| Our
Beginnings and Philosophies
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| 3 Finger Peak |
In our earliest beginnings, we offered four days of sailing and camping tours in the Broughton Archipelago with wilderness viewing aboard our yacht the S.V. Tuan. When people asked us to take them whale watching we evolved to offer our ecologically friendly 'Sail with the Whales' tour. Viewing from the quiet ambience of the yacht it is here where 'senses awaken' and one shares in spirit with the orca.
Through our own observations of viewing orcas and dolphins
in the wild we have come to the obvious conclusion that they
belong in their natural habitat, the World's Oceans.
They do not willingly seek captivity, it is we humans who
have herded, harassed and captured them. We steal their freedom
and separate them from their families and hold them captive
in a concrete pool so that we can be entertained for our own
pleasure.
When you see wild orcas in their pods (the matriarch and
her offspring; daughters and sons) you recognize the family
bond and this makes you realize that it is far stronger than
our own human family bonds. They spend every single day of
their lives together as a family...... do we?
Locally, researchers have been studying orcas in the vicinity
of Robson Bight and Upper Johnstone Strait for well over thirty
years. Their research has enabled all of us to learn about
their distinct populations, lifestyles, dialects and societies.
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There are matrilineal groups,
sub pods, pods, clans and communities.
The photo identification and dialect research enabled Dr.
John Ford to recognize the lost and "alone"
two year old orphaned female orca in Puget Sound as being
A73 - a member of the A24 Sub pod, a pod belonging to the
Northern Resident Orcas. And so began the journey home for
Springer in early July, 2002. Springer's story can be found at Orcanet
Organization and Orca Conservancy Organization.
By comparison, from captive orcas such as Corky and Lolita
and hundreds more that have been imprisoned over time, in
concrete tanks around the world, we glimpse only a "ghost
vision" of their former selves.
We at Seasmoke Whale Watching do not support
the captive display industry and remain opposed to captivity
of marine mammals.
The Corky Project:
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| Corky |
"In the 1960's and 1970's nearly 70 orcas were removed
from British Columbia and Washington State waters (out of
a population of just a few hundred) for live capture operations
for the captive display industry. Almost all these captives
are dead. Finally, attempts are now being made to convince
the owners of the few survivors to return them to the families
they come from". Dr. Paul Spong
Click on the following links for further information:
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