Steve irwins done it again

[Dyflam]

Quote[/b] (Spectabilis73 @ June 17 2004,1:54)]

Quote[/b] (vft guy in SJ @ June 18 2004,4:20)]What exactly defines "interacting" with Antarctic wildlife? Every time man steps foot on the ice there he is technicly "interacting" with the wildlife there. It never ceases to amaze me the rediculous things that people find to waste taxpayer money on. Who gives a flying rats rear about a guy swimming with a whale?  I say if a guy wants to jump into that ice cold water and swim with a whale then more power to him. What are they afraid of?  Is it going to leave a lifelong emotional scar or something? Gimme a break.


Steve

actually, yes, it would, if the whale has a baby with her...

And you know this how? Are you a marine biologist/psychologist?

 

[Lauderdale]

I think Irwin probably has at least one screw loose but he has an attractive wife, a healthy baby...not sure how long the kid will last though...and he makes a good living doing what he loves.  We sould all be so lucky.
He is a showman.  His TV series is entertaining and the viewers get to see animal life which they would never otherwise be able to experience.

I agree with Schloaty.

Quote[/b] ]Now THAT'S entertainment!  Where would we be without people who....er....(spin this nicely, Schloaty)...live on the edge?  

Slogging through highland cloud forests looking for emeralds in Columbia in 1980 was not the smartest thing I have ever done but I had a blast.  Kissing a Lepoard seal is nowhere near as dangerous.  Adrenalin is a wonderfull thing guys...you should try it sometime.

 

[buster1]

Finally, a subject I know something about. I teach zoology during the school year, and during the summer I work in the zoological operations department at one of the local marine life parks. When one of the Orcas gives birth, no interaction (besides feeding) occurs with the mother or the calf until the bonding process is complete, otherwise she could abandon it. As for the waste of $, couldn't one also say who gives a flying rats rear if someone is driving 70 in a 55 zone. If we don't enforce laws why have any? Antarctica is a very fragile environment and we certainly don't need some moronic clown (no offense to anyone reading this this who works in the circus) making the average person think its alright to harass wildlife whether its there or in some city park.

 

[Spectabilis73]

Quote[/b] (Dyflam @ June 18 2004,4:11)]And you know this how? Are you a marine biologist/psychologist?

sure am

look at my profile...

How do I know it?

I thought everyone knew whales are disturbed easily, just like everyone knows elephants blow their trunks(not really a good comparison, but oh well heheheh)... Anyways, here is a site on it... Read the whole thing:

D-d-d-dd-disturbing Cetaceans (sp?)

 

[Lauderdale]

Last week we had an example of human/critter interaction here in Florida.
Some kids were playing in a small lake in Palm Beach County.  One of the kids decided to play a joke on his friends and started swimming around in the reeds along the shore line pretending to be an alligator.
Evidently a real live gator didn't think it was very funny and bit the guy.  The gator was kinda' small and didn't do much damage...I think about ten stitches.
His friends thought it was hysterical.
The gator was captured by Fish and Game Commission and relocated to the Glades.

 

[carnivorkid]

oh croicky !  

 

[unknownclown]

well I have no problem admitting he is indeed an idiot at times...
But you fotta admit sliding down a hill side with penguins, sounds pretty darn fun!!!
I dont get the whole whale thing unless maybe if he was standing in his boat seen a whale and shouted "Crieky!! look at that beauty!!" jumped in and tackeled the sucker and tried to wrestle it so the camera guy could get a better shot at it. Which Im sure he wouldnt have done...

 

[unknownclown]

Oh and that clown comment buster1, realy hurts me inside

 

[Casper]

Ok, I am sorry if I offend anyone in here, but YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME. Are you guys seriously suggesting that there are laws in place to protect the emotional well-being of a friggen whale? Now, don't get me wrong, I love animals. Heck, I like animals more than MOST humans (Except for them stupid Caribeus, old ugly moose lookin thing standing between me and my cheap-o alaskan oil)

I can harass a human being to pretty much any extent I want, as long as I don't touch them (assault) or say something that is completly false (slander) and I can pretty much get away with it on a justice level. Heck, a human has to go through the justice system and get restraining orders to stop someone from harassing them. Of course, I can pursue civil means of retribution, but thats a whole nother story. Like I said, I love animals, but if some whale is that bad off in the head that if some guy is SWIMMING WITH IT, it will go into an emotional break-down, doesn't seem like that whale is gonna make it to darn long anyway.

It seems kind of ironic to me that we actually have "animal pyshchologists". We can't understand how our own species thinks, how can we expect to know what another species is thinking?

EDIT: Does anyone live in Alaska? Its one of my lifes goals to try a Caribeu (sp?) steak. Anyone tried it yet?

 

[buster1]

There are no laws concerning the emotional well being of whales. The marine mammal protection act of 1972 basically prohibits the taking of marine mammals from the wild (except in certain instances) and deals with the harassment (interaction) with these mammals in the wild. I believe its an attempt to stop the disruption of their natural behaviors. Here in Fl, people often feed manatees from boats (illegal) and this acclimates them to the boats and people. Manatees being injured in marinas is a result of this. So according to the law you can slander the whale and hurt its feelings, but you can not interact and possibly disrupt its feeding habits, breeding patterns, migration, etc.

 

[Lauderdale]

Hey Casper,
I ate Caribou in Nome Alaska (I belive the restaurant was the Polaris) back in the 80's. Not bad but a little gamey. A little garlic oil would have helped.