foolish of me to think so
Someone admits naive of me before saying the families should have stayed together, already making the hope sound small.
I know it was naive of me, but I thought that...Blackfish · 2013 — Chapter 7 of 11 · 2'19" · B2
Kalina Taken from Katina, Explained: never crossed my mind
A trainer recalls how a four-year-old calf was moved to another park, then describes the night nets separated mother and daughter. The surface is logistics; underneath is grief and power. "There was nothing that you could call that, watching it, besides grief," one voice says.
What happens
In a SeaWorld pool, trainers describe how a four-year-old whale named Kalina was ordered moved to another park. The account moves from the decision by higher-ups to the night of the transfer: nets, a truck, an airport, and Katina left behind in a corner of the pool, shaking, screaming, and crying.
Listen for
naive of menews to usnever crossed my mindwithout her mommy
00:00 / 02:19Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
never crossed my mind
the idea never showed up
When the transfer is mentioned, never crossed my mind means the separation was a blank, not a plan the speaker had argued against.
It never crossed my mind that the cafe would shut on Monday.
Also in this scene
- naive of me
foolish of me to think so
- news to us
we had not been told
- without her mommy
mock pity in a baby voice
- shut me up
made me stop talking
- removed from the scene
cleared away from the scene
Everything marked in this scene
30 notes across 25 lines
When but meets I, don't plant a hard t; touch and move on.
I know it was naive of me, but I thought that...everything we were able to do
it was our responsibility to do as much as we could to keep their family units together since we knew that in the wild that's what happens.not splitting that family group
it was our responsibility to do as much as we could to keep their family units together since we knew that in the wild that's what happens.in nature, not in captivity
it was our responsibility to do as much as we could to keep their family units together since we knew that in the wild that's what happens.the new act they are selling not a sky star; the calf billed as the new act
Baby Shamu-- SeaWorld's newest star...already hard to manage
She had become quite disruptive and challenging her mom a little bit and disrupting some shows and that kind of thing.pushing against her mother
She had become quite disruptive and challenging her mom a little bit and disrupting some shows and that kind of thing.impersonal passive: It is a placeholder; by the higher-ups names the deciders before the that-clause states the move.
It was decided by the higher-ups that she would be moved to another park when she was just four, four and a half years old.Keep and light, and put the weight on four and half.
It was decided by the higher-ups that she would be moved to another park when she was just four, four and a half years old.the bosses above you — Fine about bosses in private, not in a formal report.
It was decided by the higher-ups that she would be moved to another park when she was just four, four and a half years old.we had not been told
The calf's transfer is already settled, and news to us means the people working with her had not been told; the tone is flat.
And that was news to us as trainers that were working with her.relative clause: The clause limits trainers to the people then working with her.
And that was news to us as trainers that were working with her.the idea never showed up
When the transfer is mentioned, never crossed my mind means the separation was a blank, not a plan the speaker had argued against.
To me, it had never crossed my mind that they might be moving the baby from her mom.subject clause: It is a dummy; the that-clause is the thought that never arrived.
To me, it had never crossed my mind that they might be moving the baby from her mom.making fun of me
was kind of mocking me, like, "Oh, you're saying, 'Poor Kalina,"' you know, "'what's she going to do without her mommy?"'made me stop talking
Right after the mockery, shut me up admits the baby voice worked, without saying the worry was wrong.
And, you know-- and that of course just shut me up.force those ones apart here, the mother and her calf
So, the night of the move, we had to deploy the nets to separate them and get Kalina, the baby, into the med pool.medical holding pool — In-house jargon; spell it out for anyone outside the park.
So, the night of the move, we had to deploy the nets to separate them and get Kalina, the baby, into the med pool.excessively vocal the line has not; she was not that kind of whale
She was not an overly vocal whale.Let not an run together; don't stop hard on the t.
She was not an overly vocal whale.cleared away from the scene
Removed from the scene puts Kalina on a clean-up list, with the truck and the airport waiting after it.
After, Kalina was removed from the scene and put on the truck and taken to the airport,only a couple of times
And the other females in the pool, maybe once or twice during the night they'd come out and check on her.going over to see if she is all right
And the other females in the pool, maybe once or twice during the night they'd come out and check on her.no name left but grief
After the shaking and the other whales backing off, besides grief is used to ban every softer name.
There was nothing that you could call that, watching it, besides grief.parenthetical aside: The aside makes you look before any word but grief is allowed.
There was nothing that you could call that, watching it, besides grief.they do not belong to you here, the whales are not yours
Those are not your whales.Stress not and your; let whales land cold, without a rise.
Those are not your whales.the person who does that not a casual pat; hands-on care
You know, you love them and you'll think, "I'm the one that touches them,maintain their life
feeds them, keeps them alive, gives them the care that they need."Kalina Taken from Katina, explained
What's really going on
The scene is less about a transfer than about who gets to decide. The calf is called 'SeaWorld's newest star', then described as 'disruptive'—a word that turns a young animal's behavior into a business problem. The people who work with her learn the decision after it is made: 'that was news to us.' Their objection is met with mockery, and the reply 'just shut me up' shows how quickly care is silenced by hierarchy. The most damning move is the final shift from affection to ownership: 'Those are not your whales.' 'They own them.' Between those lines, the mother's screaming in the corner is not sentimental decoration; it is the cost of a decision made elsewhere.
Theme
Death & griefA mother left in the pool shakes and cries; one line says there is no name for it besides grief.
PowerHigher-ups decide the move, trainers hear it as news, and the final claim is ownership: 'They own them.'
Listen for
- but I thought — When but meets I, don't plant a hard t; touch and move on.
- four and a half — Keep and light, and put the weight on four and half.
- not an overly — Let not an run together; don't stop hard on the t.
- not your whales — Stress not and your; let whales land cold, without a rise.
it was our responsibility to do as much as we could to keep their family units together since we knew that in the wild that's what happens.The speaker thought the team had a duty to keep the whales' family together, because that is what happens in the wild.
It was decided by the higher-ups that she would be moved to another park when she was just four, four and a half years old.The move was ordered by higher-ups, not by the trainers who worked with the four-year-old calf.
To me, it had never crossed my mind that they might be moving the baby from her mom.The idea of taking a calf from its mother had never entered the speaker's mind.
And, you know-- and that of course just shut me up.Mockery ended the objection; the speaker was left with nothing to say.
There was nothing that you could call that, watching it, besides grief.Watching the mother in the pool, the speaker finds no word for it except grief.
Those are not your whales.Care and affection do not equal ownership; the animals are not the trainers' to keep.
Questions about this scene
Why was Kalina moved to another park?
The account says she had become 'quite disruptive,' was challenging her mother, and was disrupting shows. It was decided by the higher-ups that she would be moved when she was only four or four and a half.
Why was the decision 'news to us'?
Because the trainers working with her were not told before the higher-ups made the call. The line says the move was news to them, meaning they learned about it only then.
What happens to Katina after Kalina is taken away?
She is left in the pool and stays in a corner, shaking and screaming. The account says she screeched and cried, and other females only came to check on her once or twice.
Why does the speaker end with 'They own them'?
The line answers the earlier claim that the whales are not yours. Care, feeding, and touching do not equal ownership; the final point is that the animals belong to someone else.
Why does the mockery stop the speaker from saying more?
The mocking line imitates a childish worry about 'poor Kalina' and 'her mommy.' The reply is that it 'just shut me up,' so the speaker drops the point rather than answers it.
Blackfish · 11 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8twisted and turnedTrainers Challenge Captivity Claims
Chapter 1come to find outTrainers Hired for Personality
Chapter 2without missing a beatCrews Net the Orca Calves
Chapter 3on a hair triggerStarving Whales Into a Steel Box
Chapter 4on its last legsKeltie Falls Into the Whale Pool
Chapter 5screams outOrca Families Each Have a Language
Chapter 6making such a big dealSupervisor Yells Get Her Away
Watching · Chapter 7never crossed my mindKalina Taken from Katina
Chapter 8twisted and turnedTrainers Challenge Captivity Claims
Chapter 9proven track recordWhy SeaWorld Kept Tilikum
Chapter 10went southTilikum Misses the Whistle
Chapter 11placing the blame onSeaWorld Blames the PonytailChapter 7 of 11 · about 13 min to go