Trainer and Whales Bond

[KBF]

Just a quick video showing some of the ways that trainers bond and interact with the whales before a show. This is the type of stuff that not everyone gets to see and that goes on daily.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZjb2gFi2rM

 

[livndisney]

Just a quick video showing some of the ways that trainers bond and interact with the whales before a show. This is the type of stuff that not everyone gets to see and that goes on daily.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZjb2gFi2rM

That is really cool!

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

I love this video so much! And speaking as someone who works in that stadium it's not just the trainers they play with. One of my favorite things on a day when they're out in the big tank before the show is having Trua or Nalani see me and start to follow me around the tank and show me whatever it is they have in their mouth currently.

I absolutely adore those whales!

 

[hereyago]

Thanks for that link. They are so smart and beautiful animals and I wonder if they wonder why the trainers aren't in the water with them? kwim? I mean do they miss that physical interaction?

I have only taken DD12 once and we plan to go this year. Obviously it will be different. but I thought the last show I saw a few years ago, how much trust has to go on both sides for the orcas and trainers to be able to do the things together in the water.

 

[charming23]

Great video. I love seeing the whales interact with their trainers. They are such smart animals I could sit and watch them all day long.

 

[julieannbabe]

when i first watched this - my first thought was it looks 'perverse' and i can't explain why.

almost like these creatures are being dumbed down by being seen as 'being cute'

in the wild the behaviour with humans isn't like this.

as i said i can't fully explain my feeling.

KBF - also watching this - i don't think that these captive whales would last 5 minutes in the ocean.

tragic. where do we go from that?

 

[livndisney]

when i first watched this - my first thought was it looks 'perverse' and i can't explain why.

almost like these creatures are being dumbed down by being seen as 'being cute'

in the wild the behaviour with humans isn't like this.

as i said i can't fully explain my feeling.

KBF - also watching this - i don't think that these captive whales would last 5 minutes in the ocean.

tragic. where do we go from that?

Actually (genereally speaking) whales are by nature very curious. So this is behavior that comes to them naturally. There have been many reports of "whales coming closer to get a better look" (spyhopping)from groups in the wild.

They also bump, "spit" and play with each other.

 

[KBF]

when i first watched this - my first thought was it looks 'perverse' and i can't explain why.

almost like these creatures are being dumbed down by being seen as 'being cute'

in the wild the behaviour with humans isn't like this.

as i said i can't fully explain my feeling.

KBF - also watching this - i don't think that these captive whales would last 5 minutes in the ocean.

tragic. where do we go from that?

There are plenty of instances of whales interacting like this with humans or other animals in the wild. Many are captured on video too. Here are some videos of a wild whale named Luna who interacted with humans and other animals....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUlpDLuYUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X8nIXTtgBk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSLC4RunApw&feature=related

Like another poster said, whales are very curious and seem to enjoy these types of interactions. Interactions in captivity like the original video I posted, is just another way the trainers keep the whales stimulated.

As for the whales in my original video, no, they could never be released into the wild. The three that were interacting with the trainer were born in captivity and have lived there at Seaworld Orlando their entire lives. They are dependent on human care and they share a bond with the trainers as you can see from the original video.

 

[julieannbabe]

wow that luna the whale is amazing.

she was in the ocean making 'friends' with people, it was her free choice -she wasn't cooped up in a tank knowing that by being friendly to the trainers or by performing then they might get fed.

KBF - have you seen this picture doing the rounds on fb. lolita that looks like she is punched in the face by trainer:

i don't know what to make of it. could be the way she is training the whale? whatever it doesn't look good. i am gonna try and be positive on this one and just hoping that she is teaching lolita a signal.

 

[livndisney]

wow that luna the whale is amazing.

she was in the ocean making 'friends' with people, it was her free choice -she wasn't cooped up in a tank knowing that by being friendly to the trainers or by performing then they might get fed.

KBF - have you seen this picture doing the rounds on fb. lolita that looks like she is punched in the face by trainer:

i don't know what to make of it. could be the way she is training the whale? whatever it doesn't look good. i am gonna try and be positive on this one and just hoping that she is teaching lolita a signal.

Not at all! A closed hand is not punching a whale in the face. It is a stop/end signal, a hand signal. An open hand stop can be dangerous to the trainer since the whale can bend the hand back. A closed hand provides some resistance and gives the whale a target to stop on.

 

[julieannbabe]

Not at all! A closed hand is not punching a whale in the face. It is a stop/end signal, a hand signal. An open hand stop can be dangerous to the trainer since the whale can bend the hand back. A closed hand provides some resistance and gives the whale a target to stop on.

thanks for letting me know. some of those animal activists though meaning go over the top sometimes. so i didn't want to jump straight in as a lot of the time a picture isn't what it seems.