They could easily
injure you
not even meaning to,
but they’re very gentle,
and they’re
very sensitive creatures.
And I personally think
they’re the most
intelligent life forms
on the planet.
Hallo, virtuous viewers
and welcome to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today,
we present the conclusion
of our two-part program
featuring the renowned
animal rights and
environmental advocate
Captain Paul Watson,
legendary guardian
of sea life
and a true superhero.
Captain Watson,
the vegan founder
and president
of the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society,
has over the past three
decades, commanded
more than 200 voyages,
each with the mission
to protect, defend,
and conserve our world’s
marine animals.
I think a lot of animals
have this intuitive ability
that most humans lost
a long time ago.
For instance,
if you’re diving
on a coral reef and
you’ve got a spear gun
in your hand, the fish will
keep their distance;
they know what that is.
But if you’re diving with
a camera in your hand,
they will come
right up to you.
So, they know
what your intentions are.
For instance, when
a dolphin looks at you,
he’s seeing more than
just your physical form.
His echolocation looks
right through your body.
He can see your blood
moving in your veins;
he can see your lungs.
That’s why they’ll
try to rescue people
who are drowning.
They can see the water
getting into the lungs.
So it’s almost like
they can tell if anybody’s
being dishonest or
if they’re afraid of them
or whatever.
They can sense that
far more than we can
because they can literally
see the workings
of the internal organs.
In addition to their
sensitivity, cetaceans
are born geniuses!
They have the largest
and most complex
and most evolved brains
on the planet, there’s
no doubt about that.
The human brain is
1,300 cubic centimeters,
but the orca’s a 6,000
cubic centimeter brain.
The sperm whale,
the largest brain
ever evolved is a 9,000
cubic centimeter brain.
I believe that
all animals are intelligent.
And to me,
the key to intelligence
is the ability
to live in harmony
with the natural world,
and by that criteria,
humans are not
that intelligent.
One of the problems
with people is that
we associate intelligence
with technology.
If it doesn’t have tools,
it’s not smart.
We don’t understand
non-manipulative
intelligence.
The intelligence
displayed by dolphins,
whales, elephants,
for instance, bears, all
are incredibly intelligent.
Why does a whale
need a telephone
when they can transmit
over a thousand miles
underwater?
I believe that whales
actually have the ability
to transmit visual images
between each other.
Their communication
skills are
vastly superior to ours.
The number
of actual components of
humpback whale language
about two million on that,
putting it together.
We’re spending
billions of dollars
searching through space
for extraterrestrial life,
when there is intelligent
life on this planet
that we could be
communicating with,
and we’re not.
Scientists just
go absolutely giddy
at the possibility
of finding bacteria
on the moon Europa,
but we’re wiping out
so many species
at the same time here.
Why are we so obsessed
with something that’s
beyond our atmosphere
and we ignore
what’s going on here?
The current surge
of species extinctions
on land and sea
has been referred to as
“the anthropogenic period,”
because, unlike the past
five mass extinctions,
one of which caused
the last of the dinosaurs
to disappear,
the ongoing one is driven
by human actions.
Pollution from industrial
activity, hunting, fishing,
and animal agriculture
are ongoing threats
to biodiversity.
Large drag trawlers,
bottom trawlers,
middle water trawlers,
long lines, drift nets,
that kind of technology
is something that fish,
for instance,
cannot keep up with.
We’re taking the fish
out of the ocean
far, far faster than
they’re able to reproduce.
We have removed
about 90% of the fishes
from the oceans,
and we’re taking
70 to 90 million
sharks alone.
Right now, we’re in what
the anthropologist,
Richard Leakey, described
as the world’s sixth
major extinction event.
That means that
between the year 2000
and the year 2065,
we will lose more species
of plants and animals
to extinction
than we’ve lost in the last
65.2 million years
since the end
of the Jurassic period.
And we will be
responsible for that.
And of course,
we (humans) could be
on that list.
Another tragic consequence
of humanity’s abuse
of the ecosphere
can be seen
in the growing frequency
of whale and dolphin
strandings on beaches
across our world.
I think we’re having
a lot of whale
and dolphin strandings
for the simple reason that
it’s a very painful death
for a whale or a dolphin
to drown.
It takes a long time.
And when they’re
afflicted with a problem,
they ground themselves
and die on the beach.
And a lot of that can be
caused from pollution
or from sonar testing.
A lot of the US Navy
sonar testing literally
bursts the ear drums
of these animals,
which takes away their
guidance systems, too. .
But you’re going to see
more and more of this
as the oceans become
more compromised
with sonic
and waste pollution.
Do you think
they also have a message
through this to humans?
Well, I think they’re
certainly telling us
that what we’re doing
to the oceans is not healthy.
The ocean is the pump
that keeps it all going
as far as
regulating climate,
providing food,
and providing oxygen.
Eighty percent
of the oxygen is produced
by vital plankton
in the oceans.
And most people
just take it for granted;
it’s out of sight,
it’s out of mind,
“What’s this
got to do with me?”
Well, it’s got a lot of to do
with everybody because
the survival of the oceans
means our own survival.
For the courageous and
compassionate endeavors
of Captain Paul Watson
and all the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society
volunteers to save
endangered ocean life,
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
sent Captain Watson
a letter of special thanks
and donated US$50,000
to his organization
to further these efforts.
So this is a letter from
Supreme Master Ching Hai
and it reads:
Respected Captain Watson,
We wish to humbly salute
and thank
the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society
for its daring feats
of courage, and for your
extraordinary acts
of bravery, selflessly
roaming the oceans
to protect and preserve
our precious, yet
vulnerable marine life.
Thanks to your
amazing efforts,
the Japanese government
has announced
that it will stop
its whale hunt henceforth
and for
the foreseeable future,
to the exuberant cheers
of whale lovers and
conservationists worldwide.
Every year,
Sea Shepherd ships
(manned by vegan crews)
track the whalers
to prevent the needless,
insensitive slaughter
of innocent creatures.
Using creative,
nonviolent methods,
your volunteers
risk life and limb
to prevent the killings.
Such bold and committed
work has earned
the support of governments
including Australia,
Chile, and France,
as well as many groups
and individuals.
Your fearless persistence
along with
resolute strength
in risking your own safety
and an unwavering love
for the marine animals
has saved not only
hundreds of gentle whales,
but also countless
of other innocents
from danger.
In defending
marine wildlife
and their habitats,
you are preserving
the Earth’s life
support system, and thus
protecting us all,
present and future
generations alike.
May Heaven bless
the Sea Shepherd’s vision
of a day when a complete
and permanent ban
on whaling
and indeed the end
of any killing of animals,
is enacted
throughout the world.
For your
fearless sacrifices,
for the strength of mind
and fortitude
in the face of danger,
for your spirit, concern
and tenacity and
your compassionate
commitment to all life,
we hereby applaud
and salute the heroic
courageous deeds
of Ecologist and
Environmental Champions,
the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society,
and legendary leader,
Captain Paul Watson.
With Great Honor, Love
and Blessings,
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Oh, thank you. Thanks.
Well, thank you very much.
Yes, this will
make a big difference.
I mean all these ships
that we have are
very, very expensive to run.
But they get the job done,
and it’s certainly
worth everything that
we can put into them,
to keep them running.
In addition,
Captain Watson received
several gifts, including
a selection of
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
DVDs, as well as
her newest books
“From Crisis to Peace” and
“The Love of Centuries.”
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
I’d like to say to
Supreme Master Ching Hai
that the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society,
our officers, our crew,
our supporters,
our advisors,
and directors, are all
very, very appreciative
for this support
and for the recognition
of what Sea Shepherd
is doing on the high seas.
We’re proud of the fact
that we are a vegan vessel.
And in fact, I think
we are probably
the only vegan expedition
that’s ever gone
to the southern oceans,
to the South Pole.
And so we are
very much proud
to be associated with
a philosophy that promotes
this kind of kindness
and regard and respect
for other life forms
on this planet.
I think that her promotion
of veganism is one of
the healthiest things,
because this is the key
to changing our attitude
towards animals
and being able to survive
on this planet.
Do you have a message
to our viewers?
We have to understand
that we have
an intimate connection
with our oceans.
And that if the oceans die,
we die.
And if we want to survive
and leave a legacy
to our children’s
children’s children, then
the best way to do that
is to preserve and protect
and defend biodiversity
in our oceans.
After our interview
with Captain Watson,
he announced
on May 12, 2011
the Sea Shepherd's
intentions to protect
the nearly extinct
Bluefin tuna off the coast
of Libya
by monitoring activities
in the region,
in accordance with
a European Union fishing
moratorium there.
In response,
on May 17, 2011,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
again donated US$20,000
in added support
to this noble work.