A gigantic tank, they say, but it is big for a small human being not for the Gigantic Creatures

Photo credit to Dr. Simon Pierce https://www.simonjpierce.com

WHALE SHARK

White spots on the back are my poems to my star, my love
High above up in the sky she watches my night dance
At darkest hours my spots are glistening with moon light
Long time ago we were dancing together in this ocean ballroom but
Enchanting memories only make me weep, tears flow away with waves

Sound and smell of that horrendous day haunts me every day
Her seeping blood dyed the ocean and I drank her blood
Angry and furious but nothing I could do to save her
Ravenous for killing, that's what I describe about humans
Kill us all til the ocean bocomes a silent grave



- Poem by PailionemK -

The basic concept of this poem was inspired by the whale sharks captive in the Churaumi aquarium in Okinawa. Initially I inteneded to make a different ending, in which the male whale shark is still in a hope that his mate may come back if the human beings release her from the small tank. However, reading the article about "Horrifying number of whale sharks are slaughtered annually", I changed my mind to make it more tragic.

One thing I want to make it clear is that nothing is known about mating behavior of whale sharks in reality-whether they maintain monogamy, where they mate, what is male's strategy to attract female(s), how they carry out insemination, etc. So the a pair dancing described in my poem is just my imagination.

Photo credit to Dr. Simon Pierce https://www.simonjpierce.com

Last year I visited Okinawa. Having no knowledge of Okinawa, one thing I had heard about was a gigantic aquarium hosting several whale sharks. Intrigued by the information, I wanted to check whether the accomodation for whale sharks deserved the description of "gigantic"

Generally I object to the idea of exhibiting animals in the zoo or aquarium. Not only is it an inhumane concept but it is also an extremely arrogant place. Is there any reason for us to continue to realize the old Victorian idea? Animals should not be the objects of entertaining curiosity. They are equal members on the planet with us, humans.

Despite of modernized technology to suit animals needs, the condition of many contemporary zoos or aquariums are far below the standards of the natural habitat. Facing the captive animals eyes to eyes, I could see many of them were stressed or depressed. Confronting other animals' misery is uncomfortable to me like most people feel uncomfortable to see homeless people or people in extreme poverty that does not allow basic needs. 

I am concerned about children who may subconsciously take it granted that humans can do anything to non-human beings. At least many children seem to have innate empathetic attitude towards other beings because time to time I hear "Mom! This wolf seems to be unhappy." or "Daddy, It's a pity that he cannot go out." But I doubt such pity, empathetic, or sympathetic mind would be maintained after a decade.

Okinawa Churaumi aquarium was extremley commercial place as I had expected. The main tank was full of aquatic creatures including two whale sharks. And the place was full of people, food smell, noise, and commercial strategy.

Check this video to see how small the tank is for these giant fishes.

Most of the people seemed to be happy and enjoying their trip. Many of them were competing in front of the tank to seize the right moment for a perfect selfie with the background of passing-by whae shark. But it was not a difficult mission cause the two whale sharks were appearing less than at every 2 minutes. 

It is understandable that they want to capture the moment of observing one of the rare creatures they would not easily encounter personally in the nature. I do not blame them for their behavior. I do not have any judgmental opinion for any individual person. 

What I want to say is that the aquarium business is taking all the financial benefit out of sacrifice of animals and people's money. Some aquariums defend the ethical validity of keeping giant creatures in captivity by the fact that those whale sharks were to be slaughtered anyway unless those fishes had been saved by them. But it's just an one time excuse and not pointing out the real problem. 

Most of the commercial zoos or aquariums try to hide their ugly businesses by putting the well-said notions like funding animal conservation researches, breeding program for the endangered species, providing educational opportunities, raising awareness of endangered species, etc.

But such activities can be done by non-profitable research organizations not by the commercial zoo/aquarium and can be done without exhibiting animals in artificial conditions. 

Look at the aquarium condition for turtles below.

Do not be fooled by the blue color. It is not a real sea, it's just a small pool painted with blue. How boring life it would be for an animal with long life expectancy!

I do not know whether the animals have ability to detect the size of their surroundings, whether they get bored with endless circling in the same little pool. But we all know most of the animals show wide spectrums of non-survival behaviors in the nature only for fun but we mostly see monotonous behavior in the captive condition, which actually does not allow such a luxury.

Aquarium supporters say that animal exhibition has a positive effect to raise awareness of importance of conservation activities by showing the real beauty of the nature and to educate children who may dream about becoming a biologist or naturalist in the future.

To achieve that purpose, we can devise another type of educational places using simply video materials or a high-tech, such as the advanced interaction techniques for augmented reality experiences. 

Yes, it is a tough topic that does not have any simple, global solution.

Personally I do not support the commercial zoos/aquariums, of which main function is to entertain humans. How about keeping a very limited number of places solely dedicated to research and conservation of endangered animals?
Especially for the giant ocean creatures, there must be a strict legal restriction defining minimum conditions to make those places at least ethically non-brutal. 

Whatever the size, humans cannot build a tank gigantic enough for a giant creature like whale shark.

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