This post is brought to you by, "Australian idiot" who surfed on a dead whale. Let's go through the steps, shall we?

1. On a boat with his friends
2. Sees a dead whale
3. Decides, the next intelligent thing is to get on top of the whale
4. Is too 'preoccupied' to realize that there are Great Whites eating the whale.

Seriously? Do you know why shark attacks exist? Because, of idiots like this. Of course, if you provoke an animal, it has a good chance of warranting an attack. Thank goodness, the sharks didn't attack this daredevil, otherwise the article title would've been something more like, "Man attacked by shark." This is what usually happens. The shark gets all the blame.

Even neglecting the school of sharks circling the whale, I have another bone to pick. Two bones actually.

1. Do you not have a sense of dignity?
2. Do you hold so little respect for other species?

If you want to argue that riding on the corpse of a dead whale is dignified, be my guest. I for one, believe this to be utterly barbaric. Not only is does this show no respect for the environment, it implies a total lack of sophistication.

"What did you do today?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just went surfing on the back of a decomposing animal."

Sounds great. You should put it on your CV. Sometimes, I truly question, if people think about what they are doing. If at any point this man, even allowed a lick of critical thinking to occur, he would've (hopefully) realized the idiocy of his actions.

At some point you have to grow up. And for goodness sake, gain some self-respect.

We don't live alone on this planet- think about that sometimes.

Geograph (labeled for reuse)

pixabay labeled for reuse

Dearest Readers, Followers, People in general, I guess if there is a very intelligent monkey who happens to be reading my blog posts this would be addressed to him/her as well,

Anyway, this is an announcement. As I hope you have already guessed. I am in the process of merging this blog (Serendipity in a Tea Cup) with my other blog (Concerning Kingdom Animalia), so if you are seeing an influx of posts this is the reason. I'm trying to schedule the imported blog posts more marginally towards this blog, nonetheless, be warned.

Also, this means some of the posts that are going up are outdated, this is because they were written before. Bare with me.

What this means for you:

Well, considering that my content is so divergent anyway, it shouldn't mean all too much to you, however, you must know that much of what I did on the other blog had to do with marine biology (see the new section I have built in to this blog for this purpose). If it didn't have to do with marine biology it had to do with animals. Also I will be introducing you to some friends of mine from that blog. The first two you will meet are named Nemo and Wake. No these are not people. These are two beluga whales I spend a large time watching over a webcam. Among them you will also get very familiar with Solomon (shark) and Bruce (Bull shark).

I hope this news is not upsetting to you, but rather fascinating. I must say the world of marine life is one to be in awe of, and I hope you will agree with me.

I would encourage you to look at some of the blog posts that will be going into the marine biology section, so that you know how to spot my friends Nemo and Wake, and how to tell them apart. If you aren't a fan of animals, well in case you haven't realized there was already an entire section dedicated to them on my original blog, and rest assured I will continued posting my more regular content as well. Which is mostly to do with tv shows, movies, and books.

Cheers,

Serendipity in A Tea Cup

That SeaWorld has been getting some bad rap, is a gross understatement. The many issues surrounding their captive orcas have been grabbing headlines for months now. However, what many seem to be forgetting, is their other activities. Just now I saw another article about SeaWorld rehabilitating a rare Risso Dolphin. We would do well, not to ignore their good deeds. That isn't to say that something needs to be done about the current state of affairs.

Wikipedia "labeled for reuse"

The article I've just read, has informed me that Western Australia has changed their shark culling regulations. The word "imminent" threat has been changed to "serious" threat. Essentially, changing the laws to allow shark culling if a shark is seen near an occupied shoreline. If the shark exceeds three meters, and is presumed to be a white, bull, or nurse shark, "preventive" measures are allowed to be taken, in the form of killing. With shark populations already declining world-wide, invoking a policy allowing sharks to be killed, merely from being spotted, is outrageous.

Wikipedia Tiger Shark "Labeled for reuse"

Footage was caught of a ghost shark. Little is known about these oddities, however, they are probably a completely different species: although, related to sharks.

Also known as deep sea chimaeras, they are definitely not "lookers". The ghost shark researchers were able to film, was covered in parasites, and they claim it didn't look healthy. It makes me wonder, and dread, what other species may be facing. Is this shark's condition an anomaly, or are other sharks facing similar conditions? More importantly, is this a consequence of our callous actions, or is the cause natural? Regardless, I believe, more research should be done, to determine why this animal looks the way it does, and what is the cause for its parasitism.

Wikipedia "labeled for reuse"

Another shark attack... This one claimed the life of an 18 year old boy on a fishing trip. He was reportedly bitten on the upper thigh, and subsequently succumbed to blood loss soon after. I don't wish to seem callous, with my reports, my heart goes out to all those who are lost and who've lost at the jaws of sharks. However, it must still be kept in mind, that these animals are not man-eating machines. The don't set out maliciously to attack humans. When compared to other death-traps sharks are relatively unlikely to harm you, you are more likely to die at the hand of a vending machine.

Nonetheless, shark attacks do seem to be happening more frequently. Although, I could be mistaken, unfortunately I don't have access to any exact values. If the media is anything to go on, they seem to be reporting ever more on shark attacks, which begs the question, why? What is the cause for these increased attacks? I doubt they've suddenly developed a grudge; could it be a lack of food? Although, this issue is, most sharks don't eat their human victims, so this is somewhat unlikely. If sharks are indeed, attacking more, I pray we find the reason as soon as possible.

Wikipedia "labeled for reuse"

As I've been absent from the inter webs, for a couple months now, I have to get caught up on all the incoming news. Needless to say, it may take a while...

Let's begin here. I've just finished reading an article about another SeaWorld response, concerning, what else? Their orcas. Their reasoning has now evolved to include, "we need them for research into Killer Whales." Opposers, note a number of fallacies with this argument, mostly including their lack of research, however, all this aside, this is still nowhere near a sound argument. The excuse of so many, "research". This word has begun to take on a different meaning: namely, an excuse for almost anything.

Research, simply isn't a good enough reason to keep highly intelligent animals in confinement. If we tortured random civilians, but kept a record of their response, would that make it any less immoral? Why should "research" be any more of an excuse for SeaWorld? On another note, shouldn't we be learning about the wild orcas anyway? It is rather indisputable, that captive orcas are profoundly changed, in comparison to their free cousins, so how could their data be any help?

It is time for SeaWorld to own up to their mistake, and take measures to atone themselves.

flickr "labeled for reuse"