Wildify?

I'm pissed off, so there.

And I cite,

What if conservation became easier than rallies, protests, radical groups and letter writing? What if the ability to save ecosystems, species and ultimately humanity was put into your hands and was as easy as the click of the mouse? What if the power returned to the people? What if we united and started a revolution to save the planet, and ultimately ourselves?

Right.

Regular readers may remember that stupidity from the 2012 recap where Julie Andersen's disastrous Operation Requiem and Rob Stewards moronic United Conservationists got the treatment they deserved. Thankfully, Andersen and the Shark Angels have since become utterly irrelevant, and I can certainly leave it at that; and with the whole moronic Revolution thingy having gone down the drain like anticipated, I was actually hoping that Rob would finally have the decency to just go away.

Alas, no such luck.

Turns out that the increasingly ghastly Justin Bieber of Sharkitarianism is still at it.

Don't get me wrong here.

Back then, Sea Shepherd's Sharkwater was different and did touch a nerve, and seeing the little privileged kid go and dive with Sharks and talk to actual Shark people was somewhat endearing. 

But far from being the genesis for the shark conservation movement, it was an early product of it. And rather than saving Sharks, the whole circus marked the beginning of the Dolphinization of Sharks and spawned a whole generation of self-promoting copycat Shark media whores and charlatans that have since become the bane of serious Shark conservation efforts worldwide.

And much like little once endearing Justin, little once endearing Rob has quite obviously since morphed into a little bizarre self-important  narcissistic megalomaniac.

To wit, this frankly shocking piece of smug garbage in the SOSF mag.

Wildify huh -  Pass the kouchie 'pon the lef' hand side!

But then again, totally not surprised.

Not by the smug brain farts, not by the fact that the new movie is once again gonna be a product of Sea Shepherd's slick  bullshit media machine, not by the resounding success of the funding drive despite of the usual conceited BS. After all, considering that 2016 marks the moment in time where Idiocracy became a reality, Rob's disjointed visions, or whatever, sound positively intellectual by comparison.

What however shocks me is the endorsement by the once stalwart, science-centric SOSF.

Or maybe not. Whereas the principal has always shunned any publicity and personality cult, the underlings and their sycophantic entourage increasingly do not - and shit like this is the inevitable consequence of that.

Oh well, whatever.

And yes, granted, maybe a tad harsh.

But it pisses me off. There are plenty of great people out there actually doing incredibly impressive stuff and achieving remarkable, hard-won progress - and having that little egocentric shit publicly belittle that collective effort is deeply offensive.

So get smart, people, and stop glorifying those pied pipers.

And should you really want to inform yourself about Conservation Ecology, stop listening to the self serving propaganda and e.g. start reading this excellent blog.

Minicene anybody?

Anyway.

Happy New Year! :)

Sharks are Cool!

Michael with the great late Paul Walker - source.

Love this video!

Well done Michael.
Enjoy - or maybe not! :)

Michael - telling it like it is!

Well done!

I must say that I'm impressed.

Following the tragic Shark strikes in North Carolina, Michael Domeier is warning Californians about the growing population of GWS on their coast. So far this is good news as it means that protection measures are having the desired effect. And so far, those are juveniles and small subadults, and thus rather harmless  - but one day those Sharks will reach an age where they will gradually switch to larger prey, meaning that the risk of predatory attacks on humans will undoubtedly increase.

This is of course totally in line with the recent statements by Burgess - and once again bravo to Michael for having the guts to tell it like it is!

And yes, I've, gasp, deliberately used the dreaded A word!

This is a Shark attack.

It is provoked and retaliatory.

And like I would do in the case of a Cat, or Lion, or Croc, I call it an attack because there is definitely no confusion and there is definitely intent - which in this specific situation is both totally understandable and perfectly fine!

The strikes in North Carolina?

Dunno and that's why I call them strikes - but by the same token, what makes Mr. Barrington state that the assumed Bull Sharks more than likely mistook those kids for Fish? Does he really believe that a Bull Shark is too dumb to discern the difference between snapping at a Fish and severing a human limb - or may this possibly be yet another misguided attempt at PR rehabilitation a la Neff and Hueter?

Seriously, could we please stop with the stupid whitewashing?

Can we please let Sharks be Sharks, meaning that we got to accept that some species are large predators that will from time to time both target and unless disturbed, consume a human? And that many of them will intentionally bite when molested? This makes them neither bad nor good but simply describes what they are = large predators that have every bloody right to predate, and complex animals with a broad array of behaviors among which aggression!

We don't blink an eye about properly describing the equally rare predatory attacks by the Big Cats, Bears and Reptiles - so why this obsession of trying to exculpate Sharks by coming up with lame excuses and trying to introduce politically correct lingo?

Which brings me to this further comment by Michael.

Spot on! Read the testimony, and read this further account, and even the most rabid Shark hugging apologist should clearly discern that this was most definitely a predatory attack - curiosity and testing with their mouth because they got no hands, yada yada, my ass!

Same old same old - especially the pronouncements by the increasingly irritating Neff! This nonsense fatally reminds me of someone else - and we all know how that one ended!

Anyway, having asked, Doc replies

In an article I write way back in the eighties, for Naval Research Reviews entitled why do sharks bite humans, I made it perfectly clear that some sharks actually consider humans as legitimate prey. We all know which ones these are.

Bingo.

I say, the serial breathy couch farting and ultracrepidarianism are bad enough - but misrepresenting Doc is just simply unacceptable!

But enough of that.

Good to see that some within the research community are finally speaking up against the creeping Dolphinization of Sharks. They are certainly not monsters - but by the same token, some of them can be extremely dangerous and need to be treated with the utmost respect and circumspection.

Nothing to do with those recent tragic events mind you - when humans and Sharks share the same space, these things are unfortunately bound to happen. But if we ever want to succeed in mitigating the consequences of this increasingly uneasy cohabitation, we must address all sides of the issue: ever more people encroaching into Shark habitat but also, in some places, more Sharks - some of which will sometimes regard people as food!

Humaniacs and Whackadoodles!

Well well - and I cite.

Let us look at a case in point.

In August a new report was released stating that the worlds’ smallest cetacean (a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises), the vaquita, was down to just 97 animals and would likely to go extinct in the next four years. Crucially, all the necessary laws are in place; the solution is better enforcement and retraining of fishermen. And all this needs is money. And probably less than a movie star can make on a single movie.

On an environmental scale this is both tragic and a surprisingly easy fix. 

But, while a reasonable number of news agencies have covered the story, and continue to do so, the level of public outrage since that time can be best described as non-existent...

and

Increasingly, dealing with the whacktivists on “your” side is almost as important as dealing with those on the other side of a conservation issue.
Whacktivists make issues more polarized, putting off potential allies, reducing the credibility of conservation movements and undermining outreach efforts. Opponents to your issue will quickly point to the most extreme whacktivists and highlight them, saying “look at who our opponents are – crazy, illogical extremists” and try to paint all those that oppose them with the same brush. 

Why are there so many whacktivists?
Perhaps it’s because of the idea – exacerbated by social media and the internet – that everyone’s opinion is valid and that you have a right to say whatever you want (even if threatening and unfactual). Couple that with the greater ease with which you can do this in today’s social media age. Moreover, you can find any opinion online to back up your personal beliefs or prejudices, and the public has an increasing inability to discern “opinion” from “facts”.

You really got to read this and this post on SFS.

I've been lamenting the pervading dolphinization of the Shark movement for a very very long time indeed - and it's good to see that the sentiment is increasingly being shared, all the way to Chris Parsons' obvious distaste of the belief that everybody's opinion is equivalent and must thus be communicated and accepted regardless of its content and author. Of course, being a Whale man, he's very much sitting at the epicenter of all the crazy shit that is pervading the movement and knows exactly what he's talking about!

Make sure you also peek at the Sasquatch link - you just can't make that shit up can you...

Solutions?

Methinks Parsons' suggestions are only partly useful, i.e when dealing with those well-meaning activists. There, respect, dialogue, education and cooperation can truly lead to fantastic and mutually beneficial results, see e.g. our highly productive cooperation with Projects Abroad.

But you can't heal stupid and crazy, sorry.

Those are the folks that are directly harming conservation efforts, and they really need to be stomped out - by public criticism, insults, ridicule, whatever. Obviously, not very PC - but assuming that those folks are not reformable, are we just simply gonna ignore them and patiently shoulder the additional burden they are creating?

Think about it.

With those crazies, meek tolerance is just simply not an option.
Correct?

Can You swim with no Arms?

Source.

Turns out that those comments are online.
Sigh,

Hoo-doo Verbiage!?

Source.

Indeed!

Poor Shark Defenders!

Here they go and promote the petition by Pew (that includes a sample letter!), and even post another! sample letter - and then, they get swamped by useless Sharktivist clap trap that is not only not helpful but may actually cause harm insofar as the authorities can argue that "we" don't know what we're talking about!

Not that I'm actually surprised.

I've long posted and ranted that we got to do our homework and get our facts right lest we get outed as ignoramuses all the way to being frauds and charlatans - and this is but another example of why it is necessary.

I mean, seriously!

Nobody is even asking for original thoughts here.

We all know how THAT one would turn out.

All you need to do is copy/paste and then make small changes.

Or, accept the offer and have Shark Savers do it for you.

Or even better.

Do your homework first!
Excellent talking points by Shark Savers here!

PS letters here - including a whisper by the Sharky Boo Boo!
PS2 Neil shows how to do it right in a mere two short sentences!

Dolphinization?

Not looking good - click for detail. Animation here.

Poor Fiji!
As per the map, we're currently between tropical depressions, and the effects of the first one have been devastating. And, it ain't over by any stretch of the imagination as the next depression may well develop into a cyclone and undoubtedly once again dump a lot more water on the already waterlogged soil in the West and in the North.
As expected, so far, we're OK - fingers crossed!

But it's bucketing down, I'm bored and cranky, so there.
A friend has sent me the link to this video, and I cite (sic) from the description.

After pouring healing Reiki energy into the appalling "fish tank" the dolphins are in The more lively of the two began to play with me. I did what I would do if I were swimming with them in the wild and played. Low and behold the dolphin who is normally lethagic and depressed suddenly joined us! This tells me she is able to be saved, if we can act now and get these beautiful dolphins better living conditions. Go to SaveJapanDolphins.org and find contacts to write to . For the Dolphins



And here's another one.
The lady is Kerry O'Brien, a Dolphin conservation activist who is part of the Taji Action Group and of Dr. Ingrid N. Visser's Whale Rescue etc.



Did you like that?

Personally, I find it creepy.
Having lived in Vava'u, Tonga, one of the Humpback viewing hotspots, I've witnessed plenty of this unholy alliance of activism and New Age, and the people who shamelessly exploit it to hawk their particular brand of quackery. I'm also appalled by all the vociferating and the energy squandered on "saving" non-endangered Cetaceans in Taji and now, the Faroe Islands whilst at the same time, the endangered Hector's/Maui, Snubfin, Vaquita and several river Dolphins are quietly being exterminated. Is that conservation?
And, maybe Kerry should not travel to Japan but do some positive visualization in her native New Zealand first?

This is why I'm alarmed by this petition by Sea Shepherd.
Irrespective of its content that shall be analyzed in a future post, it features the usual Sea Shepherd sycophants, but it also features organizations for whom I have a lot of respect.
And there's this endorsement.

"You can't save the dolphins without saving their environment, and you can't save that without saving the sharks!" - Ric O'Barry

Scary stuff.
I say, thanks but no thanks.
I for one want nothing to do with the dolphinization of the Shark conservation movement, and the media fog factory of pulled from the arse conservation misquotes of those bullshit machines.

Friends.
Too late now - but next time, look at who you're associating yourselves before lending your name and support. It elevates them but alas, it ultimately demeans you.
If it's such a worthwhile cause, maybe do your own thing and thus spread the message even further?
You know who you are - think about it, please.