Interview

[AniaR]

Hey guys, I did an interview for my local paper check it out http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1253184.html

[New York Mermaid]

Awesome vid, lol the kids are too cute, :)

[Lorelei]

Awesome video Raina! :D I love the idea with the rocks. At our annual celtic festival there's always me and another mermaid there and they had us give the kids a shiny blue rock to throw into the waterfall or keep with them and make a wish with. Really was a nice idea, keep up the good work :)

[LindseyLu]

This was great! :) Nice job Raina!!!!!! <3

[AniaR]

thanks everyone, I cant believe it's up to 6000 views!

[New York Mermaid]

^i hope you dont mind, i posted it on my cetacean forum, since alot of my friends are into mermaids- i rather they see an awesome one in action :D

[AniaR]

thank you Lanai! Also, great avatar. I'd love to hear more about your work it's something that eludes many of us please make sure you post lots!!!

[New York Mermaid]

:) Thank you Raina,

Well here goes, go grab some popcorn and a drink, this is a it long.

I've been around ocean animals for a long time. <- Dads fault, but I thank him for it, because his love of manatees introduced my love for whales and dolphins-. (and other oceanic creatures) I have an old photo where i was for five years old playing with my cousin while my uncle was working with dolphins 5 ft across from us. Ever since that day in 1985 my 4th visit to SeaWorld, a baby whale was born that day, i no longer wanted to be an astronaut, but i wanted to work with these amazing creatures. I spent years getting myself immersed into the cetcean field, studying the wild ones and being able to see the ones near me (at our aquarium we had dolphins and belugas only) and my dad supported me anyway he could - he worked for TWA back then so we could fly anywhere anytime.

For my 10th birthday my dad took me whale watching in Maui, Hawaii, for my 16th birthday I did my first dolphin swim and scuba dive in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.. And every year in between constant visits to SeaWorld any place we went whether puerto rico or chicago- if they had an aquarium, we would go, learning as much as we could. When I started volunteering at my local aquarium - I began to fall in love deeply with dolphins. I decided to join up as a training intern which allowed us to work (supervised) with the whales and dolphins. As much of an experience it was, it was worth all those days, cleaning out the freezer, thawing fish, scubbing everything top to bottom, because in the end you were allowed to participate in feeding and training the whales/dolphins. Unfortunatly due to my lung collapse and emergency surgery I had to leave the aquarium "retire"as my dad put it." It took me 3 years to fully recover from that surgery. But as of recently I started volunteering my time at a small rescue center, where we handle sea turtles especially in the winter (my heart breaks everytime one comes in "cold stunned"), Seals and the occasional dolphin or porpoise. By far being give the opportunity to work with these animals is a gift. I have my wildlife rehabilitators license and I also dream that one day I could start my own rehabilitation center for these animals. I say, in my family the ocean runs deep in our blood. My great grandfather was a whaler, my grandfather was a fisherman, my Aunt is an aquarist in Texas, my uncle works in anthony key with dolphin research, My cousin currently studies manatees and me with the cetaceans.

I currently run a cetacean forum which we keep up to date on cetaceans in parks around the world and discuss the issues reguarding whales and dolphins today (environmental issues, illness etc) Plus we talk about other animals other than the aquatic ones.

I am so sorry about that huge post. lol, but if you have any questions ask away.

[AniaR]

That's awesome Lanai I think you should start a brand new thread and maybe answer questions about your experience! I know captivity is a really touchy subject around here some people are black and white and others are on the fence. We so rarely get the chance to talk to someone who has so much experience but also who has been on the rehabilitation end. ON mer yuku there's quite the debate going on about the world mermaid awards as the Mirage hotel has had many dolphin deaths and they keep getting wild dolpins to replace them. I'm the kind of person I think I'm leaning towards anti-captivity but mostly because I think there are so many cases where animals aren't taken care of like in that case. However, my mind is always open to learn new things and change!

[AniaR]

Hey guys, my interview is no longer up! But you can still read it this way:

http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/thefineart/269409_232267683474649_183327321702019_743850_3509 521_n.jpg

http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad266/thefineart/283183_232267710141313_183327321702019_743851_1850 206_n.jpg

You can see the video at this link:
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife?channelId=8ec181645246410aa3830db90ca9207 d&channelListId&mediaId=6be6bdb83ef34ca48598d7cca5ddbfb4


You can also hear my LATEST interview on the radio here: http://www.cbc.ca/closetohome/ scroll down to Halifax Mythical Mermaid Raina I'll try and have it up on youtube sometime