Today we celebrate, National Shamu the Whale Day!
This day was created to not only honor Shamu, but also to raise awareness about orcas in our oceans. And, that alone is a noble thing, not only because of the hunting of Orcas, and the damaging of their waters, and the wrongs that come with their captivity, but also because Killer Whales are not Whales!
This day is the can help those who've gone by a name for so long that they don't realize that the animal they think is one thing is actually another. Killer Whale's are not whales, Orcas are porpoises, that's right they're basically really big Dolphins. Killer Whales are called killer whales because they in fact Kill Whales! These large mammals are the most fearsome things on the planet as they are the most intelligent and deadliest thing that lives in the ocean.
Places like Miami's Sea World used the name Killer Whale to pump up their shows at their parks, so nowadays your average person doesn't realize that the name is just that, a nickname and the animal itself is quite different from what they're named after.
Shamu himself is just a name, as it's been used in several of SeaWorld's orca shows, as a stage name given to the “star” of those shows. The original Shamu lived in the late 1960s and died in 1971, so SeaWorld trademarked the name, and gave it to different orcas throughout the years when performing in Shamu shows, essentially making him a Dread Pirate Roberts of Killer Whales.
Help celebrate the day by taking the time to learn more about the history and plight of the Killer Whale, and maybe a little help in spreading the word too.