I didn't think the day would come....

I always told myself I would NEVER have a "blog". But, I am not going to consider this a blog, I am going to consider it a journey.

I grew up playing with Barbies... like most girls. But, my Barbies were Killer Whale trainers. Now that I look back on this, I know I had a love for these great and wonderful animals... I mean, most of my friends (including my sister) wanted the Barbies with the hair that you sprayed and it turned pink, or the rollarskates that had sparks. Don't get me wrong... I wanted those too... but I removed the skates, sprayed their hair, and then they rode my stuffed animal killer whale from Sea World. Because that's what I wanted to be when I grew up. A killer whale trainer, or an Olympic Coach for the USA Gymnastics Team.

Well, I'm not an Olympic Coach, despite my years of teaching throughout undergrad. And, now, I find it hard to step foot in a Sea World. I boycott the shows, and get mad when people blame the whales for the tragic deaths and injury of trainers during their stay in captivity. These are WILD animals, and therefore, will behave that way. I am not saying that the loss and injury to and of these individuals is not tragic. It most certainly is. What I am saying is that, we can not be surprised that an animal who is kept in captivity will turn, and act suddenly like an animal who in not being held in a tank.

These animals are bought and sold to these parks around the world, kept in tanks much smaller than their homes, and although they are commonly housed with other animals- these are very social creatures who are now taken away from their pods.
It is not surprising to see pods of hundreds to thousands of dolphins in the wild. I recently went to the Shed Aquarium in Chicago. 3 dolphins. It made me sick. Well, I don't want to share all my thoughts in one blog... but, I just want to say this... I have goals for this blog. I have educated myself, on what is going on with the "war on dolphins and whales". I will express much of that here. Read what you want, or don't.

-I plan to visit aquariums, and continue my research. Not in the forms of protesting, but I need to know what's going on to make educated decisions.

-I plan on contacting Ric O'Barry, marine activist, former dolphin trainer to find out what more I can do and if there is any involvement I can have in The Cove project. I have recently acquired his contact information, and he has said to welcome people with him to Tijii, Japan (home of one of the largest dolphin exporters in the world).

-With that said, I hope to possibly visit Taiji, Japan in the late Fall of 2011.

Until then, I plan to continue this blog... and I hope that you continue to read it.

Thanks.
-Amanda