Orcas Quotes

“He knew all of the answers.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“The orca’s big brain was bigger than he had hoped—five times the size of a human’s and weighing in at nearly fifteen pounds. And this was from a young whale, not a mature adult. The brain was also more complicated than McGeer had imagined—more complicated than a human brain. Dolphin brains were impressive, but this brain was spectacular.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“In an age when whales were judged by how easy it was to render them into oil, or grind them into pet food and fertilizer, killer whales were a problem even if they weren’t killing humans.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“We now know that killer whales are one of the very few mammalian species that can learn new sounds and reproduce them. Dogs and cats, for example—there’s not a chance you could teach a dog to meow or a cat to bark. It’s a very rare ability to learn sounds and reproduce them. We can do it, as humans. Some primates can. Some of the whales can. The calls Moby Doll made in 1964—we still hear today from his kin group that still exists out there. If all roads lead to Rome, all oceans lead to Moby Doll.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“People had considered this the most fearsome creature on the planet. The most vicious. The most predatory. Without any rivals. It could beat anything in the ocean, so, therefore, it qualified as the most feared of all beasts. Totally wrong. So I guess Moby Doll changed the world’s attitudes towards killer whales. Instead of seeing a killer—a savage monster like Moby Dick—the world met a cuddly companion, Moby Doll.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“For a long time, humans have wondered about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets while ignoring the intelligent life on this one. Orcas have a language and a culture that predates ours, so how do we justify imprisoning them or, more importantly, destroying their habitat?”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“Human groups who find themselves hunting in the same territory are almost expected to fight. For the most part, regardless of the continent they’re on or their culture, it’s rare when they don’t battle over land or resources. But the orca culture is more ancient than ours and, apparently, more civilized. Killer whales don’t just share food; they share the same sectors of the seas without challenging each other to determine dominance. This is true for orca families found in every ocean in the world.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“Every bar that’s set to prove human superiority to orcas seems to be as easy for the whales to jump as the hurdles set out for them at SeaWorld. Orcas fit every definition for humanity humans have come up with that doesn’t require opposable thumbs.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“In 1964, no one was watching whales for fun. Today, every orca in the Salish Sea is a star.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“The southern residents are the most photographed, filmed, recorded, and documented mammals on the planet who aren’t either running a country or headlining Hollywood blockbusters.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“Regardless of how scientists may feel about respecting the history of the name, there’s no world in which “killer” sounds like a safe species to swim with. If you’re on their menu, the name is accurate, but if you’re not—and we’re clearly not—it’s an archaic holdover from an ancient era that makes it harder to save this vital species.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

“The only intelligence tests orcas don't pass are the ones that require hands.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, Orcas Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales

“Orcas and some other large whales have spindle neurons in their brains. These are cells that process emotion humans thought existed only in apes and us. Spindle neurons have been called the cells that make us human. They're the part of the brain that deals with complex emotions like love, guilt, grief and even embarrassment. Since these are the cells that allow us to feel deeply, isn't it likely they do the same for orcas?”
― Mark Leiren-Young, Orcas Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales

“Orcas continually prove there are more things in the ocean than are dreamt of in our science.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, Orcas Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales

“Scientists warn that if orcas can't survive, we won't either.”
― Mark Leiren-Young, Orcas Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales

“Sea World was treading carefully. Park officials stated repeatedly how essential and valuable Tilikum had been to their operations. This is true. Zoos and circuses are a business, and Blackstone paid 2.3 billion dollars for its purchase. The most productive employees in that business, in terms of labor and revenue, are the orcas themselves. Tilikum has performed for almost nineteen years in Orlando, sired thirteen calves, and produced in the range of a billion dollars in revenue. Nevertheless, Sea World did not believe that Tilikum had earned the right to retire. None of that billion dollars would be used to build an ocean sanctuary for older captive orcas. They do not deserve it.”
― Jason Hribal, Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance

“Orlagh waits for us in a choppy ocean, accompanied by her daughter and a pod of knights mounted on seals and sharks and all manner of sharp-toothed sea creatures. She herself sit on an orca and is dressed as though ready for battle. Her skin is covered in shiny silvery scales that seem both to be metallic and to have grown from her skin. A helmet of bone and teeth hides her hair.

Nicasia is beside her, on a shark. She has no tail today, her long legs covered in armour of shell.”
― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“Em sua linguagem estridente, Dona emitia um guincho longo de êxtase, e todos ao redor vibravam, batiam palma. 'Se eu sair daqui um dia', pensou ele, 'quem vai cuidar de Dona?”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona: um conto freudiano

“Dona não está fazendo isso porque é forçada a fazer', Jill dizia ao público com seus bonés e câmeras fotográficas, empertigado nas fileiras da arquibancada, que logo estaria encharcada de água salgada. 'Dona está fazendo isso porque realmente quer'.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona: um conto freudiano

“Ela tinha pretendido algo. Que eles nunca conseguiriam desvendar. Que ele sofria por não saber e, a um só tempo, ciente dos mistérios da natureza e seduzido pela verdade, escolhia deixar passar.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona: um conto freudiano

“Ela o lia como uma professora do primário. E o deixava livre.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona: um conto freudiano

“O sussurro saiu num tom mais desesperado do que planejara e com as sobrancelhas franzidas e os olhos marejados: 'Por que você está fazendo isso comigo'?”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona: um conto freudiano

“In her piercing language, Dona let out a long and strong squeal, and everyone in its surroundings would vibrantly applause. 'If I ever leave this place one day', Randolfo wondered, 'who'll take care of Dona'?”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“Dona is not doing it because she is forced to', Jill would say to the audience, with their hats and cameras, attentively sitting along the bleachers, which would shortly be soaked in salt water. 'Dona is doing this because she actually wants to'.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“Maybe moving away would make him not so disorganized. (He doubted himself.) He would send pictures to his mom of his new room, showing not only his tidiness, but also his self-sufficiency and that he could make ends meet by himself. Which would surprise her, maybe even offend her; yes, she would have been wrong about him—because Randolfo could take care of himself, he thought with a sense of pride.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“She had intended something else. Something which they would never be able to unveil. Something he suffered for not knowing, whilst aware of the mysteriousness of nature and seduced by truth—and he preferred to leave it alone.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“She read him like a first-grade teacher. She let him be free.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“Why are you doing this to me?”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“She still has him.”
― Bernardo E. Lopes, Dona

“Then Jack Hanna joined the fray: “How are you going to love something, Larry, unless you see something? You can’t love something and save something unless you see it.”
Naomi had heard this argument before. It was ridiculous on its face, she thought. What about dinosaurs? People, and especially kids, were crazy about dinosaurs. They loved them, without ever having laid eyes on a single one.”
― David Kirby, Death at SeaWorld by David Kirby (9-Oct-2013) Paperback