Steve Irwin's Obituary

"People always wonder whether I believe SeaWorld should be closed down. I always say no. They have tremendous financial resources and could play a key role in creating sea sanctuaries which could be a profit-making endeavor. I believe people would flock to a site where a killer whale is being a killer whale for the first time -- something infinitely more satisfying than seeing a killer whale dance the Macarena." - Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Cowperthwaite, the director of the documentary film Balckfish, is one of many that urges for change at the infamous marine park SeaWorld. For years on end SeaWorld has been a place of family fun and amazement; using one animal in particular as their spokesman and main attraction, Killer Whales. However, in recent years that image has gotten more than just a meager makeover. Over the past six years, following the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau, SeaWorld and the captivity of Killer Whales has been under serious scrutiny. There have been several findings of how captivity negatively affects these great creatures and the conversation of keeping Killer whales has only been gaining momentum. It is clear that the death of Dawn Brancheau is what sparked societies ideological shift, yet another key part in the start of this discourse is, without a doubt, the release of Gabriela Cowperthwaite 's documentary film Blackfish.

Picture the beach, the golden sand and aqua water, the warm bright sun in the background, Imagine what is under the water, the aqua clear waters and the little fishes, but instead the ocean is full of nets capturing these harmless sharks. This is redicious to capture and kill these native Australian sharks. Shark culling has become the new issue for Australian media. Shark culling is not the answer for safer oceans.

The issue surrounding the Western Australian shark cull initiative will be the central topic of discussion in this critical essay. A rise in shark attacks in recent years has caused the Western Australian government to employ the Department Of Fisheries Western Australia to pursue a systematic and regulated cull of sharks. However the Greens – who are a political party and pressure group – are advocating for this cull to be stopped through lobbying.

By quoting Vernon by the end of the article, some straightforward emotion is finally shown. The first devastating fact comes in the first paragraph, Jacobsen (2016) says “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old,” (para. 1). The shock is real; wait what? The Great Barrier Reef is dead? Exactly. When giving the history behind the reef, some happiness is seen. For example, Kerry (2016) says “ The reef was born on the eastern coast of the continent of Australia during the Miocene epoch. Its first 24.99 million years were seemingly happy ones, marked by overall growth,” (para. 3) and as well concluding that the Great Barrier Reef will be sorely missed. When Kerry (2016) quoted Veron once again, what he says is just sad, “‘The whole northern section is trashed,’ Veron told Australia’s Saturday Paper. ‘It looks like a war zone. It’s heartbreaking.’ With no force on earth capable of preventing the oceans from continuing to warm and acidify for centuries to come, Veron had no illusions about the future. ‘I used to have the best job in the world. Now it’s turned sour... I’m 71 years old now, and I think I may outlive the reef,’” (para. 11). Veron words and emotions make the reader see that the Great Barrier Reef isn’t so great anymore.

The documentary Blackfish was debuted by CNN in 2013, shortly after the death of SeaWorlds’ orca trainer Dawn Brancheau. That, and other strange “accidental” deaths, brought up a controversial issue debating whether or not seaworld is telling the truth or just covering it up. In the film, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite reveals the problems within the sea-park industry, human relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intellectual

SeaWorld has shone on the radar of public peruse and activist criticism since experiencing its first animal-motivated death on July 6th, 1999. The victim, 27-year-old Daniel P. Dukes, had ambiguously evaded park night-security and entered the Orca tank under the cover of darkness. He was found dead the next day, drowned; but although declaring Dukes’ primary cause-of-death as pulmonary edema, Orlando’s District Nine Medical Examination Office also detailed vivid lacerations and avulsions - specifically of the genitalia. The severity of Dukes’ mutilation beaconed the public to his attacker: Tilikum, the largest Orca ever to be held in captivity - and not one new to, or finished with, killing. In response to Tilikum’s violent and arguably tragic history, film director Gabriela Cowperthwaite organized an ambitious, journalistic undertaking to expose SeaWorld’s inhumanity to the public; this undertaking would eventually translate into the 2013 documentary, Blackfish. Blackfish is, at its core, a project of entertainment, so the 1 hour and 30 minute film extensively fuses artistic expression with factual evidence to persuade its audience into condemning SeaWorld and its conglomerates, as well as to stand with Blackfish in its battle against the organization for its abusive conduct.

In the well-known documentary, Blackfish portrays what really happens behind the closed walls of SeaWorld and the enclosure of killer orcas. The purpose of this film was to give an inside look into the controversial life of whales and trainers. The audience was able to witness unfortunate events during SeaWorld shows and the capturing of the mammals. Many witnesses were interviewed to give factual and opinionated evidence. The usage of rhetorical devices in the documentary such as Ethos, Logos and Pathos contributes to its persuasive stance that although orcas can be kind and friendly mammals, being kept as performing animals can have deadly consequences.

Consequently, there are two important factors that contribute to the ignorance of the Great Barrier Reef ‘s impacts. First, Mr. Hunt’s

Steve Robert Irwin was born on the 22nd of February, 1962, Fern Tree Gully, Victoria. Steve moved to Beerwah, Queensland with his parents and sisters in 1970, there his parents opened the ‘Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park’. Growing up Steve had always loved wildlife, especially reptiles, Steve caught his first venomous snake (a common brown) at only 6 years old. He normally arrived late to school because he would always make his mum pull over just to help a lizard or animal off the road.

Imagine a world where life as we know it does not exist. The air is black and choked by pollution at all times of the day. The rivers move like a snail, barely able to complete their journey with all the sludge that weighs them down. Trees and flowers have long since perished, leaving just grave, concrete buildings as far as the eye can see. Any animals still alive soon die from starvation or from the poison that infests the environment. Is this the type of world we want to live in? Although this may seem extreme, it is a real possibility that I fear may come to pass if we do not start protecting our planet from ourselves. Ever since I was a young boy I have watched as the beautiful habitats in my beloved Australia, and across the rest of

Bindi Irwin is the daughter of the late crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin. She is currently competing on "Dancing With The Stars". One night, The "Dancing With The Stars" theme was hometown glory. The participants were asked to do a dance that paid tribute to their hometown. Some of the participants also paid a visit to their hometown before the performance.

The death of Dawn Brancheau made national news back in 2010. Dawn was working as an orca trainer at the SeaWorld of Orlando when the tragic accident occurred. While doing a relationship session with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, Dawn was pulled into the water and drowned. It was a story that not only shocked the nation but left people wondering how something so horrible could happen. Gabriela Cowperthwaite‘s use of the accounts of retired SeaWorld trainers exposed the harsh reality of captured animals in her documentary Blackfish. In creating a piece focused on the life of one orca, Cowperthwaite has allowed viewers to look into the lives of captured animals and has shown the greater social issue of animal rights, the treatment

Bindi Irwin, the highly acclaimed daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin has grown up right before our eyes. Born on July 24, 1998, Bindi the Jungle Girl has become very successful. With a career on tv starting at the age of six, on her parents wildlife conservation programs, she was practically born for the screen. By nine years old, Bindi had been invited on various shows such as, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, Oprah and Larry King Live. From there, she has won Dancing with the Stars, started her own clothing line, written a book, and has a Barbie doll of her! However, she is not only active in the media, but in her home, The Australia Zoo as well. Bindi is following in her late father, Steve Irwin's footsteps,

Steve grew up working at his familyś wildlife park called the ´Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park´ and later renamed ´Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park.´ There he studies and cared for animals. When Steve´s parents retired he renamed it again ´Áustrialla Zoo´ and continued working there with his family as well as having a T.V. show called ´the Crocodile Hunter´ and having and

I chose to conduct research into an area that was primarily based on the ocean and the aquatic species that it contains. My interest in Marine Biology lead me to research the near – extinct Great Barrier Reef and the reasoning behind its mass loss of coral reef systems and aquatic species, allowing me to establish my research question.