The Evil Eye of Envy

Two recent news stories provide further evidence of the intelligence and sentience of whales and dolphins, while the reaction of some to the stories confirms the ignorance and arrogance of man.

In the first case, which occurred recently off the coast of California, a humpback whale that had been entangled in fishing nets breached 40 times around the boat of the three men who had cut the nets and saved the whale from certain death. The men interpreted this behavior as an act of both joy and thanks. The second incident, this one in Australia, was sadder but no less revealing. In it, a pod of dolphins surrounded the body of a young man who had tragically fallen into a harbor and drowned. One of the dolphins was seen trying to push the man back to the surface, apparently in a vain attempt to try to save him. These are just two of the many examples of whales and dolphins displaying thoughtful behavior toward humans, several of which have been featured in this blog (e.g., May 10, 2010 & July 31, 2009 postings).

And yet, as touching and telling as these stories are to most of us, they always evoke vitriolic reactions on the part of others who seem threatened by the possibility that humans are not the only thinking and feeling beings on earth. That has proven to be true once again, judging by the angry comments posted on each of these news stories disavowing any anthropomorphic interpretation of the actions by this whale and dolphin. Thankfully, these unhappy few who see the world through the evil eye of envy, and who are afflicted by some deep psychological need for schadenfreude, are the exception not the rule. For those of us who are comfortable with our own place in the universe, and who rejoice in the magic and majesty of whales and dolphins, such stories stir the spirit and soothe the soul.

Because We Can...

Great toothed whales slowly starve to death, their guts blocked by plastic garbage they have swallowed in seas awash with man's refuse...

Pilot whales strand themselves on lonely beaches, there to die agonizing deaths, their brains fried by Navy sonar...

Killer whales inexorably go insane trapped in confined concrete tanks that are proportionately the same size as prison cells on man's death row...

Baleen whales are slaughtered on the high seas then butchered on blood-covered decks of Japanese, Norwegian, and Icelandic whaling ships...

Adult dolphins are disemboweled alive by uncaring men in a cove in Taiji, Japan, and in the seas surrounding the Faroe Islands...

Baby dolphins die in record numbers in the oil-polluted waters of the Gulf of Mexico...

And on, and on, and on...

Why? Why do we humans do this to the only other creatures that possess a level of intelligence and sentience closely approaching ours?

Because we can, and for that reason this is a sadder planet and we are a lesser people.

Corruption on the High Seas!

It is a sad testimonial to our time that we see greed and corruption everywhere we look; in business, in government, in schools, and even in houses of worship: so it should come as no surprise to anyone that we also find it on the high seas; or at least in the global organization that is supposedly the protector of the great whales that live therein. The International Whaling Commission, which currently has 89 member nations, issued a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. However, under a scientific research loophole three members have continued to slaughter thousands of whales each year ever since; they are Norway, Iceland and by far the worst offender, Japan. And not only has Japan continued to flaunt this loophole in the face of the anti-whaling movement, but the Japanese government has allegedly been working to get smaller member nations to join with them in having the moratorium lifted. They are doing this by offering aid packages and directly bribing high-ranking individuals in these countries.

If Japan succeeds in this monstrous effort, the oceans of the world will literally be awash once more in the blood of tens of thousands of the most majestic creatures that ever lived, and there will be nothing that you or I can do to stop it. But right now, it is not too late for those of us who care about the great whales to do our part in saving them.

The IWC will hold their annual meeting from July 11 through the 14, on Jersey in the Channel Islands, and it is encouraging to note that the British Government has embarked on a concerted effort to clean up the corruption in the IWC. Those of you who live in Great Britain should show your support for your government's noble efforts; and all of you who live in one of the other member nations (the list is available on line) should reach out to your government and demand that they add their support to the British efforts.

Please do it now! This is not just about stopping corruption in the IWC: it is about saving the lives of countless whales that will otherwise be persecuted without mercy or respite.