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Title details for Beneath the Surface by John Hargrove - Available

Beneath the Surface

Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish

by John Hargrove
Howard Chua-Eoan
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
Over the course of two decades, John Hargrove worked with 20 different whales on two continents and at two of SeaWorld’s U.S. facilities. For Hargrove, becoming an orca trainer fulfilled a childhood dream. However, as his experience with the whales deepened, Hargrove came to doubt that their needs could ever be met in captivity. When two fellow trainers were killed by orcas in marine parks, Hargrove decided that SeaWorld’s wildly popular programs were both detrimental to the whales and ultimately unsafe for trainers.
 
After leaving SeaWorld, Hargrove became one of the stars of the controversial documentary Blackfish. The outcry over the treatment of SeaWorld’s orca has now expanded beyond the outlines sketched by the award-winning documentary, with Hargrove contributing his expertise  to an advocacy movement that is convincing both federal and state governments to act.
 
In Beneath the Surface, Hargrove paints a compelling portrait of these highly intelligent and social creatures, including his favorite whales Takara and her mother Kasatka, two of the most dominant orcas in SeaWorld. And he includes vibrant descriptions of the lives of orcas in the wild, contrasting their freedom in the ocean with their lives in SeaWorld.
 
Hargrove’s journey is one that humanity has just begun to take—toward the realization that the relationship between the human and animal worlds must be radically rethought.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 24, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781101926475
      • File size: 240986 KB
      • Duration: 08:22:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners may be familiar with SeaWorld's ad on TV promoting its humane treatment of whales. Here's the opposite point of view--from a voice of experience. Hargrove, formerly a SeaWorld orca trainer, had an "emotional reversal" and now objects to the entertainment organization's treatment of animals, including a breeding program for orcas that he terms cruel. Hargrove's slight Texas accent gives his criticisms extra power. Although much of his writing centers on the "quiet desperation" faced by orcas in captivity, there's also information about orca emotions and social hierarchy, his own lifetime fascination with the whales, and life as an orca trainer. His passion is strong, and listeners will feel the emotions in his argument. Hargrove isn't always critical, and he offers solutions, but his tone can sound bleak. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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