A gray whale washed up in West Seattle where I grew up this week. The contents of its stomach included plastic bags, golf balls, some unidentified
plastic parts and of all things SWEATPANTS! Shows that we have a long way to go in cleaning up our seas. Here is a link to an article.
Perhaps, an International Treaty administered by the U.N. to develop and implement education for the Whale population on proper Dietary choices ?ursidae69 - 4-24-2010 at 01:06 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Perhaps, an International Treaty administered by the U.N. to develop and implement education for the Whale population on proper Dietary choices ?
I'm thinking a treaty on how plastic is used and disposed of would be a better choice Bill.dtbushpilot - 4-24-2010 at 01:12 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by ursidae69
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Perhaps, an International Treaty administered by the U.N. to develop and implement education for the Whale population on proper Dietary choices ?
I'm thinking a treaty on how plastic is used and disposed of would be a better choice Bill.
I'm thinking that the whale gets a much deserved "Darwin Award"......
Darwin and Diets
MrBillM - 4-24-2010 at 02:29 PM
Good Point.
Maybe, it WAS just a DUMB Whale. As with any other species, there is no reason to think they're ALL endowed with equal intellect. I know that there
are people who say that Whales and Dolphins are possessed of intellect at, or even above, that of Humans, BUT there are a lot of Stupid Humans.
Our only sampling comes from those who have come to unfortunate ends due to Beaching, etc, and they might ALL be failures in Darwin's lottery. I
suppose the only "Experts" who could provide insight into the Plastic Diet of your average Whale would be those who are still harvesting them. We
could check with them. If they're talking.
As far as "Treaties", Laws and whatever regarding the disposal of plastics and the like, isn't most of the problem a result of NOT obeying existing
laws regarding disposal ?grmpb - 4-24-2010 at 04:16 PM
not obeying is easy ifin there aint no inforcementwilderone - 4-25-2010 at 09:22 AM
seriously - that is a tragedy - and stupid humans are to blame. Shame on humanity for their ignorance. We on earth are entrusted with caretaking of
the earth and all its inhabitants - for our own well-being. No more preaching - just think about it.Timo1 - 4-25-2010 at 09:29 AM
Last I heard on the local news is that 5 grey whales have turned up dead on the Pacific North West
From Puget Sound north to Van. Island and the mainland
Is It POSSIBLE ?
MrBillM - 4-25-2010 at 09:58 AM
That, within the Grey Whale Intellectuals, there MAY be a Charismatic leader who is leading his followers astray with a creed of suicide to move on to
the next transitional position in the Universe ? It May even be that Obsessive Ingestion of Plastic is a part of their Eucharist ritual.
It is clear that we don't know enough at this time regarding the Sociological functioning of the Grey (or any other) Whales. We might need to develop
a more intimate monitoring of their daily inter-actions and decision-making processes, including the extent to which they might be influenced by a
"Jim Jones" among the Cetacea leadership.
Perhaps, some interested Harvard or Yale graduate students could live among them for a period long enough to develop better detailed analysis.shari - 4-25-2010 at 10:24 AM
dead whales are not uncommon in the pacific northwest. I remember talking to an old hereditary cheif who's family were whalers and he told me he had
only had to kill ONE whale in all his whaling years.....because every year whales would wash up on the beach fresh dead and these whales would feed
the village for the whole year.
Gray whales are the only species of whale to bottom feed which entails them plowing the bottom with their mouth open...kind of like vacuuming...so
everything on the bottom goes in. I am a bit surprised at the stomach contents as they only have a very small throat opening.
Some dead grays autopsies revealed that they died of toxic poisening linked to the toxins in Bellingham Bay...the shape of the bay is such that the
chemicals fall into an area that was a traditional feeding ground for probably thousands of years...habits are hard to kick. Whales continue to feed
in their traditional feeding areas...unaware of the poisons they are ingesting....dang.
Worth Trying ?
MrBillM - 4-25-2010 at 11:42 AM
Perhaps, the answer to their feeding in areas which have been identified as hazardous to their health would be to mark said hazardous areas with
appropriate "Warning" signage.
Better yet, surface and sub-surface audio warnings in their native language for those with limited literacy ?
[Edited on 4-25-2010 by MrBillM]shari - 4-26-2010 at 07:03 AM
better yet...just play killer whale hunting vocalizations in the danger zone and grays will steer clear of it....hmmm.mr.bill...you may be onto
something.
Thanks
MrBillM - 4-26-2010 at 09:32 AM
It's clear that Communication is the answer.
Whales will do the right thing if properly educated.Cyanide41 - 4-26-2010 at 03:22 PM
It's pretty sad when you think about how humans are ultimately responsible. I am no tree hugger and I don't even like whales all that much but the
amount of trash in the water is pretty scary. I recently did a beach clean up in Imperial Beach that opened my eyes.
I do think that whale education is definitely not a bad idea. Who wouldn't benefit from smarter whales? (besides Seaworld)BajaBruno - 4-26-2010 at 03:58 PM
The article quoted by BajaBeachBabe is quite clear that there is no evidence the limited ("1 percent to 2 percent of the stomach contents") human
debris killed the whale. 20,000 whales pass by Washington every year and a few of them have to die eventually. Everything does.
My daughter eats much worse stuff than an inert golf ball and she seems just fine.Wiles - 4-26-2010 at 04:20 PM
Is anybody here a marine biologist?
Skeet/Loreto - 4-26-2010 at 04:39 PM
Wildone:
I observed 18 Whales beached an dead at the Bay of Los angels before the Road was Opened. I did not see any evidence of the cause of Death.
On several different occaxions and years I have seen 100 's of Giant Squid beached and Dead, Regukary on about a 3 year basis.
I think that you are way wrong in trying to blame Humans as the cause of Death when in the States many, many People cause their own Death by consuming
DOPE!!
Think about it.
Skittering Skeet Shots
MrBillM - 4-26-2010 at 05:37 PM
Once again, the aged voice of Texican knowledge and reason cuts to the chase.
Skeeter MAY be on to something. It would have helped if he had performed Autopsies on all of those Dead Whales he witnessed, not to mention those
Giant Squid.
The decadence of the younger generations may have crossed over into the Cetacean population.
The Whales could be doing Drugs.
OR, maybe, the Cartels are experimenting with Whales as Mules ?
On the other hand, Stephen Hawking ventured that he thinks there are Vagabond Aliens wandering the Universe who could do us harm. Perhaps, they've
infiltrated the Whale population in preparation to launching an attack on mankind.
It's clear that the subject needs more in-depth examination.BajaBruno - 4-27-2010 at 02:37 PM
Wiles,
I believe Shari studied whale biology. I'm sure she will correct me if I am mistaken, but if she was given sufficient information, I would defer to
her.Wiles - 4-27-2010 at 03:46 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBruno
Wiles,
I believe Shari studied whale biology. I'm sure she will correct me if I am mistaken, but if she was given sufficient information, I would defer to
her.
BajaBruno, No worries, my post was just a little humor for Seinfeld fans. The picture of George holding a golf ball is from the episode where George
(pretending to be a marine biologist to impress his date) rescues a beached whale by pulling a golf ball out of its' airway.
100% agreement w/ Shari being a cetacean expert. BajaBruno - 4-27-2010 at 10:41 PM
Wiles, I see. Popular culture is one of my many weaknesses, as my dear wife regularly reminds me. A lot of good humor misses the mark with me. Pity
(and irony, for the Hemingway fans).
