Outraged at Ignorant People Who Are Blind to See the Destruction
February 25, 2009 by Kimberly · 12 Comments
I have a rant today…
The Reason?
I joined a group on Facebook today called “Stop the Massacre of Dolphins & Whales”.
If you go there, you’ll see a photo of a whale, bloodied, being pulled out of the ocean, upside down up to a large ship (shown here to the right). You’ll also see a great write-up about the massacre.
It’s disturbing because we really don’t need to harvest them for anything!!!
I left a comment on the group page, @ 1:41 pm today, that said:
“This is so very horrendous to have to look at…even more horrendous that it is actually happening…
It’s not a movie with serious graphics…It is really happening…Thousands of whales are being slaughtered, most of which are endangered, critically endangered or threatened…
Unbelievable!!!
Kimberly @ ExoticAnimalLover.com”
No word of a lie…@ 3:22 pm, I was rudely emailed by an angry person, which I won’t name here, that said,
“tha whales that are endangered are protected. it is illegal to hunt them. also Humans have also brought tha population of Gray whales back from endangered to a healthy population. Dont come to conclusions after hearing one persons biased side of tha story. As Humans, yes we kill animals, but we protect them more then anything. which is more than I can say for tha whales. do you think that if tha whales were running out of food they would start to conserve? do you think that if whales noticed a population dying, they would care? 100% not. they would wait to realize and die slowly anyways. they should be thanking us for our protection considering they are to inferior to do so themselves.”
How Did I Respond?
Honestly, this is the wrong week to feed me lines of rudeness and ignorance…I’ve had enough, in many areas that I’m passionate about.
I guess, I’ve been pushed to the brink of “I Can’t Take Stupidity Any Longer”!
Here’s what I wrote back:
“Wow…you sound like an angry person…
Take a Read more
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Cassowary of the Great Barrier Reef
February 20, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
A Cassowary is a flightless Australian bird, and is native to the tropical forests of New Guinea.
It’s funny because Australia has another flightless bird, the emu, making it and the cassowary the 2nd and 3rd largest flightless birds in the world, behind Africa’s ostrich.
Females are larger than males and are more vividly colored, and may reach up to 2 meters tall! That’s a big bird!
Known to be a timid bird, it can inflict serious injury to human adults, and fatal injury to dogs and children. They have 3 toes and extremely sharp talons/claws.
Check out this great, but short, video showing a wild Cassowary on an island of the Great Barrier Reef:
They are omnivorous, but mostly eat fruits, shoots, grass seeds, as well as fungi. However, it will also make a quick meal of invertebrates and small vertebrates alike.
2 of the species produce a very low Read more
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Potato Cod on the Great Barrier Reef
February 19, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
As you saw in the last post’s video, there were some really amazing cod fish shown.
So, I figured I would show you a little bit more about them.
As you could guess, they are regular inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef.
They can actually reach a length of 2 meters – that’s about as big as a reef shark, but it’s so much heavier and more bulky too!
Wasn’t that awesome? I would love to do this one day…They are real gentle Read more
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Whitetip Reef Sharks on the Great Barrier Reef
February 18, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
The very first shark I ever saw in the ocean was a Whitetip Reef Shark!
Not only that, it was the very first time I had ever snorkeled either…I went under the water for the first dip and there was a shark! It was probably about 5 feet long!
Sure…It brought me right back up to the surface and ready to head back to shore, but our guide told me they’re harmless, unless you really mess around with them and bother them, which I was not even about to attempt.
This wasn’t on the Great Barrier Reef, but on the Ningaloo Reef on the other side of Australia.
I’m sure you’ve heard of shark feedings and tours that take you out to experience this. Well, I’ve found a video showing you a shark feed on the Great Barrier Reef.
You’ll know the whitetip reef sharks because they have a white tip on their tail and caudal fin:
Wasn’t that beautiful and amazing! Did you check out the huge Cod? Wow!
I’d love to see this in person…The animals are just fantastic!
These reef sharks feed on Read more
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Hawksbill Turtles are Regulars on the Great Barrier Reef
February 17, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
Hawksbill Turtles are regulars on the Great Barrier Reef, as they prefer shallow water or lagoons.
The Hawksbill is a Critically Endangered Animal!
They are easily distinguishable by their sharply curved beak, which resembles like a hawk’s bill.
They glide through the water with effortless ease. Check out this great video of a Hawksbill Turtle on the Great Barrier Reef:
Their preferred food source are sea sponges, which makes them unique in that they are one of the few animals with the ability to Read more
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Saltwater Crocodiles on the Great Barrier Reef?
February 16, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
Northern Australia has the largest population of “Salties” in Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef is no exception, although you may be shocked to see one swimming in the ocean…Well, that’s why they’re called saltwater crocodiles. Plus, there’s plenty of food out there for them.
In fact, according to WWF, it has unique habitats and breeding sites for the saltwater crocodile.
I found this short video showing a saltwater crocodile that caught a large turtle on the shores of an island in the Great Barrier Reef:
I’ve been to the Northern Territory of Australia and I can truly vouch for the large number of Read more
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Octopi of the Great Barrier Reef
February 15, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
The Octopus is known to be the most intelligent invertebrate in the world.
They have 8 legs and no internal or external skeleton!
(Isn’t that just the best octopus poster you’ve ever seen?)
They are truly amazing creatures that can change color, shape and texture in an instant. Octopi (plural) have the ability to camouflage themselves in any environment.
They are able to fit into tiny areas. In fact, large octopi can fit into a quarter-sized tunnel or hole. Unbelievable!
Check out this fabulous video taken on the Great Barrier Reef of the octopus’ marvelous adaptations:
They have a super short lifespan of 2-3 yrs.
I’ve been blessed enough to have seen an octopus in the ocean on the reef off of Lancelin Island in Western Australia.
There were small blue-ringed octopus in the water, so very vibrant to see – almost electric in color!
Good thing I had reef shoes on! Blue ring octopi are extremely Read more
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Humpback Dolphins of the Great Barrier Reef
Humpback dolphins frequent the Great Barrier Reef.
There are as many as 5 different species of Humpback Dolphin, but it’s often disputed.
2 species were known to exist even as late as mid-2000, the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin and the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin.
However, since then studies have shown that these species have diverged into more distinct species.
Here’s a short video I found of some humpback dolphins off the coast of South Africa:
The humpback dolphin that frequents the Australian waters, including the Great Barrier Reef, is the Read more
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Manta Rays of the Great Barrier Reef
February 13, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
Manta Rays are the most graceful animals in the ocean, in my opinion.
What a magical experience!
I’ve wrangled up a video of some manta rays on the Great Barrier Reef that some divers captured!
To explain the sheer of the first ray in the video, the diver was 60-70 feet above it…What a huge creature!
Also, this video is in real time…This is how elegantly they “fly” through the water! It’s simply effortless to them!
Yes, I’ve actually had the unbelievable opportunity to swim with a school of them on Read more
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Sea Snake of the Great Barrier Reef
February 12, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
If you’ve never actually seen video of the sea snake, or seen them in person, then describing them leaves something to the imagination.
They are not built like normal snakes in that their tail is flattened and shaped like a rudder to help propel them through the water.
It is said that these sea reptiles are among the most venomous creatures in the world. Sea snake venom is absolutely deadly!
They are, as you can see, alive and well on the Great Barrier Reef:
However, it is also said that their mouths don’t open wide enough to really get a chance to injure humans, unless they bite your toes or fingers.
I’ve actually seen sea snakes in Shark Bay off of Western Australia, and our tour guide jumped into the water to grab it to be sure we got a chance to see it. That tour guide was a trained professional and I recommend that NO ONE try this on their own.
The main reason being they’re Read more
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