Anonymous asked: Hi bunjy! Your comments on the octopus video, while not really related, made me consider something: what are your thoughts on aquarium touch pools with creatures like stingrays? Are they unpleasant for the animals or do you think the aquariums are careful with that sort of thing?
frankly, it’s going to depend on the institution. but an aquarium that’s got any kind of certification and isn’t just a janky warehouse operation is going to have responsibly managed touchpools that:
a) include only animals that LIKE/don’t mind touching (stingrays!) or animals that are so armored that they don’t even notice. (horseshoe crabs) you will never find anything as fragile as an octopus in a well-managed touch tank.
b) have staff MONITORING THE TANKS to explain animal facts, answer questions, and make sure that the field-trip kids don’t get too rough.
and it’s EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for both kids and adults to get this kind of hands-on experience with sea creatures, especially since most of them will never interact with these animals otherwise. modern life is so disconnected from nature that we have to fill in the gaps ourselves, and teach people that animals are good and valuable through allowing these kinds of interactions.
and while every kid who ever pets a horseshoe crab or stingray may not grow up to be a scientist, they WILL become an adult gives a shit about sea creatures. and that’s one of the most valuable things we can do for ocean conservation! because:
a kid tapping a horseshoe crab on the back today will become an adult who supports conservation programs and ocean management! an adult who pets a stingray today will be more open-minded about seafood sustainability and fighting pollution!
community outreach is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PART of science, because in order to make any kind of progress,
THE GENERAL POPULATION HAS TO GIVE A SHIT! if people don’t care about animals, they won’t protect them! if people don’t care about the environment, they won’t support conservation efforts!
every educational human/animal interaction helps make a difference SOMEWHERE down the line, and even the small differences add up after a while!
and yes, this is what I’ve been trying to do with my blog and my hilarious animal posts.
“I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand.”
— John Watson, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (via teaformrholmes)
What I wouldn’t give to lounge upon a sofa in a purple dressing gown and subsequently get into a vicious argument with a tradesman over a goose on the second morning after Christmas.
Once
a boy looked very sadly at me after a little bit of conversation.
‘you’re so smart’ he said, ‘I feel like I couldn’t keep up’. And then he
did that sad boy face where you’re supposed to agree to tone yourself
down. So I said ‘probably’ and fucked his mate.
some top advice from a slut, here, 90% of the time when some boy looks sad and tells you you’re too ‘x’ to keep up with it’s a ploy to get you to cut bits off yourself so you can come down to his mediocre level; instead, agree with him and fuck his mate
I am a slut Wen on a dayte With Boye who would Manipulate I’m not sway’d by His saddened state- I say okay I fuck his mayte
