The Rectory

Alyssa

May 4, 08 - 7:05 PM

Manatees @ MSQ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9pq-IFuhXZg

Are manatees always this dirty or is it just MSQ? I remember SeaWorld's manatee exibit was clean, not like this.

Grow Up Kids, Learn Something

May 5th, 2008 - 4:59 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

The pool needs scrubbing, which is usually done every few days. Algae grows quite fast as we all know, and the only way to slow down that algae growth is to add more chlorine or another chemical like copper (the Seaquarium will not do this because it is obviously bad for the animals' health). The person who shot the video was just at that pool at a time before it was scrubbed.

The lettuce, sea grass, and apples floating in the pool is leftover from their feeding time. Huge amounts of vegetables, fruits, and monkey chow are placed into the manatees' habitats and they are allowed to forage. After a few hours, any food that hasn't been eaten is netted out.

Those manatees who are in their rehabilitation habitats are, depending on their health status, are given beds of sea grass which sometimes float and sometimes sink to the bottom of the pool, which can give the pool a dirty appearance (much like what the intracoastal looks like on a daily basis anyway).

Russ Rector

May 5th, 2008 - 7:33 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

ITS A CRAP HOLE ALWAYS HAS BEEN ALWAYS WILL BE. MSQ JUST PALIN SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

hi

May 5th, 2008 - 7:43 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

the exhibit at seaworld is usually clean because it is sheduled for vacuuming everyday. manatees are dirty animals (by human standards), but deserve not to be neglected.

hi

May 5th, 2008 - 7:54 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

on the subject of crap hole; so is much of the ICW!!! especially in Miami.

Russ Rector

May 5th, 2008 - 8:49 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

ITS STILL A CRAP HOLE AND WHO SAID ANY THING ABOUT THE ICW? ITS CLEANER THAN IT USED TO BE SO WHATS YOUR FEABLE POINT?

Amani

May 6th, 2008 - 2:45 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Every time I have been there it's been dirty so I don't think it's a coincidence. Besides they should not even be in there. Those tanks are small. Then again, they don't care about Lolita so why care about the manatees.

Alyssa

May 6th, 2008 - 3:37 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Wouldn't they want the animal care people to skim the water after they are done eating? Also, I would think they would want to monitor how much they eat everyday to watch for health problems, etc. so they would hand feed them like they feed Lolita and the other mammals

Grow Up Kids, Learn Something

May 7th, 2008 - 1:53 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

As I already stated in my previous post, the water is skimmed after the animals are given the opportunity to eat their fill.

Their weight and health are monitored as often as that of dolphins by the resident vet staff.

Russ Rector

May 7th, 2008 - 8:04 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

August 11, 2005
To whom it may concern:
The following is a true and accurate statement relating to my
activities during my summer internship at the Miami Seaquarium
located at 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key, Florida
between the dates May 15,2005 and July 23, 2005.
I didn't have many expectations when I filled out an application
form for the Summer Internship at the Miami Seaquarium. From
my understanding it was a small marine amusement park, not even
worth the cost of admission. But for me it was more than that, I
saw it as an opportunity to increase my knowledge on a variety of
animals so that I could pursue and add direction to my career in
biology. I was ecstatic when I got the call that I was accepted for
the position, after all, I had never even went in for an interview.
I showed up for the first day of my summer internship wearing the
dark colored, Miami Seaquarium issued winter uniform in the hot
Florida sun. I was still trying to overcome the disorientation of
being in a new place. The secret doors and expanding pathways
made it near impossible to find a stable standing. I had spent my
fITstdays chopping and sorting good fruits trom the bad. I later
retrained trom chopping sweet potatoes because I suffered trom a
reported allergy trom the extended exposure of the bluish colored
mold that grew on them. When I was trained they told me not to
give the animals anything I wouldn't eat. Half the time we would
have whole cases of moldy potatoes, brown apples, and bananas
that reeked with the smell of vinegar trom fermentation. On a case
by case basis I would ask if the quality was good enough for the
endangered West Indian Manatee but not once was I told to discard
the whole case. I would still attempt to slice the fruit as the
pudding textured bananas oozed and the acidic mess burned mycuticles. It didn't take me long to realize just what kind of place
this was.
While I was at the Miami Seaquarium everything was just "ah, it's
good enough". I have done animal related volunteer work in the
past and I had never run across that attitude. Everywhere else that I
had volunteered at had standards such as: every dish has to be
spotless, the food can't be disfigured in any way, make sure the
food preparation area is sanitized. At the Miami Seaquarium
buckets were lined with dried fish scales and squid tentacles. The
food was far from perfect. The fish would be headless or bursting
open with eggs and chopping moldy fruit was something I found
even more grotesque than weighing hundreds of pounds of cold
dead fish and squid. Chicken, fruits, vegetables, fish, squid, and
baby formula (and supplies), all coexisted on the same cold metal
surface. The baby manatee nipples often collided with juices from
fish or chicken.
One of my many jobs was to watch the manatee pool to make sure
that nothing fell in. It gave me a lot of down time to observe the
manatee's personalities and behavior, as well as the exhibit in
which they lived. Six manatees shared a tank that was about the
same size as the pool at my apartment complex. They ranged in
weight from 250 pounds to 2,500 pounds. They would often show
signs of boredom such as self exploration, pacing, and wall
bouncing. The oldest was Juliet. She weighed 2,500 pounds and
came to the Miami Seaquarium in 1956 when she was hit by a boat
along with Romeo, a male we kept in the back. She was always
covered from nose to tail in thick algae which would worsen when
the tank became dirty. The most common question I got while
standing up on the manatee deck was, "what is that green moss
stuff on their back"? The tank would have algae build up so bad
that people would try to argue with me about how it is not right to
have it so dirty and small, etc.. All I could do was shrug cause in
my mind I agreed with them. I knew it wasn't right. One of mybosses even told me once that it was unhealthy and illegal to have
the tank that dirty! Several times I witnessed people from animal
care jumping into the manatee pool and actually ride the manatees!
Once a very large man, who appeared to weigh well over 300
pounds .was holding onto River, a 250 pound baby manatee. The
manatee bucked like a bronco to rid the heavy man from his back.
The babies are supposed to have very little human contact because
they were going to be released back into the wild. However,
througho~t most of their exhibit the manatees see people through
windows or overtop and there is nothing natural about their lightblue
concrete tank and modified moldy meals. No wonder they
have repeat captures like Douglas, a young male who can't seem to
adjust to living in the wild. I was there to make sure that nothing
fell into the pool but the manatees would eat the rubber seal from
around the windows. On approximately July 10,2005, I called in a
diver who pulled out hand fulls of this rubber, some of it had been
ingested and passed completely through their digestive tract. It is
no surprise that the windows were leaking with salt crystal
formations surrounding the bolts. Poor Juliet, she will have to
spend the remainder of her life in these conditions if the park stays
like it is.
The Miami Seaquarium had parasites on both the land and in the
water. I often heard employees complain after diving into the shark
canal that the small parasitic creatures would cause skin irritations.
This is unfortunate because the water is pumped from the bay, to
the shark canal and then distributed to the rest of the pools in the
park, as explained by one of my former bosses. Once I examined a
piece of Juliet's skin and it was teaming with tiny, wormlike,
transparent creatures. It goes with out saying that from then on I
was a little reluctant about putting my hands in the water. With
standing water everywhere, the Seaquarium had it's fair share of
mosquitoes. One day after feeding the crocodiles, I made my way
back to the prep room. As I passed by the deer I was horrified. The

Russ Rector

May 7th, 2008 - 8:06 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

mosquitoes were feeding so thickly on their faces that it appeared
that they had grown full black beards.
At the Miami Seaquarium, the public had to much access to the
animals.. People would often stick their chemically coated hands
into the fish ponds. This often led to the death of everything in the
pond. Instead of blocking off the area, Miami Seaquarium would
just stock the ponds again with the next generation of fish. Not to
mention, .people were sticking their hands into parasite filled pools.
There was also an issue with the birds. They would sit on their
perches during the hottest hours of the day, often with out water
because the dishes were never bolted down properly and the birds
would toss them to the ground. Panting and hot, the birds would
often jump to the ground and fmd their way to a cool tree. As they
walked the grounds, many costumers would attempts to grab the
birds. Even if the birds were on their perches, people would often
hand them food and try to touch them. The not so shy but
fragile flamingoes were often grabbed by their necks by costumers.
A proper barricade could prevent these close encounters.
Toward the end of my internship they allowed me to work with the
birds and reptiles. During the night the birds would sleep in a metal
shed with metal cages which were bolted to the wall and had very
sharp doors which caused injuries in most everyone who worked in
the bird room. Every morning we would take the birds out of the
metal room and place them on poles in the park where they would
stay for the remainder of the day. I would spray off the area and
posts to rid any bird feces from the previous day. Then I would
feed the flamingos while fighting off the infestation of blister
causing red ants that shared their exhibit. After bandaging my
blister covered toes, it was off to the bird room to clean out the
cages. I would sweep out all of the dry material and then get to
work with the water hose. While standing in the metal box I would
spray water while electrical appliances would run with their cords
exposed in the puddles of water that I was standing in. This is howI was instructed to clean and when asked if it was safe, I was told
that it is ok and the routine stayed.
Several times during my short internship the boa constrictor had
escaped. I was shocked to hear that he had been missing for a few
weeks and even after they had located him they didn't get him out
of the space for a few days. Sadly enough, he was hiding just feet
from where children passed every day. Another escape attempt
was whe~ he tried to flee up a tree. One person had him by his tail
for over an hour while another poked his face with twigs. Many
employees from the animal care department were called to location
to block the cust9mer's cameras view. They said that they didn't
need another reason for people to talk bad about the Miami
Seaquarium. The Seaquarium had no reptile specialist therefore the
reptiles were often neglected. One giant iguana, Egore, was
attacked by dogs before calling the Miami Seaquarium home. He
was missing most of his toes and the end of his tail. One day I was
letting Egore get exercise in the grass when I noticed that his skin
looked as though it hadn't gone through its normal sloughing
process so I pulled a piece off. It was really thick like it had been
there for a long time so I began to work it all off. Most of his
spikes came off with no blood shed because the skin was so thick
and tight from neglect that it had cut off blood flow and actually
self amputated the spikes. After investigating the problem I found
that Egore had no rough surfaces to rub off his skin on his own.
They said that it became a hassle to put the log in and out of his
cage which is what he needed to get the skin off. I tried to
compromise by cutting and preparing a smaller stick for his exhibit
but it was never used.
One of my final jobs was to watch the Pompano pools during
construction to make sure that nothing fell into the water. The
Pompano pools is where they house the male manatees and the top
deck dolphins during reconstruction of the Aquarium. The dolphins
would often spy-hop and throw water at me so I got to know themfairly well. The trainers would come up every once in awhile for
dolphin interactions. I was having a discussion with a trainer about
the condition of some of the dolphins teeth. They were worn down
to the gums. I was told that the dolphins that come from the Flipper
Lagoon grind there teeth down by playing with rocks on the
bottom because it is a natural lagoon. The trainer informed me that
teeth are only used for catching fish (not eating them) and
communication with one another. Neither of these skills are needed
in captivty.
These are the reasons that I decided to take a stand. I saw exactly
what goes on behind the scenes of a sea circus.
The above is true and accurate to the best of my recollection.
Cierra Hensley

Ladybug

May 7th, 2008 - 9:53 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Wow, it sounds like a great place to work!

Right. What a hideous joke that place is and all of those violations were less than 3 years ago. I've heard so many 'philes say "that was so long ago, the park has done major upgrades, you are outdated"... blah blah blah.

So what about it, kids? Is anyone going to deny this report and call it a farce?

candace

May 7th, 2008 - 10:16 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

That is so Ridiculous and sad, It does'nt shock me though, Judging by the looks and some of the anons here, that desription fits the business.

I feel so bad for the animals there, exspecially the iguana, too lazy to take a piece of wood in and out of a cage, ugh. Do they call themselves human? If they do, they should'nt be allowed.

These Captivityophiles just cannot relate to the animals, they just don't see the "bigger" Picture

Love too,
Russ
Ladybug
Paul Watson
Tim Gorski
Paul Spong
Chantelle(Orcagirl) -- My heros--
and anyone else who loves animals like i do..:P

Ladybug

May 7th, 2008 - 11:40 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Love to you too, Candace. That report was awful and the animals are still suffering, you can bank on that. They have no clue as to what needs those animals really have. Pulling on a boa's tail and poking it in the face with a stick is no way to 'rescue' it. And the iguana report was awful too and the birds and other reptiles, as well as the imprisoned/neglected/abused cetaceans.

What a bunch of LAME DUCKS the staff is but they'll come back and say "SeaQuarium is wonderful and we love 'our' animals and take great care of them!".

What a bunch of horse maneur that is and everyone knows it.

PTOOOEY!

Alyssa

May 7th, 2008 - 12:05 PM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

That really sounds familiar. Maybe not a great comparison but it sounds like Petsmart. Only a few people actually took care of the animals the way we should. Mostly because managers wanted the customers to be happy. Its sad to think that they would not take care of their animals, especially since they are worth a lot of money.
Russ, where did you get this? I could question whether its real or not but I really think it is (which is sad)

KIARA

May 8th, 2008 - 5:19 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Thats bloody rediculous they should be closed, not only for not complying with the requirements of the depth and width of lolitas pool but also for health and safety and neglect of all the animals.

Its says standing in a pool which has cables exposed is "safe" thats total and utter bull.

were did you find this russ? was it given to someone of high importance if not it bloddy should have been.

I feel so sorry for the manatees, they are beautiful creatures who also deserve beta, i cant believe they are getting away with this.it really makes me cross. they should be shut down and have something put on there file saying they are not aloud to own any kind of animal or work for a park that owns these animals.

your all sick (who work there that is) if i was there i wouldnt stand for that, i wouldve tried to get photographic evidence (not likely but would try)

Your telling me you think this is right to have the animals treated in that way?????????

Ask yourself would you like to be treated that way???????????

ProudOrcaWarrior

Jul 15th, 2008 - 10:32 AM

Re: Manatees @ MSQ

Okay, could the MSQ BE more retarded? It's not that much of an effort to keep an iguana healthy. At least, not as much of a hassle as it is to keep an orca alive, so why can't they just stick the d@#n scratching log in there? The MiamiSeaprison just figures that as long as there's always morons paying money to go to that craphole when there's SeaWorld(another seaprison, but atleast the orcas have company so their slightly happier) up the road, they don't have to work a hard day in their life. Maybe the workers would be more enthusiastic about caring for the animals if they were paid more than minimum wage! But since Mr. Hertz refuses to change his ways, there is only one option: close the Miami$!@#Hole!

	The Rectory Lolita IS Dying, let's talk about it. Russ Rector
Return to Website

Author	Comment
Alyssa May 4, 08 - 7:05 PM	Manatees @ MSQ http://youtube.com/watch?v=9pq-IFuhXZg Are manatees always this dirty or is it just MSQ? I remember SeaWorld's manatee exibit was clean, not like this. Email: missalyssxs@aol.com AIM: misslysxoxo Website: http://myspace.com/missalysxs
Grow Up Kids, Learn Something May 5th, 2008 - 4:59 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ The pool needs scrubbing, which is usually done every few days. Algae grows quite fast as we all know, and the only way to slow down that algae growth is to add more chlorine or another chemical like copper (the Seaquarium will not do this because it is obviously bad for the animals' health). The person who shot the video was just at that pool at a time before it was scrubbed. The lettuce, sea grass, and apples floating in the pool is leftover from their feeding time. Huge amounts of vegetables, fruits, and monkey chow are placed into the manatees' habitats and they are allowed to forage. After a few hours, any food that hasn't been eaten is netted out. Those manatees who are in their rehabilitation habitats are, depending on their health status, are given beds of sea grass which sometimes float and sometimes sink to the bottom of the pool, which can give the pool a dirty appearance (much like what the intracoastal looks like on a daily basis anyway).
Russ Rector May 5th, 2008 - 7:33 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ ITS A CRAP HOLE ALWAYS HAS BEEN ALWAYS WILL BE. MSQ JUST PALIN SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!! Email: captivitykills@comcast.net
hi May 5th, 2008 - 7:43 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ the exhibit at seaworld is usually clean because it is sheduled for vacuuming everyday. manatees are dirty animals (by human standards), but deserve not to be neglected.
hi May 5th, 2008 - 7:54 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ on the subject of crap hole; so is much of the ICW!!! especially in Miami.
Russ Rector May 5th, 2008 - 8:49 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ ITS STILL A CRAP HOLE AND WHO SAID ANY THING ABOUT THE ICW? ITS CLEANER THAN IT USED TO BE SO WHATS YOUR FEABLE POINT? Email: captivitykills@comcast.net
Amani May 6th, 2008 - 2:45 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Every time I have been there it's been dirty so I don't think it's a coincidence. Besides they should not even be in there. Those tanks are small. Then again, they don't care about Lolita so why care about the manatees.
Alyssa May 6th, 2008 - 3:37 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Wouldn't they want the animal care people to skim the water after they are done eating? Also, I would think they would want to monitor how much they eat everyday to watch for health problems, etc. so they would hand feed them like they feed Lolita and the other mammals Email: missalyssxs@aol.com AIM: misslysxoxo Website: http://myspace.com/missalysxs
Grow Up Kids, Learn Something May 7th, 2008 - 1:53 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ As I already stated in my previous post, the water is skimmed after the animals are given the opportunity to eat their fill. Their weight and health are monitored as often as that of dolphins by the resident vet staff.
Russ Rector May 7th, 2008 - 8:04 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ August 11, 2005 To whom it may concern: The following is a true and accurate statement relating to my activities during my summer internship at the Miami Seaquarium located at 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key, Florida between the dates May 15,2005 and July 23, 2005. I didn't have many expectations when I filled out an application form for the Summer Internship at the Miami Seaquarium. From my understanding it was a small marine amusement park, not even worth the cost of admission. But for me it was more than that, I saw it as an opportunity to increase my knowledge on a variety of animals so that I could pursue and add direction to my career in biology. I was ecstatic when I got the call that I was accepted for the position, after all, I had never even went in for an interview. I showed up for the first day of my summer internship wearing the dark colored, Miami Seaquarium issued winter uniform in the hot Florida sun. I was still trying to overcome the disorientation of being in a new place. The secret doors and expanding pathways made it near impossible to find a stable standing. I had spent my fITstdays chopping and sorting good fruits trom the bad. I later retrained trom chopping sweet potatoes because I suffered trom a reported allergy trom the extended exposure of the bluish colored mold that grew on them. When I was trained they told me not to give the animals anything I wouldn't eat. Half the time we would have whole cases of moldy potatoes, brown apples, and bananas that reeked with the smell of vinegar trom fermentation. On a case by case basis I would ask if the quality was good enough for the endangered West Indian Manatee but not once was I told to discard the whole case. I would still attempt to slice the fruit as the pudding textured bananas oozed and the acidic mess burned mycuticles. It didn't take me long to realize just what kind of place this was. While I was at the Miami Seaquarium everything was just "ah, it's good enough". I have done animal related volunteer work in the past and I had never run across that attitude. Everywhere else that I had volunteered at had standards such as: every dish has to be spotless, the food can't be disfigured in any way, make sure the food preparation area is sanitized. At the Miami Seaquarium buckets were lined with dried fish scales and squid tentacles. The food was far from perfect. The fish would be headless or bursting open with eggs and chopping moldy fruit was something I found even more grotesque than weighing hundreds of pounds of cold dead fish and squid. Chicken, fruits, vegetables, fish, squid, and baby formula (and supplies), all coexisted on the same cold metal surface. The baby manatee nipples often collided with juices from fish or chicken. One of my many jobs was to watch the manatee pool to make sure that nothing fell in. It gave me a lot of down time to observe the manatee's personalities and behavior, as well as the exhibit in which they lived. Six manatees shared a tank that was about the same size as the pool at my apartment complex. They ranged in weight from 250 pounds to 2,500 pounds. They would often show signs of boredom such as self exploration, pacing, and wall bouncing. The oldest was Juliet. She weighed 2,500 pounds and came to the Miami Seaquarium in 1956 when she was hit by a boat along with Romeo, a male we kept in the back. She was always covered from nose to tail in thick algae which would worsen when the tank became dirty. The most common question I got while standing up on the manatee deck was, "what is that green moss stuff on their back"? The tank would have algae build up so bad that people would try to argue with me about how it is not right to have it so dirty and small, etc.. All I could do was shrug cause in my mind I agreed with them. I knew it wasn't right. One of mybosses even told me once that it was unhealthy and illegal to have the tank that dirty! Several times I witnessed people from animal care jumping into the manatee pool and actually ride the manatees! Once a very large man, who appeared to weigh well over 300 pounds .was holding onto River, a 250 pound baby manatee. The manatee bucked like a bronco to rid the heavy man from his back. The babies are supposed to have very little human contact because they were going to be released back into the wild. However, througho~t most of their exhibit the manatees see people through windows or overtop and there is nothing natural about their lightblue concrete tank and modified moldy meals. No wonder they have repeat captures like Douglas, a young male who can't seem to adjust to living in the wild. I was there to make sure that nothing fell into the pool but the manatees would eat the rubber seal from around the windows. On approximately July 10,2005, I called in a diver who pulled out hand fulls of this rubber, some of it had been ingested and passed completely through their digestive tract. It is no surprise that the windows were leaking with salt crystal formations surrounding the bolts. Poor Juliet, she will have to spend the remainder of her life in these conditions if the park stays like it is. The Miami Seaquarium had parasites on both the land and in the water. I often heard employees complain after diving into the shark canal that the small parasitic creatures would cause skin irritations. This is unfortunate because the water is pumped from the bay, to the shark canal and then distributed to the rest of the pools in the park, as explained by one of my former bosses. Once I examined a piece of Juliet's skin and it was teaming with tiny, wormlike, transparent creatures. It goes with out saying that from then on I was a little reluctant about putting my hands in the water. With standing water everywhere, the Seaquarium had it's fair share of mosquitoes. One day after feeding the crocodiles, I made my way back to the prep room. As I passed by the deer I was horrified. The Email: captivitykills@comcast.net
Russ Rector May 7th, 2008 - 8:06 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ mosquitoes were feeding so thickly on their faces that it appeared that they had grown full black beards. At the Miami Seaquarium, the public had to much access to the animals.. People would often stick their chemically coated hands into the fish ponds. This often led to the death of everything in the pond. Instead of blocking off the area, Miami Seaquarium would just stock the ponds again with the next generation of fish. Not to mention, .people were sticking their hands into parasite filled pools. There was also an issue with the birds. They would sit on their perches during the hottest hours of the day, often with out water because the dishes were never bolted down properly and the birds would toss them to the ground. Panting and hot, the birds would often jump to the ground and fmd their way to a cool tree. As they walked the grounds, many costumers would attempts to grab the birds. Even if the birds were on their perches, people would often hand them food and try to touch them. The not so shy but fragile flamingoes were often grabbed by their necks by costumers. A proper barricade could prevent these close encounters. Toward the end of my internship they allowed me to work with the birds and reptiles. During the night the birds would sleep in a metal shed with metal cages which were bolted to the wall and had very sharp doors which caused injuries in most everyone who worked in the bird room. Every morning we would take the birds out of the metal room and place them on poles in the park where they would stay for the remainder of the day. I would spray off the area and posts to rid any bird feces from the previous day. Then I would feed the flamingos while fighting off the infestation of blister causing red ants that shared their exhibit. After bandaging my blister covered toes, it was off to the bird room to clean out the cages. I would sweep out all of the dry material and then get to work with the water hose. While standing in the metal box I would spray water while electrical appliances would run with their cords exposed in the puddles of water that I was standing in. This is howI was instructed to clean and when asked if it was safe, I was told that it is ok and the routine stayed. Several times during my short internship the boa constrictor had escaped. I was shocked to hear that he had been missing for a few weeks and even after they had located him they didn't get him out of the space for a few days. Sadly enough, he was hiding just feet from where children passed every day. Another escape attempt was whe~ he tried to flee up a tree. One person had him by his tail for over an hour while another poked his face with twigs. Many employees from the animal care department were called to location to block the cust9mer's cameras view. They said that they didn't need another reason for people to talk bad about the Miami Seaquarium. The Seaquarium had no reptile specialist therefore the reptiles were often neglected. One giant iguana, Egore, was attacked by dogs before calling the Miami Seaquarium home. He was missing most of his toes and the end of his tail. One day I was letting Egore get exercise in the grass when I noticed that his skin looked as though it hadn't gone through its normal sloughing process so I pulled a piece off. It was really thick like it had been there for a long time so I began to work it all off. Most of his spikes came off with no blood shed because the skin was so thick and tight from neglect that it had cut off blood flow and actually self amputated the spikes. After investigating the problem I found that Egore had no rough surfaces to rub off his skin on his own. They said that it became a hassle to put the log in and out of his cage which is what he needed to get the skin off. I tried to compromise by cutting and preparing a smaller stick for his exhibit but it was never used. One of my final jobs was to watch the Pompano pools during construction to make sure that nothing fell into the water. The Pompano pools is where they house the male manatees and the top deck dolphins during reconstruction of the Aquarium. The dolphins would often spy-hop and throw water at me so I got to know themfairly well. The trainers would come up every once in awhile for dolphin interactions. I was having a discussion with a trainer about the condition of some of the dolphins teeth. They were worn down to the gums. I was told that the dolphins that come from the Flipper Lagoon grind there teeth down by playing with rocks on the bottom because it is a natural lagoon. The trainer informed me that teeth are only used for catching fish (not eating them) and communication with one another. Neither of these skills are needed in captivty. These are the reasons that I decided to take a stand. I saw exactly what goes on behind the scenes of a sea circus. The above is true and accurate to the best of my recollection. Cierra Hensley Email: captivitykills@comcast.net
Ladybug May 7th, 2008 - 9:53 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Wow, it sounds like a great place to work! Right. What a hideous joke that place is and all of those violations were less than 3 years ago. I've heard so many 'philes say "that was so long ago, the park has done major upgrades, you are outdated"... blah blah blah. So what about it, kids? Is anyone going to deny this report and call it a farce?
candace May 7th, 2008 - 10:16 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ That is so Ridiculous and sad, It does'nt shock me though, Judging by the looks and some of the anons here, that desription fits the business. I feel so bad for the animals there, exspecially the iguana, too lazy to take a piece of wood in and out of a cage, ugh. Do they call themselves human? If they do, they should'nt be allowed. These Captivityophiles just cannot relate to the animals, they just don't see the "bigger" Picture Love too, Russ Ladybug Paul Watson Tim Gorski Paul Spong Chantelle(Orcagirl) -- My heros-- and anyone else who loves animals like i do..:P Email: strangelitlmuse@msn.com
Ladybug May 7th, 2008 - 11:40 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Love to you too, Candace. That report was awful and the animals are still suffering, you can bank on that. They have no clue as to what needs those animals really have. Pulling on a boa's tail and poking it in the face with a stick is no way to 'rescue' it. And the iguana report was awful too and the birds and other reptiles, as well as the imprisoned/neglected/abused cetaceans. What a bunch of LAME DUCKS the staff is but they'll come back and say "SeaQuarium is wonderful and we love 'our' animals and take great care of them!". What a bunch of horse maneur that is and everyone knows it. PTOOOEY!
Alyssa May 7th, 2008 - 12:05 PM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ That really sounds familiar. Maybe not a great comparison but it sounds like Petsmart. Only a few people actually took care of the animals the way we should. Mostly because managers wanted the customers to be happy. Its sad to think that they would not take care of their animals, especially since they are worth a lot of money. Russ, where did you get this? I could question whether its real or not but I really think it is (which is sad) Email: missalyssxs@aol.com AIM: misslysxoxo Website: http://myspace.com/missalysxs
KIARA May 8th, 2008 - 5:19 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Thats bloody rediculous they should be closed, not only for not complying with the requirements of the depth and width of lolitas pool but also for health and safety and neglect of all the animals. Its says standing in a pool which has cables exposed is "safe" thats total and utter bull. were did you find this russ? was it given to someone of high importance if not it bloddy should have been. I feel so sorry for the manatees, they are beautiful creatures who also deserve beta, i cant believe they are getting away with this.it really makes me cross. they should be shut down and have something put on there file saying they are not aloud to own any kind of animal or work for a park that owns these animals. your all sick (who work there that is) if i was there i wouldnt stand for that, i wouldve tried to get photographic evidence (not likely but would try) Your telling me you think this is right to have the animals treated in that way????????? Ask yourself would you like to be treated that way???????????
ProudOrcaWarrior Jul 15th, 2008 - 10:32 AM	Re: Manatees @ MSQ Okay, could the MSQ BE more retarded? It's not that much of an effort to keep an iguana healthy. At least, not as much of a hassle as it is to keep an orca alive, so why can't they just stick the d@#n scratching log in there? The MiamiSeaprison just figures that as long as there's always morons paying money to go to that craphole when there's SeaWorld(another seaprison, but atleast the orcas have company so their slightly happier) up the road, they don't have to work a hard day in their life. Maybe the workers would be more enthusiastic about caring for the animals if they were paid more than minimum wage! But since Mr. Hertz refuses to change his ways, there is only one option: close the Miami$!@#Hole! Email: vivaearthgirl@hotmail.com