#whale rescue
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Please share all you can about Toa the orca calf, I think his story is very important. I don’t know too much but it seems like a case of activists being but in charge rather than actual experts.
Yeah it was a mess from start to finish. Toa was found stranded on the rocks, with witnesses saying the waves had thrown him up there. Already he would have been distressed and had been on his side on a hard surface for a few hours at least.
They got him back in the water and then videos of these interactions started to surface:
No PPE, giving Toa belly rubs and ignoring any formal rescue protocols (if you're trying to refloat a whale, you're not letting them turn upside down)
The sun was going down and DOC wanted people out of the water. Ingrid was on her way and giving instructions to her team. The decision was made to put Toa on a trailer overnight - it's unclear if that was her decision or not but it's clear that, despite not having any rehab facilities in New Zealand, people were determined to rehab this calf and release it back into the wild at any cost.
So they cobbled together a "sea pen" on a boat ramp in a dirty harbour. This is where Toa would eventually die in a few weeks time. Whale Rescue was already selling the story of a miraculous rescue and the plan to "reunite" Toa with his pod. And lying openly that orca calves had been successfully released in the wild before:
He wasn't injured, they said. He was fine. They just had to find his pod now.
When asked reasonable question about where the PPE was for volunteers, Whale Rescue immediately became defensive:
The call for PPE went ignored for about a day while people were in close contact with a sick orca. And the call went out for more "volunteers" aka anyone with a wetsuit. This sparked immediate concerns from the Advisory Group.
Photos like this started showing up - 6 people crowding Toa in a circle, no where for him to go if he wanted a break from people:
The excuse was that Toa needed help swimming. Yet he was swimming okay and avoiding the fences without any obvious issue. And so the habituation began... Despite continuing advice from the Technical Advisory Group - including Loro Parque and SeaWorld, who both have extensive calf raising experience.
"There is no need to have people 24/7 in the water when the animal is able to float and swim alone."
Finally PPE was being used but the habituation and intense contact with Toa continued. Ingrid gave it the okay and other inexperienced members of the public continued to encourage it.
Whale Rescue continued to affirm to the public that they are merely "duplicating natural behaviour" for Toa
And the cultish and unquestioning worship of Ingrid Visser allowed this to continue - note the amount of people in the water for Toa's "massage." They only started wearing PPE when people started questioning it.
If you're wondering what I mean by cultish behaviour see the comment thread below:
They actually believe that Ingrid was communicating with Toa. Because that's what she told them she was doing. And they believed it without question.
When Toa was moved into the freshwater pool due to storms, it got even worse.
This photo was quickly deleted but look how absolutely foul the water is:
There didn't appear to be any sort of filtration or pump system.
At this point volunteers and Ingrid were being fed by donated food from the local pubs, Ingrid was sleeping on site in a donated campervan and the entire community were rallying around trying to "help." Note how close they're all set up to the pool.
Putting him in the pool also made Toa a lot more accessible. Concerns were raised about the stress to the calf and an exclusion zone was agreed upon. Buuut it was immediately disregarded.
7 people! In that tiny pool! And the photos of the complete flouting of the rules continued to surface.
The comments find it all very amusing!
Roll up, roll up! Come and see the dying baby orca calf!
And then, as we near the end of this animal's torment, Ingrid brags to the press about how she's now TRAINING the animal she intends to release into the wild. Because we definitely want to be training cooperative care and making life saving feeding and hydrating procedures all about Choice.
Remember when Ingrid Visser didn't like the "exploitation" of orcas in captivity? Remember when she said that training "tricks", even husbandry behaviours, is cruel and bad? I do!
It makes me seriously wonder if she just wanted to be an orca trainer all her life.
But anyway, Toa's getting bouts of colic (gee, maybe changing the formula without permission wasn't a good idea!) and DOC is starting to get concerned about him. At this point, people are still denying that SeaWorld and Loro Parque are involved and any mention of a facility getting involved is immediately shut down.
This is what was being said in the Advisory Group:
At this point both SeaWorld and Loro Parque have provided formulas, advice ect. Ingrid Visser was claiming she knew these things all along and that the formulas were from her hand picked experts.
So these are what the comments were:
Whale Rescue thought it was appropriate to reply to comments of concern like this:
The cult of Visser continues to fuel the anti human care sentiment.
DOC starts to report concerns with Toa's health and Whale Rescue decides to double down that everything is completely Fine. Don't listen to DOC, keep giving us money.
The donations are getting up to 20k.
Because of Whale Rescue casting dispersions, anti DOC (Department of Conservation - who put in about 10k into the rescue efforts) sentiments grow.
And, only a few days later, Toa dies. I reached the end of my image limit but I still have plenty more screenshots I can share.
I recommend you check out the documents released by DOC to see the sources of these screenshots - the other screenshots were taken from news reports, Facebook groups and posts as well as videos:
#Toa#Toa the orca#cetacean welfare#orca#killer whale#Ingrid Visser#New Zealand#whale rescue#cetacean rehab#cetacean rescue
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#transformers#rescue bots#tfrb blades#tfrb heatwave#if I’m remembering correctly Heatwave just got his ass kicked by a whale and still has the energy to glare at Blades#screenshots
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BRAVE LITTLE HUNTER MADE IT OUT OF THE LAGOON!!!!!!!! LOOK AT HER GO!!!!!! And she said goodbye to her guides before she left I am crying
#long story short she was trapped in a lagoon after her mom died#now shes back in the ocean and the rescue team is gonna keep helping to try to find her pod!!!#whales
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my favorite folk singer did an album that was just instrumentals interspersed with one very very long old Orkney trad ballad which “The Grey Silkie” is just a fragment of, and despite it being the most Me thing in the world i hadn’t been able to find a copy since it’s out of print BUT
thanks to a local folk-singing friend i have finally had the chance to hear Gordon Bok and his buddies recite and sing all 93 verses of ‘The Song Of The Lady Odivere’ and it does, as predicted, absolutely slap.
#MORE SONGS WHERE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS RESCUE THEIR LOVERS USING AN ARMY OF WHALES!!!#especially when the supernatural lover is played by gordon bok#i fucking love folk music
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🖤🤍🖤
#pilot whales#mass stranding#Isle of Lewis#British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR)#North Tolsta#marine animals#whale strandings#climate change#Sea Watch Foundation#Peter Evans#underwater noise#pod#Scotland
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the reality of s5 finally airing in English in literally ONE WEEK is sinking in and like....
b r o , , , ,
#octonauts s5 spoilers#i am SO excited for the ghost ship it's my favourite episode 👁️👁️#the blue whale rescue is a good one too i love the ending 👁️👁️👁️👁️#and i can't wait for calico jack's episodes to air bc they are SO INTERESTING and i have been trying to translate them with no luck sob sob#every once in a while i'll see someone make a list of episodes/moments they wanna see. and they'll list something that 100% happens in S5.#AND I HAVE TO JUST SIT THERE. KNOWINGLY. BY MYSELF.#so yeah very excited for you guys to see the Events and Scenarios s5 has to offer lol#it's one of the best seasons for sure#aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#ok okokokokok im ok#(lies)
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A whole bunch of stuff from @firesidetextiles shop!! The cassette tape fabric and the record will eventually go into something I make for either clown sister or my mom, the crystal pouch is for either my other sister or her partner, the bright pink whale pouches are for my nieces, the smaller fabric print is for a friend of mine, and the sticker and extra whale fabric are bonuses I am absolutely delighted by!!!!
One stop by firesidetextiles’ website and I’ve got like half my presents sorted for the upcoming “gift-giving holiday” season sorted
The pouches are super high quality, the top stitched part of the seams are absolutely impeccably even (something I never manage, there’s a reason I mostly make plushies lol), they are fully lined, and I love the colors!!! And just look at that decorative stitching on the biggest bag! Texture and color and just absolutely wonderful, I’ve somehow never considered using decorative topstitching like that but now I really really want to. I highly recommend everything firesidetextiles makes
#this is not a sponsored post I just love firesidetextiles art#other people’s art#handmade#fabric#I LOVE that bright bright blue and pink whale fabric#I have no idea whatsoever what I’ll make with it#but oh my gosh do I love it#I might make a little pouch for my rescue inhaler inside my purse#so that A. I have something to smile at any time I have to use it#and B. if someone else is getting it it will be very easy to find lol#I didn’t mention this in the body of the post but the contrast topstitching in general is excellent#10/10 color choices! I want to try it now too!
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Lynton & Lynmouth fun 1/3: Glen Lyn Gorge + museum
#rl shit#i had so much fun! the museum was small but full of lots of fun tidbits#lots of stuff about global warming but also whale bones and steam exhibits#and the lifeboat rescue story was amazing#its a very cute little place and the gorge! was gorgeous haha but its true
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So this happened last night in the Netherlands.
Another killer whale stranded, very much alive, and after a few hours where the whale had been refloated and subsequently restranded, the decision was made to kill her.
Of course she restranded. It almost always happens, because the whale beached for a reason to begin with. In these cases, putting a whale out at sea is like throwing a downed bird in the air. “Oh, it fell to the ground again. Why?”
Why wasn’t a dolphinarium called?
There are two dolphinariums in the Netherlands that could have helped her.
I don’t know exactly what happened on site, perhaps her health was really failing and it was the humane thing to do, but knowing the track record of the anti-zoo organizations, with what happened to Bob and Toa in New Zealand, and the Norwegian calves after Morgan, I don’t trust them at all.
They consider Morgan’s fate an absolute disaster and that death is preferable. Articles and blog posts about this whale are already out there spreading the old lies about Morgan. One that really got my blood boiling, claimed, with no ability to contact them to ask them to correct their mistake, that “a year ago it became clear” (??? She has been there for eleven years?) that “Morgan had to perform tricks for the public in the amusement park”.
Morgan had to perform tricks in the amusement park.
Not that, oh, Morgan is healthy and thriving with other killer whales in a conservation park that is one of the best zoos in the whole damn world, is trained with positive reinforcement and loving relationships to perform natural, enriching behaviors in a modern zoological habitat, and that if she were left to just hang around in the back pool, antis would be complaining about that just as much, and it would actually diminish her quality of life.
To be a killer whale today, is to be the only species with the privilege that we have the ability to save you and help you live a long, healthy life, but you have to die because of politics.
Rest in Peace Bob, Toa, Pascuala, Wilma, the other Norwegian calf, and now the Cadzand whale. You all had to die because some people didn’t want you to be saved.
#stranded orca#beached whale#Netherlands#Morgan#Morgan orca#rescue#killer whales#orca#sos dolfijn#Pascuala was rescued in Mexico but Greenpeace blocked her transfer to SeaWorld
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False Killer Whales die on a reef after being prevented from stranding - we need to talk about this
I know that people want to be optimistic or believe that whales aren't intentionally stranding but. I don't think we should be preventing them from stranding - especially uneducated locals who have no education in cetacean rescue.
A stranding of about 40 false killer whales in New Zealand was "prevented" by locals trying to herd the whales back out to sea this afternoon - despite the whales showing obvious signs of distress (thrashing around, vocalising ect.)
"At 4.30pm, locals were in a human chain and following the pod along the beach, working to prevent the whales from stranding on the outgoing tide."
Only for them to restrand at an inaccessible reef.
"Upon accessing the reef, DOC rangers found almost 40% of the pod had perished while others were badly injured, and the difficult decision was made to euthanize the remaining whales to end their suffering."
The whales were looking for a place to strand for a REASON.
I know it's devastating to see them die, but I wonder if they hadn't been prevented from stranding whether they would have had more of a chance at being triaged by professionals and the healthy whales refloated. Rather than the whole pod dying like this.
Instead people decided to interfere with natural behaviour and caused these (likely already sick and dying) animals to have to find another place to strand where they wouldn't be harassed. I wonder if those injuries were caused by the animals being too weak to swim against the tides and being cut up on the reef or dashed against rocks.
There's also people furious with DOC about euthanising the whales and "not allowing the (untrained and unqualified) locals to help" despite it being the obviously most humane option for these very injured and sick whales.
New Zealand whale politics is crazy... It honestly blows my mind at how ignorant some people are about appropriate whale rescue protocols and how euthanasia is needed to prevent ongoing suffering of dying stranded whales.
New Zealand also has no cetacean rehabilitation facilities and therefore no other option but to euthanise whales and dolphins that strand and restrand. It's a tragic and devastating outcome but it also really needs to be talked about:
Should we be preventing dolphins and whales from stranding by harassing them and blocking them from reaching shallow water? And is it fair to cause them stress to prevent stranding if they're potentially already dying/sick/injured?
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team sky ocean rescue jersey keyring oooh a little treat just for me
#winning team highlights vbc there wasnt a full yellow choice. for ocean rescue#the other yellow sky jersey looked so mid its unreal#anyway the ocean rescue whale is 👌 peak design#even though its white. of all the white jersey designs. like if these suckers wanna go white at least put some kind of animal on there cmon#DAN THE MAN JUST TEXTED ME MY FUCKING INDUCTION DETAILS This agency is a fucking joke
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Some 230 Whales Beached in Tasmania; Rescue Efforts Underway | Snopes.com
HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the Australian state’s northwestern coast.
The pod stranded on Ocean Beach in Macquarie Harbour appears to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday.
youtube
A team from the Marine Conservation Program was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area, the department said.
The whales beached two years to the day after the largest mass-stranding in Australia’s history was discovered in the same harbor.
About 470 long-finned pilot whales were found on Sept. 21, 2020, stuck on sandbars. After a weeklong effort, 111 of those whales were rescued but the rest died.
The entrance to the harbor is a notoriously shallow and dangerous channel known as Hell’s Gate.
Local salmon farmer Linton Kringle helped in the 2020 rescue effort and said the latest challenge would be more difficult.
“Last time they were actually in the harbor and it’s quite calm and we could, sort of, deal with them in there and we could get the boats up to them,” Kringle told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“But just on the beach, you just can’t get a boat in there, it’s too shallow, way too rough. My thoughts would be try to get them onto a vehicle if we can’t swim them out,” Kringle added.
Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist specializing in marine mammals, said it was too early to explain why the stranding had occurred.
“The fact that we’ve seen similar species, the same time, in the same location, reoccurring in terms of stranding at that same spot might provide some sort of indication that there might be something environmental here,” Pirotta said.
David Midson, general manager of the West Coast Council municipality, urged people to stay clear.
“Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offense to interfere with a carcass,” the environment department said.
Fourteen sperm whales were discovered Monday afternoon on King Island, part of the state of Tasmania in the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania’s northern coast.
Griffith University marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said it’s unusual for sperm whales to wash ashore. He said that warmer temperatures could also be changing the ocean currents and moving the whales’ traditional food.
“They will be going to different areas and searching for different food sources,” Meynecke said. “When they do this, they are not in the best physical condition because they might be starving so this can lead them to take more risks and maybe go closer to shore.”
The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers, for reasons that are not entirely understood.
This happened again in 2020
youtube
Sep 23, 2020 Rescuers trying to free a pod of whales beached off the Australian island of Tasmania said on Wednesday they had found another 200 stranded mammals, bringing the total to 470 and making it one of the country's biggest beachings.
As a rescue effort began its third day off the southern island's rugged west coast, rescuers said they spotted another large group of pilot whales during an aerial reconnaissance of remote Macquarie Harbour, and most were believed to be dead.
#Whales#Whales Beached in Tasmania#Some 230 Whales Beached in Tasmania; Rescue Efforts Underway#Youtube
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Man..this moment is just. So damned cool. *Or hot as the case may be...I’ll see myself out*
#mgs#mgsv#revolver ocelot#venom snake#the man on fire#nate vids#nates mgs play#i love how ocelot gets this freaking white knight rescue ala cheesy romance novels#but is also largely responsible for a BIG portion of this#and then he's like 'yeah anyway i got a whaling ship i bought waiting too'#man just.bought a whaling ship
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Today, SeaWorld San Diego announced the passing of their rescued short-finned pilot whale Argo. Argo, originally from Japan, stranded as a youngster in 2004 and was taken into permanent human care after several failed release attempts by the Japanese Coast Guard. In 2012, he was moved to San Diego, as his home at Japan’s Kamogawa SeaWorld (unaffiliated with the American parks) did not house any others of his species. He leaves behind an adopted pod of bottlenose dolphins and two other rescued pilot whales, Piper and Ava. Swim forever free, Argo, and my heart goes out to your human family who gave you the years you otherwise would have lost 🐳
#argo#seaworld#seaworld san diego#short-finned pilot whale#pilot whales#cetaceans#marine mammals#aquariums#animal rescue
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Pilot Whales Ground in Scotland
Pilot whales have died on a mass stranding in Scotland, over fifty including infants and pregnant females.
Marine wildlife rescuers along with police and the coast guard were called to Traigh Mhor beach on northwest Scotland on Sunday, with reports that dozens of whales had gone around there. When they arrived, they found 55 pilot whales in the sand. 15 were still alive. Rescuers were able to…
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#beaching#british divers marine life rescue#mass stranding#pilot whales#Scotland#scottish marine animal stranding scheme#Whales
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