There
we were in the little seaside village where we were lucky enough to get a few
days of vacation. It was the end of a busy day of adventuring and we were beat.
We all sat around the house reading, visiting and enjoying some quiet time.
I was
aware of a relative coming in the door and entering the kitchen, but I didn’t
really pay attention until I heard the crisp, clear and completely
unmistakeable sentence come out of her mouth.
“Yeah,
someone was saying there are whales in the bay….”
We
dropped anything and everything we were doing and stampeded out to the deck
like a rampaging herd of rhinos. That deck provides a beautiful view of a wide
stretch of blue water. I raced through the house and over the threshold and
came to a breathless halt at the wooden railing. I peered out at the shimmering
evening water, and gasped!
There
it was, no further than a quarter of a mile away! A jet black dorsal fin
gliding smoothly, almost angelically, across the water! My very first whale
sighting! Every system in my body was racing! Okay, it wasn’t a dramatic breach or chilling whale song such
as you can find online, but this sighting was so much better! It was real…and
it was mine!
I raced
for my camera, but by the time I got back, they’d gone back under water and
disappeared. I watch the ocean for most of the night and the rest of our time
in the village, but we didn’t get to see them again.
Still,
even just seeing them once was incredible!
Maybe
it’s no wonder we didn’t see them again. They might have had other things on
their minds. It’s been a busy year for Mother Nature’s orcas. Here are some of
the things they’ve been up to.
Recently,
a baby seal made a bit of a name for himself by coming up with a creative
solution to a sticky situation. The little fellow was out enjoying a swim when
a herd of killer whales gave chase. He was obviously hugely out numbered and
way out-weighed! Fortunately, there happened to be a boat full of people out
for a peek at the whales. So the little seal did the only sensible thing. He
welcomed himself aboard ship.
Another
whale put on a big show and made the internet video circuit in the process when
he found a little sea turtle that looked like a pretty decent lunch. The whale
sent that poor turtle for quite a wild ride before he finished it off.
Although
killer whales may be pretty decent at knocking around the little guys, they’re
not too big to take a clobbering of their own. That is if they happen across a
herd of determined humpback whales. The chances are even greater the orca will
take a smacking if they proceed to do something silly like attack the humpback’s
baby calf! Don’t worry. Everyone came out of this brawl with their fins intact.
And
then there’s “Granny”, a female orca being tracked off the shores of --. She
hasn’t done anything particularly spectacular or newsworthy, lately. Unless you
count living to be over 105 years old and still hurling herself out of the
water like she was a kid!
Whales
are amazing, aren’t they?
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