Review: Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish

Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I purchased this book at Kew & Willow.

I had not heard of Blackfish before reading this book, but I watched it as well as some YouTube videos of Sea World orca shows. It does seem like Sea World is making some efforts to become more educational and scientific in their shows, which was nice to see.

I admire people who know what they want from life and achieve it. I'm sure there are countless young children who are inspired by going to a zoo or aquarium and wanting to be a zookeeper or animal trainer when they grow up. But here's a story of one who becomes that coveted orca trainer. Hargrove depicts his transition from a true believer to one who speaks out against the terrible treatment of whales and trainers. The actual attacks of the whales against the trainers are terrible, but I was also disturbed by the physical toll that Hargrove suffered from the day-to-day of swimming with the whales.

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