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To: Liberty1970
"Just because most dogs are man's best friend doesn't mean you give a pit bull pardon after pardon after it attacks and kills someone."

Domesticated dogs aren't expected to kill people. This Killer whale, OTOH, was simply exhibiting his instinctual behavior. The trainer clearly was cognizant of the dangers of her profession and assumed the liability in choosing to work with wild and potentially dangerous animals.

The whale can't be held culpable for acting like a killer whale.

41 posted on 02/25/2010 11:56:49 AM PST by OldDeckHand
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To: OldDeckHand

Lord, you want to use logic in America today.


44 posted on 02/25/2010 12:01:18 PM PST by swarthyguy
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To: OldDeckHand
The whale can't be held culpable for acting like a killer whale.

Then why not yawn and let things go when a bear acts like a bear and kills someone? It is still prudent to save the life of the next victim when we have a known problem animal.

Are there any other fatalities associated with any of the other 50+ killer whales in captivity? If not, then I suggest it is prudent to put this one out of harm's way, one way or the other. It is the outlier, and the reasons why are a secondary concern.

51 posted on 02/25/2010 12:12:28 PM PST by Liberty1970 (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lydiablievernicht)
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To: OldDeckHand
ODH, just a bit of a correction here ... orcas, or killer whales (I believe the "killer whale" name came from the fact that these gigantic dolphins are whale killers in the wild), aren't expected to kill people either because in the wild, they very, very rarely do, even though they CAN anytime they please and have plenty of opportunity to do so. They are very, very smart and could easily make meals of humans on the open sea frequently if they so pleased. But for some reason, as a general rule, they don't and never have (with some exceptions, such as orcas stalking polar explorers in the 1800s), and professional fishermen and divers count on it; they don't fear orcas.

Contrast that to certain sharks, such as Great Whites, hammerheads, and I believe tiger and lemon sharks as well; they have a long-established history of killing and eating people and commercial fishermen and divers, as well as surfers, know it perfectly well and are leery of them. But those same ocean-savvy humans are not particularly concerned when orcas are in the neighborhood because they aren't expected to eat people.

Just FYI.

73 posted on 02/25/2010 1:13:43 PM PST by Finny ("Raise hell. Vote smart." -- Ted Nugent.)
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