Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Haley Reading Group: Sarah Schweitzer’s “Chasing Bayla”



[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2015)]

Cynthia A. Campbell

Sarah Schweitzer’s article “Chasing Bayla” focuses on the dangers of right whales in their encounters with humans and unsafe fishing practices. Schweitzer highlights scientist Dr. Michael Moore’s quest for ethical treatment of endangered and injured right whales. Ultimately, the article speaks to the intersecting journey of Dr. Moore and Bayla.

Schweitzer’s discussion of Dr. Moore’s struggle to provide medical treatment for right whales was especially enlightening. At one point, Schweitzer notes that “he wanted to sedate a free-swimming whale…to remove ropes entangling it” (237). This point illustrates the desperation and urgency required to treat whales in their natural habitats using necessary extraordinary tactics.

What were you most interested in while reading Schweitzer’s article? Why? Please provide a page number citation.

52 comments:

Christine Sheriff said...

In the article “Chasing Bayla”,Schweitzer brings issue of the death of whales caused by fishing ropes to light. The detailed imagery the writer used made the story of the captured whale even more heartbreaking. I thought the factual aspects of this piece were interesting because I do not know much about whaling. "For more than a thousand years, humans hunted the North Atlantic right whale.....It was a grimly convenient attribute that, legend has it, afforded them their name. They were the right whale to kill" (p.227). I thought this line was interesting because of the ending, in a time where animal preservation has peaked, I could not understand how any whale is the "right" whale to kill. Although I understand times were different, it is still sad about what the whales have to go through and the historical points of whaling.

Ivyanne B. said...

When reading this article it showed light to how poorly we treat the animals that live on our earth. In the text it said "the left flipper had a 5-inch deep cut and the right flipper had one 7 inches deep" (pg. 233). I thought this was interesting because we live in a world where we want to try and protect all living things but we aren't doing a good job at it. It shows that we don't really care that they get hurt. I think that this because we can't have them as pets so we don't think about loving them as much. I thought this quote was interesting because it shows our ignorance as a human race and it shows how brutal we can be. It shows that the things and technologies we use to make our world better hurts other things around us.
-Ivyanne B.

Desmond Crumer said...

Throughout the gruesome descriptions of the condition of Bayla and the steps needed to save it, one line at the end really drove the point home for me. With fisherman protesting the new regulations "Moore always thought that if dogs walked around the city with laceration, people would be outraged...Whales swam unseen with their wounds"(242). These fisherman likely knew the condition of these whales they harmed, yet choose to ignore it because of profit. It shows what greed moves people to do. If their was more publicity on this topic, I feel that the fishing industries would be forced to make a change.
-Desmond Crumer

Kalonji said...

Schweitzer's piece "Chasing Bayla" is a very well written article and she use's some powerful imagery that really makes you feel empathy for what Bayla had to go through thanks to the man-made circumstances that she was subjected to. "A team of researchers cut away Bayla's shark-mauled blubber with long knives and examined her internal organs, In her mouth they discovered rope that Dodd and Slay hadn't gotten, It was so deeply embedded, new tissue had grown over it, like a pig and a blanket..."(240). These are obviously brutal circumstances and it's hard to imagine the pain Bayla was in over such an extended period of time. It's bad enough that we are responsible for so many deaths of animals, but prolonged suffering thanks to humans is even worst in my opinion. Nothing should have to go through that.

Raillane Kamdem said...

What interested me most about the arycle was that "for more than a thousand years, humans hunted the North Atlantic right whale", and now they are going extinct without them (pg 227). It often astounds me that humans are behind the extinctions of almost every rare animal on earth, yet we are the ones that preach about the environment and conservation. We talk a big game yet only a few of us truly do anything to help these animals in need, even though it is our faults that they are finding themselves in this predicament. This does not just apply to the right whale, but other animals near extinction as well. It is truly saddening.

Unknown said...

"A team of researchers cut away Bayla's shark-mauled blubber with long knives and examined her internal organs. in her mouth they discovered rope that Dodd and Slay hadn't gotten. it was so deeply embedded, new tissue had grown over it" (p.240). In this excerpt from the passage Schweitzer describes how a rope had embedded itself in a whale over time. I found this interesting because it shows the extent of the different problems these ropes can half on the whales.

Shaina Falkner said...

In the writing, "Chasing Bayla", Schweitzinger discusses the treatment and deathh of right whales throughout from history to today. I never heard of a right whale before, so reading this article was very informative and interesting to me.
One part, in particular, that I found interesting was when Schweitzinger discusses the killing of right whales in the 1700's, she writes, "Oil from their blubber helped propel the Colonial economy, lighting homes and stores, and creating wealth and prosperity." This shocked me that people killed animals for fuel for light and wealth. I never knew that people were this selfish and greedy. How did they even know to use whale blubber as a fuel? They didn't have any other resources for it?

Kailey Main said...

While reading,"Chasing Bayla" by Sarah Schweitzer the part that stuck out to me was when I read, "Bayla was probably seven tons, but you can't weigh a free-swimming whale. If the estimate was wrong, an overdose could plunge Bayla into a catastrophic slumber and she would drown"(Schweitzer pg.226). This part stuck out to me because of how much anxiety I bet it caused to try and save the whale. There was a 50/50 chance that the sedative could have ended up killing the whale. I also was interested in how they could estimate the weight of the whale in the water pretty accurately without having to actually weigh the whale.

Tyla Lucas said...

What I found interesting in"Chasing Bayla" was Moore's depressing attitude towards his life's work. He spent his whole life trying to save these whales, even changed his career choice from wanting to heal common pets to massive animals weighing tons. After Bayla's death Moore struggled with it and when one of his colleagues thanked him for his work he emailed back "I failed" (pg 241). This broke my heart because even though Moore did not find a solution, but he did help and made is easier to help the whales. Moore sees it as a failure, but I see that he did more to help the whales than most people ever will. His compassion and love for these creatures is absolutely amazing and to see that he believes he failed them is tragic.

Unknown said...

The point that stood out to me the most from the article is the fact that "there were dozen of right whales in the bay. Almost to a one, they had fishing rope scars" (p. 242). This fact is shocking to me because I was never aware just how big of a problem this was. Even when reading the article, the whole issue didn't exactly phase me until I realized just how many whales this is effecting. Before, it was sad hearing about the effects that the rope had on the whale, but to me it only seemed like this was happening to one or two whales. The fact that it is affecting a good majority of that population is disturbing because it has gotten to such an extreme, with no hope in it stopping.

Jasmyn Kloster said...

On page 233, the narrator describes Bayla's injuries and how the rope deformed her bones and cut through her fins down to the bone. It was a little tough to read the section, "The necropsy report turn his stomach: a gill net had sliced a 4.6-foot-wide laceration across her back and carved off a swath of blubber as it sawed toward her tail." The fact that humans are able to hurt nature in such a way is terrifying. The description of the way poaching animals and overfishing can have such an impact on the Earth is a concept more people need to be aware of. The detail put into the way the animals experience pain made this piece/section stand out to me.

Adejoke Adanri said...

The thing that interested me most in the article was that several of these whales where dying due to entanglement compared to how many were born each year. The author stated that "Scientist have recorded an average of 4 such confirmed and presumed deaths per year since 2008...in a species plagued by abnormally low reproductive rates, in some years with a single calf born in the known population." Our marine animals shouldn't have to suffer injuries or die due to something like this that could be prevented.
I think fishermen and other marine industry workers should do a better job at protecting our aquatic life and make fishing equipment non harmful towards whales.

Alliyah M. said...

After reading the article "Chasing Bayla", I found it interesting to read about the concerns for the right whale population through the perspective of someone who truly cared about the whales. The article's details allowed the readers to feel happy and hopeful when Moore succeeded in finding a method to cut fishing ropes from Bayla and possibly other whales. Unfortunately, this mood changed towards the end of the article.

Schweitzer stated, "Maybe if he could communicate what he had felt all those years ago. If people could feel what he felt when he heard the whales singing in his dreams, maybe then they would come to share his heartache, and wake to the need to do more" (242). I found it sad that Moore ended his career hopeless and defeated after Bayla's death. I would feel so disappointed if I dedicated years of research into something and many people would just ignore the issue.

Gabriel Bressendorff said...

This article definitely brought to light the issue of the death of whales due to fishing ropes. I, myself, am interested in veterinary work, so the topic of the death and harsh treatment of any animal is abhorrent to me. Moore is inspiring in his life-goal to save these whales. "They were majestic and doomed, his love and his burden," (p. 225). The most important part of this article, to me, was Moore's dedication to these whales, and the lengths he goes to in order to save and help them.

Unknown said...

This article was interesting but what caught my attention the most was how the author showed Moore's personal connection to the research and work that he did. It makes the article feel more like a story and made me feel more sympathetic to both the whales and the people helping them. I also thought the whale herself was very sad but fascinating, the way Schweitzer described the whale's struggle was amazing imagery. Page 233 says "the water turned her frothy white. She was bleeding and vomiting. There was no getting close enough to her to deliver antibiotics or detangle her." The ending to this article was very disheartening but the glimmer of hope and passion that Moore had toward helping this animal really stood out to me.

Tomika Collins said...

After reading,"Chasing Bayla" by Sarah Schweitzer, I definitely had more of a concern about right whales. Reading that these precious animals are harmed due to entanglement really hurt my feelings. I never had a concern about the well-being of whales until now. "Bayla was probably seven tons, but you can't weigh a free-swimming whale. If the estimate was wrong, an overdose could plunge Bayla into a catastrophic slumber and she would drown"(Schweitzer pg.226) Knowing this makes your plight to save these animals even more difficult and stressful. The description of Bayla's injuries was worse than any scene in a horror movie. "....a gill net had sliced a 4.6-foot-wide laceration across her back and carved off a swath of blubber as it sawed toward her tail." (Schweitzer pg. 233) This kind of abuse to animals has to stop. Offenders of said crimes should be punished with jail time.

Jonathan Sanchez said...

I find the article depressing almost. What is depressing about it is the same thing that interested me. on page 225, Schweitzer opens up with a story on Dr. Michael Moore and his struggle to save the right whale, Bayla, from the ropes she is entangled in. The story painted the picture perfectly in describing her "V-shaped spray erupting" due to the ropes. The part that interested me most ,though, was the description of right whales being amazingly powerful, but one of their worst enemies are ropes. I find this ironic and a bit amusing at first since a big whale can be trapped by mere fishing nets meant for small fish. Then I learned that over history, right whales' numbers shrank from thousands to around 450. This is a scary thing because humans do this sort of thing to many animals. Elephants, for example, are hunted by poachers simply for the luxury of ivory in their tusks. It saddened me to think of how careless we humans are with our ecosystem on a daily basis whether it be hunting for fun or littering on the ground. This article kind of opened my eyes to the horrors we often cause

James Beverly III said...

This reading was very sad to read, since I have a soft spot for animals. When the reading mentioned how the whales were being extinguished, as well as how the population of the whales were decreasing. The points about overfishing also was sad to read about. This reading really opened my eyes to how mankind is harming animals and affecting their lives for that of our own.

Unknown said...

I was somewhat appalled at how normal and unremorseful Moore and his mateys where while taking down these whales. Especially on page 239 when it read, "She was the perfect target." I say somewhat appalled because they're really focused, so other emotions and some functions are blocked out. I can see how one can say it is no different than hunting, but this is inhumane, and they are being hunted to extinction.

Kendall Clark said...

As I read "Chasing Bayla," I found one of the most interesting parts to be when the author told the history of right whale hunting on page 227. Sarah Schweitzer began by explaining how the right whale got its name, a sad tale on how the whales would float up to boats and make for an easy kill, or "the right whale to kill." Schweitzer explained how as many as 29 whales could be killed in a single day, one of the many reasons right whales remain one of the rarest animals on earth, was only some 100 left in the North Atlantic. Whales are my favorite animals, so this passage was hard to read. Hopefully the population of right whales that remain can be preserved.

Kamela Cross said...

On page 227, when they talked about the amount of whales killed over the years all the way from the 1700s to now. I didn't find this so much as interesting as it was sad. The fact that people are killing more animals than we need to just boggles my mind. It really is a shame that the several types of whales are now endangered.

Unknown said...

The vivid descriptions the author uses is really effective for getting her point across. The gruesome imagery created makes readers feel empathy for the whales big hunted and makes me personally reflect on all animals and remember that they're living beings also. On page 240 the author says "A team of researchers cut away Bayla's shark-mauled blubber with long knives and examined her internal organs, In her mouth they discovered rope that Dodd and Slay hadn't gotten, It was so deeply embedded, new tissue had grown over it."

Stella Nguepnang said...

While reading, "Chasing Bayla" by Sara Schweitzer, one point that really stood out to me was how much time Dr. Michael Moore spent trying to save these animals. It was sad to see that his work mostly failed because the population of whales are still decreasing. I realized that what you want, good or bad, selfish or selfless, might not always happen. Some things aren't up to you, no matter how much effort you put into it. It's sad that something that seems so right can never be because of the greed of humans.

Devin Ellis-Martin said...

In this article, it hit me and made me think deeply about some issues that aren't always in the light for everyday people. I believe strongly that no animals should ever really be harmed so that is why reading this was more difficult. When the reading stated,"...if dogs walked around the city with laceration, people would be outraged...whales swam unseen with their wounds."(pg. 242). I love this quote because it is true that people don't think about things that are not directly in their view, or care about it. Human should be more understanding of the animals and problems that we don't face day to day and it will help the overall wellness of the Earth.
-Devin Ellis-Martin

Unknown said...

What surprised me the most about this was, "Researchers say the peril can be traced once again to humans" (Schweitzer/227). This really messed me up because of the truth behind it. there are some really bad people in the world and they enjoy messing up the balance of the earth. Animals have to be worried about humans destroying their ecosystems. That's really sad in itself.

Unknown said...

One part of the story that is mentioned numerous times that really intrigues me is the valiant nature that Moore took with him. Although there was a struggle with the whales becoming extinct and that there was little to no chance of there ever being a surplus of them, Moore looked past this detriment and he braved seeing sick, wounded, and crippled whales and opened the people's eyes for them to realize the harmful effects that the people's selves are having on these whales. It really strikes me too, because although I do not relate to these animals, I have a soft spot for them and hate to see anything bad happening to them. I would definitely take what I read in the passage and use it as a motivation to reach out and help fight for a cause that I believe is being looked down upon on the daily.

Unknown said...

Reading the article “Chasing Bayla” was saddening. Page 227 talked about how whale hunting was a common thing in the past. Page 233 showed how humans missed treated whales. This article as a whole really put more light on how a few humans mistreat animals.
I feel bad that whales although very big and large are even more vulnerable to being caught.

Chidera Onyeizeh

Rodney Clark said...

"Chasing Bayla", was written by Sarah Schweitzer. It goes into detail about the Atlantic Right Whales. Two they focused upon very intently was named Bayla and Picasso. They talk about stories such as how Bayla was protected by her mother how Michael Moore became interested in them. Right whales are a nearly extinct species that doesn't breed very often. This damages their population heavily due to being hunted in the past. Even after their hunt has been outlawed they are still dying in accidents such as running into ropes. Considering Picasso's mother lost her calf it may have died in such a way as well. Later it goes into how people are trying to prevent the deaths of more whales. Moore felt that regulators having to help fishermen and whales was counter-intuitive. Moore went as far as paying $25,000 to help save a whale and her calf. Clearly, it is difficult for people to protect these whales in prevent their extinction. But, the people involved are showing true dedication and helping however they can.

-Rodney Clark

Samontriona P. said...

This article was interesting, but also very heartbreaking. It was interesting because I read things about fishing and whales that I’ve never really payed attention to. The reason it was heartbreaking is because I am an animal lover and on page 233 Schweitzer states, “Each flipper was incised down to the bone; the left flopped had a 5-inch deep cut and the right flipper had one 7 inches deep.” This really opened my eyes to the fact that fishing nets are harmful and have a huge impact on the well being of whales.

Youssef Hassan said...

I have always been interested in whales because of their size and strength. But i did not know how vulnerable they were to entanglement. I also did not fully know how strong they really were and how much pain their willing to take. But overall this reading was pretty sad the more i learned about the whales and also reading the description of an injured one on page 233.

Jayla Pierce said...

This article really made me think. I just read and wrote about something similar to this. For my art paper I wrote about a man who did an exhibit where he tied a dog up and left it to starve. As people walked by and saw, it raised controversy. People were outraged and called it animal abuse. Turns out afterwards the dog was feed and taken care of, but end up running away. Others believe the dog died of starvation. The reason I brought this up is because the artist made a point that people care about the dog that was tied up on display for the world to see, but yet there are millions of homeless people and strays animals around the world that people see everyday. People raised controversy about that but yet what about the everyday homeless and starving living beings. Schweitzer wrote, “ Moore always thought that if dogs walked around the city of Boston with bleeding lacerations, people would become outraged and a demand that the source of injury should be stopped.’ It goes to show that society only cares about the issues that arise that directly affect them. If it has nothing to do with them, then why should they care about it? It made me think only my own life. I see the homelsss people and the strays everyday, but I do nothing about it most of the time. I think about it and wish there was something I could do about it but never think about it further. The homeless, the stays the whales feel pain and hurt just like I do. I would want someone to help me out of I was in any of those situations. There may not be much I could do, but one thing, one step in the right direction can turn into bigger, larger, and greater. It could be starting process to a change to help so many hurting living people and creatures. We all have to step out of our comfort zone and and think about other feelings. Words only do so much, Moore did anything he could to save those whales and find a solution to help them in any way he could. He took that step and other helped and built of it. It may not have been the perfect spultion but it was solution that helped some. At the end of the day actions speak way louder than words.

Taija Cook said...

Honestly this has to be my least favorite article that I have read so far. I do not feel like animals should be on the same level as humans. I feel like once we start caring more about animals lives than human lives, then it becomes a problem. There has been plenty of human genocides in the world that we really should not be crying over some whales. On page 227 it reads, "For more than a thousand years, humans hunted the North Atlantic right whale...It was a grimly convenient attribute that, legend has it, afforded them their name. They were the right whale to kill." After reading that passage, it made me think about what other human beings that humans have hunted and after killing them had made it right to kill them. I feel like we should first work on stop killing each other then we can think about the endangered animals.

Kelsey McNeil said...

Something that stuck out to me while reading "Chasing Bayla" from the Boston Globe was on page 233 when it talked about Moore's encounter with a female whale who was tangled in fishing ropes. This story was so sad to me because there wasn't a way for the whale to know that the team was trying to help her rather than harm her. They couldn't get close enough to help her at all so they tagged her and tracked her. "The Coast Guard spotted her a month later...She was hanging below the surface...Once and a while she tried to breathe, until she didn't" (233). The body is later on described but was very hard to read and even harder to imagine the pain she was going through. This really made me think about all of the things that us humans do to our environment and how it has an impact on everything, not just us.

Breonna Roberts said...

Relating another reading we have just recently done this shows jow animals are treated. We treat innocent animals poorly with no reason. These poor whales are just trying to live their lives and peolle think its their right to kill them. On page 233 it says “ Each flipper was incised down to the bone...” describe the wounds on the poor animal, it really made me think. I have seen the documentary Blackfish and this reading really reminded me of it.

Avant Hall said...

Reading this essay intriguing and sad at the same time. It shows that whales are being killed and their population is dwindling because of humans, and it is a futile battle to try to bring them back. their birth rates are much too low for them to rise in population, and the entanglement deaths are outweighing the births. Knowing that whales are being killed in excruciatingly painful ways is saddening especially when you can't do much about it. A huge step in the right direction would be to have regulations on nets so the entanglement deaths can be reduced to a minimum.

Anonymous said...

Something that was very interesting about this article to me is the fact that humans have hunted the North Atlantic right whale "for more than a thousand years" (227). Though these whales are on the very cusp of extinction, it is very interesting to me that they have survived being hunted for so long; however, these whales will likely not survive much longer unless us humans realize that what we are doing is pushing these animals closer and closer to a status that we have pushed many other species to. Humans have been a driving force behind many animals going extinct, and it would not be very shocking if the North Atlantic right whale was the next victim to get put on that list.
-Kevin Cox

Marley McCoy said...

After reading "Chasing Bayla" by Sarah Schweitzer I realized how badly we treat some animals compared to others. I think that is important that we care for and try not to harm all animals. I find it interesting that we care so much for cats and dogs but not for some other animals. Schweitzer mentioned this on page 242 when she says that people care more about dogs than whales.

Sandra Yokley said...

In the article “Chasing Bayla”, something I found interesting was that "for more than a thousand years, humans hunted the North Atlantic right whale...They were the right whale to kill" (p.227). With the ever increasing activism for protection of animals, particularly those endangered, it is hard to see that someone can deduct that any type of whale is the okay or the "best" to kill.

Anonymous said...

In the article “Chasing Bayla” , Sarah Schweitzer purpose is to raise awareness of the issue for the increasing deaths of whales caused by fishing ropes. A quote from this story that really struck me was the one that read "Endowed with abundant blubber , right whales also floated after being killed. It was a grimly convenient attribute that, legend has it, afforded them their name. They were the right whale to kill" (P.227). It was honestly hard for me to read this. It's very upsetting that we as humans are the cause of most extinct animals, not to mention the endangered ones. I like that Sarah is raising awareness of this serious issue that so many people lack noticing, let alone actually making a difference. Overall, I enjoyed this article about Bayla but it really made me upset that people are still killing off such peaceful and beautiful animals for the sole intention to gain money. --Kobi P.

Christen King said...

"Chasing Bayla" was a very well written article that brought light to a problem I did not know existed, and made me empathize with the situation. A section of the article really stuck out to me and made me think; on page 242, Moore made a compelling analogy. "If dogs walked around the city with bleeding lacerations, people would be outraged and demand the source of the injury to be stopped." Its saddening to think that we, as humans, do not seem to care about other living creatures on this earth unless it can benefit us as a companion or food. It is known that humans are the cause for most extinctions and endangered species, yet it still flies under the radar. It's taken years for laws to finally be established to protect these animals, yet they should have already been set in place years ago. The process to protect all living creatures on this Earth is taking too much time, and in a sense it feels as if we are regressing. Humans have selected the animals they wish to protect and care about, and have left the others out to be harmed and murdered.

-Christen King

Anonymous said...

On page 233 the author says, "They were megaton creatures who could dive 600 feet, survive on food the size of a grain of ice... yet they were regularly succumbing to something so prosaic as fishing rope." I thought this was interesting because it gave me a different view on whaling. Typically when we think about whaling, we think about humans killing them. We never think about what tool is used to kill them. In the quote, the author is saying that this amazing creature is killed by something that is ordinary compared to it.

-Jada Baker

Daeja Daniels said...

Something that I find to be interesting is how the author talks about how outraged people would be if dogs are dogs would be hurt Moore pg 242. Compassion and care for each other is not always given therefore I can see and understand how animals can be left out. Another thing is that some people only consider animals as a means of getting food. Until humans learn how not to kill each other and care for one another I think that animals will always be the least of our concern.

Anonymous said...

While reading Schweitzer's article I was most interested in is the abuse and pain whales go through by humans. In the article it says " Rope anchored in her mouth. It coiled around her flippers in a skein of tangled loops. With every move it pulled tighter(227)." This shows how humans treat many animals around the world for our own benefit without thinking about other species. This shows the selfishness of human beings and what we are willing to do for our self gain.

-Thomas Moses

Kayla Summy said...

What caught me most was the way Schweitser had described Bayla as if they were the whale them self, almost feeling for her. "It was like she had been swimming with an open parachute. (226)" it showed that Schweitzer may have their own personal connection to this and strong feelings. I also came to the realization, we abuse animals that we don't see because we don't consider them in our actions. a fisherman is only concerned with the fish he catches, not the ones swimming free. As a whole we are neglecting our ecosystem by ignoring what is outside of our immediate reach.

Precious Middleton said...

After reading "Chasing Bayla", I realized that many animals are treated poorly and unfairly compared to common animals. Animals like cats and dogs seem cute to humans, which cause them have more care and love given towards them. However, animals like whales are seen as wild and ugly. This causes humans to be more aggressive and insensitive towards them. No matter what the animal is, all animals should be treated with compassion and care.

Unknown said...

When reading this article I noticed a lot of references to Moore’s curiosity. This helped to prove my point on the previous article. Curiosity is something beautiful and can be used for good. Moore’s curiosity lead him to accomplish one of his lifelong goals. Bayla was free to roam. This article also shed a lot of light on America’s carelessness towards marine life. Billions of fish and mammals in the ocean are in danger due to ropes and fishing gear (228). Something must change.
-Brianna Pickens

alishiana Ivy said...

Sarah Schweizer's article is a very interesting one. The one thing that both interested and disturbed me the most was about the extinction of the right whale. "For more than thousand of years, humans hunted the north atlantic right whale" (p227). I feel that this is very disturbing that humans are always the ones that throw off the balance of the earth. We destroy more than we build. Is it really worth all the deaths. There are so many more animals that have gone or going extinct till this day just so humans can have luxury items that we do not need.

dgeeter said...

the death of whales caused by fishing ropes to light, would never happen without us humans. We treat animals horribly but then when it’s time to prevent extinction we all look stupid, because we got them there in the first place. "For more than a thousand years, humans hunted the North Atlantic right whale.....It was a grimly convenient attribute that, legend has it, afforded them their name. They were the right whale to kill" (p.227). With the history being so prevent, I question what makes people realize just now that it’s wrong?

Unknown said...

Page 233 stood out to me the most because of how disturbing it was. I felt like I could see the whale struggling in my head. It made me appeal to the article emotionally, which helped to tie me in more. I love the use of emotional appeals because I feel that they can make someone care about a topic that they probably wouldn't on a regular basis.

Jada James said...

"Moore always thought that if dogs walked around the city of Boston with bleeding lacerations, people would become outraged and demand that the source of injury be stopped (242)." There's an insinuation of a callousness, a disregard for the lives and conditions of animals that we cannot see and do not own. It's sad to think about it that way. It really interested me to consider the way we view animals that most people will go their whole lives without seeing.

Kiana S said...

When hearing about saving wildlife and seeing all of the cute Dawn dish soap commercials you never really get to see or hear how bad it really can be. In this reading what really stood out, and quite frankly disturbed me, was the descriptions of injuries a whale had because it happened to be swimming in an area where humans fished. "A gill net had sliced a 4.6-foot-wide laceration across her back and carved off a swath of blubber as it sawed toward her tail." (p.233) It is very gruesome and hard to read, but it was real. The world always wants to put out the sugar-coated version of what really happened.

Qcadwell said...

What interested me the most about this article was the lengths the people went to try and save the right whales from the fisherman's net. They risked their lives to protect something they believed in. In page 237 the team chased down a wounded whale who was cut up in a fisherman's net. When they reached the whale they swam up to it to try and cut it free, risking being drowned in the process.