WhatShamuTaughtMeAboutLife,Love,andMarri.epub - (EPUB全文下载)

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CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Introduction
1. People Are Animals Too
2. Any Interaction Is Training
3. The Zen of Animal Training
4. Know Your Species
5. Why I Stopped Nagging
6. The How-tos of Positive Reinforcement
7. Baby Steps
8. The Least Reinforcing Scenario
9. The Joy of Incompatible Behaviors
10. Working with Big Cats
Epilogue: Life After Shamu
Acknowledgments
Glossary
About the Author
Also by Amy Sutherland
Copyright
For the animals, especially the human animal I married, Scott
INTRODUCTION
Sitting at my desk in Maine this summer morning, I hear my elderly neighbor clear his throat with undue enthusiasm as he trundles down his driveway. A foghorn moans. A car door slams. I hardly notice these ordinary, everyday sounds as my eyes are trained on the extraordinary, a delicate underwater dance a continent away. A black figure, a swimmer in a wet suit, I can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman, splashes in the middle of a deep pool. Behind the swimmer, a killer whale glides through the tank. His dorsal fin stands tall like a sail. His sharp black-and-white markings reflect in the water’s surface above.
Thanks to a webcam, I can see the shimmering show tank at SeaWorld San Diego. That is, I can see the seven-million-gallon pool from the surface down, an altogether different view from that of anyone actually at Shamu Stadium just now—what I would call a crab’s-eye view. This is a very blue world. The chilly water is the color of lapis, but the shade brightens and then deepens as the sun arcs overhead. The rocks on the tank floor are the indigo of a starless night sky. Aquamarine light crackles across the tank’s white bottom as the water tosses to and fro.
Even the killer whale casts a blue shadow as he circles the tank. Today there is just one whale in the water, but I’ve seen two, even three. I’ve seen babies. I’ve watched them scratch their backs along the rocks and gush balloon-sized bubbles. Some like to lap the pool upside down, their alabaster bellies turned skyward. One has white markings in the shape of a ginkgo leaf. When the whales swim close to the camera, and their stomachs suddenly fill the frame, I can’t help but whoop. My dogs will lift their heads and turn their bright, curious eyes to me. Downstairs at his desk, my husband will call “What?”
Nothing, though, compares to when a trainer is in the tank. Their little legs kicking and arms waving about, the trainers look like water bugs compared to the sleek eight-thousand-pound whales. I can’t t ............

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