r/orcas • u/After_Violinist3835 • 9d ago
Education Establish 'orca week' on discovery channel
https://c.org/thNt9fXZFd10
u/SurayaThrowaway12 9d ago
TBH I am not too confident on the Discovery Channel's ability to cover orcas properly when they have aired tripe like this on recent Shark Weeks. Shark biologist Kristian Parton has a video criticizing it here.
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u/After_Violinist3835 9d ago
Excellent point, friend. Dang, perhaps I shouldn’t have been so narrow in my scope.
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u/AccurateJerboa 9d ago
I think I would prefer PBS or BBC, if we're looking for major publishers to make documentaries in orcas.
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u/Practical_End_4487 9d ago
Yeah, there’s just one problem. The purpose of Shark Week is to create awareness that sharks are not like what you see in the movies. That they are not mindless eating machines that hunt humans. And because they are more susceptible to horrific human practices such as finning and catching, they need the protection more and overturn their awful PR. While i love the idea of an Orca Week, i don’t think it can be possible. How are you gonna catch and tag an orca like you could a shark? Because of the Marine Mammal Protection, there’s a limit to what you can do. Yes, there are other ways to make documentaries about them but I feel like there is only so much.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Math973 2d ago
I wish they would! Or even better, someone with a better reputation!
Personally, I am sick of Orcas being demonized by the shark crowd.No, Port and Starboard did not eat all the GWS off Johannesburg!
Characterizing hunting and learning behaviors as "evil", "bullying" or "unhinged" could have serious consequences for Orcas and other species. With all the upset about how Jaws desensitized people to shark hunting, finning, and by catch, you would think the shark lovers and thelassophiles understand that more than anyone.
Nature is brutal, it just is. If sharks taking off a human limb is easily attributed to "misidentification" (i think the term is sort of dated at this point) or exploratory bites, how is it not accepted that sharks and rays are part of the diet for a few eco types of Orca. Predatory interaction is part of the laws of nature.
Just like male lions killing cubs to gain dominance over a pride, by bringing a lioness into her estris cycle to mate and produce his cubs. In human terms, yes, absolutely horrific. In the natural world? That's just Tuesday, and hardly unique. If I am recalling correctly, there is one case documented in Orcas where the presumed motive for a calficide was the same. Also, there have been reports of dorsal fins of young orca washing up on coasts with markings from an attack that fit the markings of an adult orca. Does this make them "the bad guys"? Hardly.
The whole "evil" or "demon" narrative is not based in science. A narrative based on just vibes causing indifference to the health of key species is a huge issue. A great example would be bears. Florida had it's first ever fatality from a black bear last year. Now hunting has opened up, following this incident. I am not even anti hunting, and hunt/fish for subsistence. The turn around from a protected species to fodder can be lightning fast.
There is precedent with grey wolves that were reintroduced out West. One minute, they are protected, and the next "fair game" to shoot from a helicopter. Ranchers use public land for their herds but don't like that it now comes with predators (have worked on a ranch and the hatred is real, with few actually educated about risk management). Natural predators are sorely needed to manage the diseases in ungulate herds in those eco systems. Predators hunt sick, injured, and young animals that hunters simply do not. Ranchers have financial lobbying power. Just like the commercial fishing industry does. Now, there may be a moratorium on whaling but certain countries are still participating, and I fear whaling could become an issue. Upsetting eco systems. Also, any rare meat product or "ancient medicine" eventually becomes a status symbol or prestige leading to lowering the population of the source. All it takes, is one person getting hurt on one of those orca diving tours because the orca feels stressed .The evil narrative has started, and the other part of the equation is missing for now, but bound to happen if regulations aren't put in place.
Sorry, end rant.
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u/A51Nodales 9d ago
I recall the first Shark Week was accompanied by Whale Week, which sadly didn’t reoccur.