| Summary: | Letter dated 28 December 1967 from "Matt and Margaret" Richards at Durham, New Hampshire, to Lorenzo and Zilla Richards and "Sterling and Edna," thanking them for Christmas presents and reporting on a trip to Bermuda; Accompanied by an article by Maxine A. Richards, "A killer whale just gave me a kiss" (about a marine animal trainer at Sea World in San Diego, California) 'A killer whale just gave m e a kiss! v ' • _ . By Maxine A. Richards San Diego, Calif. The smiling young man gently pried open the mouth of the 2,500-pound killer whale zn& with a seven-inch toothbrush cleaned 24 sets of razor-Sharp teeth. "Afraid? No," he laughs in answer to the question asked a dozen times a day at San Diego's Sea World. Kent Burgess, director of animal training at the Mission Bay aquatic park, thinks it's to to be training fte World's first performing kulef whale to be gLStar. : , .:.;•. • . • "We've been good friends ever since I got in the tank with her the first time to scratch dead skin off her tummy," he explained in his easy-going Southern drawl. ft This friendly Arkansan, suntanned, young, and quick-witted, draws on his unusuaLstore of skill, imagination, and confidence in train-ihg Shamu, the killer whale. -- tip until now, killer whales have been rated among the most predatory, fearsome I S I S iif the world. Men have reported Iffltr^iales chasing themacross ice floes. > > > Two years ago in Seattle, killer whales triet their first challenge-manUntd then, as the sea's fastest, most powerful and most fnteUigent creatures, they could devour anything which crossed their paths and be uXaUenged. In June, 1965, m a n for the fi?stSme captured a killer whale a male -Sich ™hey named Namu. Shortly after Namu's capture another whale, a female named "Shamu," also was caught Namu staved in Seattle as a research;subject and Shalu was flown to San. Diego to be put on public view at Sea World. (Last spring N a mu died in Seattle.) "I guess I've always wanted a chance to work with a kiUer whale," Kent ^plained. Although no one has ever tried to teach them tricks before, Kent has trained their relatives: pilot whales and dolphins. "I figure killer whales should be just as smart as dolphins," he added, "and Shamu sure is." Kent, one of the world's pioneers in niarine-life training, began his career in Arkansas at Animal Behavior Enterprises, a company which did research in training animals for movies. Later, at Florida's Marineland, JS-ent taught the first dolphins in show business. He followed training activities in Florida with work at Southern California's Marine-land where he trained "Bubbles the Whale to do her act. Kent joined Sea Worjd in 1964, where he now is head trainer for everything from penguins to whales. Kent uses reward psychology in training Shamu. Whenever the.whale does what Kent wants her to, he throws her a five-pound , slab of salmon. Because the whale is often .^ across the pool from him at the split sec- f ond she does exactly what he demands, Kent has conditioned Shamu to know that when he blows his whistle the desired action has been achieved and the reward is forthcoming. .-.,,. ,;. ' ";•:'. v -. - y-y„i';n "She's got a good disposition so lar,-- Kent elaborated. "Other whales I've trained have been calm one moment and wild the next In a moment their temperament can change and with a swish of the fin they can knock a man's breath out of him or ram into him." '•- "She's used to me," Kent tells the spectators who watch him training Shamu, "but she m a y not be so friendly with everyone else." i i "She's been docile with her first room-mate a dolphin that w e * a d in the tank ' with 'her " Kent continued. "Shaniu liked that dolphin so much that she used to let it steal her food." . _ , . .^ Kent explained that this friendliness , didn't just happen. When Shaniu and the, - dolphin were first int oduced the; were put ' ' in a tank with only two feet of water.jBe. : cai se Sha - Wasn't covered by the wa.er h e r , t iostile re etion to the dolphin was secondary to her discomfort. ^ - ! - "People, animals, ^ven killer whales get ! friendly with their neighbors when they ve | got a mutual problem," Kent summed up. ' Kent has a young assistant, Tek Yoon, I whoT once worked at Hawass Parker : Banch? Together they are already showing Shamu off at a performance given several times each day. In a skit done with Tek Yoon Shs-mu on command rolls over on her back and plays dead, slaps the water Shamu smooches s^™1**88""'"•"•••;-™ . . ^ . . . . _, g gt Shamu gives her trainer a hiss, .mc * , kTlfer whale to survive captivity, she seems to enjoy her life in show business at bea World, San Diego, Calif. with her huge tail, and "speaks" to^him 'In beSowing tones.'At one point Tek Yoon leans close? and closer to the whale until for a moment his entire head is in her mouth, his neck-between gleaming teeth , Shamu, a real trouper, also does tailwalks around the tank and 10-foot jumps. Next addition to the routine will be a sequence in which Tek prides. Shamu The young trainer calls on his riding skills as. 1 ne mounts the whale, digs his knees into '•>. her sides, and skillfully balancing himself,,; speeds around the tank. 1 Kent believes that Shamu's performing \ possibilities are limited only by ^ a t ter : trainers can dream up for her to dp. Elabo •• : t rating, he stooped down on a little^platfoim "that extends into the tank and Shamu swam up alongside. H e bent his head close y to hers, and the whale stuck out a huge ) pink tongue, giving his cheek a gentle liclc. "That's a kiss," Kent beamed, "a killer whale just gave m e a kiss!" - I t ' s easy to see that Kent Burgess is . - just the kind of m a n a killer whale would "choose to kiss, too. --; --- •-.
|
|---|