One of the amazing aspects of the Pacific Northwest is our proximity to the Salish Sea and the Pacific Ocean. These bodies of water are home to a myriad of animals, plants, and other forms of life. Orcas, sharks, sea otters, salmon, puffins, some dolphins and porpoises, and walruses are just some of the animals out there. Being able to see some of these animals out in the wild is a truly amazing experience and springtime is a great time to try and see some.
NOTE: It’s important to keep in mind that wild animals have the potential to be dangerous, especially if they feel threatened. While out in nature, be sure to keep a distance between you and any animals and bring binoculars if you’d like to get a closer look. If you think you found an injured or abandoned animal, call your local Department of Fish…
From the initial CBC News report on Monday 26 April:
Three people are dead after a helicopter crash near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, during a trip to survey the Lancaster Sound polar bear population, the premier says.
It happened near Griffith Island and involved a Great Slave Helicopters AS350-B2.
A news release on Monday morning from Yellowknife-based Great Slave Helicopters said there were two flight crew and one wildlife biologist on board. No one survived, the company says.
Crash site of helicopter was near Griffith Island, near Resolute in the Central Canadian Arctic.
The wildlife biologist was identified on Wednesday as
Just 20,000 lions remain in Africa according to multiple experts, meaning that hunting them, no matter how +/- impactful it is, shouldn't be happening with such dangerously low populations. https://t.co/XuZQKg2TaC
Indonesian officials are facing a new wave of criticism following their decision to relocate the dolphins rescued from the banned Dolphin Lodge in Sanur to Bali Exotic Marine Park in Benoa, which animal welfare organizations describe as a “setback.”
Despite some objections, the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in Bali defended their decision and said that it was made with various considerations.
Meruanto, BKSDA Bali’s head of administration, explained those considerations to Coconuts this morning, noting how the marine park is a legal conservation center and was chosen because BKSDA currently does not have a shelter for aquatic animals. In addition, the park is deemed the closest facility for rescue efforts.
“For us, the most important thing is that the animals survive while waiting for the next step,” Meruanto said.
Seven dolphins were recently rescued from the Dolphin Lodge, a swim-with-dolphins attraction operated by PT Piayu Samudra Loka, that has been banned by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry since April 2020. The facility remained operational until at least earlier this month despite official orders to shut.
A viral video featuring dangdut singer Lucinta Luna swimming with a dolphin there sparked widespread calls for authorities to step up their efforts in protecting animals, leading to the Dolphin Lodge’s closure.
The rescued dolphins, an Indo-Pacific species also known as tursiops aduncus, have since been moved to the Bali Exotic Marine Park, Meruanto said. They have been deemed healthy while still being under close supervision, and are set for rehabilitation and eventual return to the ocean.
However, some animal welfare organizations have raised concerns over the latest developments, as they see the Bali Exotic Marine Park as a “commercial captivity center.”
A conservation foundation called Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia (RASI) noted in a statement issued yesterday that the marine park does not have a sea pen for the dolphins, which means the sea mammals will have to rehabilitate in a chlorinated pool.
“I hope there is sympathy for these dolphins so they can be freed from commercial exploitation. Because dolphins belong in the open sea, not in a manmade pool,” Danielle Kreb, a scientific program advisor at the foundation, said.
“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” - Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
