barrier. At its deepest point, it is only 20 ft. deep. This is clearly an ILLEGAL tank, but no one is enforcing the law. In other words, while Lolita is left cramped in this clearly substandard tank, APHIS is NOT doing their job. They gave the Seaquarium a variance from 1979 to 1984 to allow them five years to upgrade the tank. Her conditions have never been improved.
In September of 1998, the Humane Society of the United States filed a formal complaint regarding the size of Lolita’s tank. And they have continuously objected to the federal government’s failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA is NOT enforcing the law. ”
This is just a small portion of what’s wrong with the Miami Seaquarium. You can find out more by going here: http://www.miamiseaprison.com/faq.htm
The 38th anniversary of her capture will be this coming August 9th. I wish I was able to go to Miami to boycott at the Seaquarium with all the others that will be doing so. And I’m not the type of person that would boycott… that’s saying something.
It means, the Miami Seaquarium is a horrible place for sea creatures. This is a fact, trust me.
Tokitae deserves a better life. She is well equipped to return to her family, and I’m quite sure her relatives would be happy with her return (although they’ll likely be surprised!) Imagine how jubilant her mother, Ocean Sun, would be. I get excited just thinking about it.
