Mankind can control a lot of things, except for one…

Posted by Jen Overly on Oct 3, 2011 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

As human beings we manage to make everything work for us. We come in, take over, and ask for names later. We make horses that run free in the Wild West, domesticate to be used for our purposes. We yoke giant oxen and force them to plow our fields. We dress up dogs and carry them around in oversized purses. We make Killer Orca Whales jump through rings of fire for a bucket of fish. We have the ability to “control” a lot of things. For instance in order to become a killer whale trainer at Sea World this is all you need:

• At least 18 years old.
• Prior experience training animals.
• Public speaking, drama, or other performance and communication skills (a microphone test is part of the interview process)
• Experience working with animals
• Scuba diving certification
• CPR certification
• An ability to interact with the public
• Academic coursework in zoology, marine biology, animal behavior or psychology (preference is given to those applicants with a college degree)
• Strong swimming skills (part of the interview process is a rigorous swim test that includes a 200 ft. freestyle swim, a 100 ft. underwater swim, and a free-dive to the bottom of a 26 ft. pool.)
• Excellent physical health and the ability to lift 50 lbs.

It seems like a pretty slim list of credentials to allow you to train a killing machine. However, we do it and they obey. They jump through hoops, over top of each other, wave to the crowd, and all the while making light of their actual state in the circle of life, in the grand food web. As mankind we are still at the top, but they are pretty close behind. So if we, mankind, can tame killer animals with minor credentials, why is our own tongue so difficult to control?