Hippies Horrified by Nature
A Monterey whale-watching trip went from scenic ocean vistas and cute wildlife to abbatoir in the time it takes to say "Shamu". A pod of six killer whales, which later grew to 17, attacked a gray whale calf and its mother:
"Instead of gentle giants lolling in the sea, they came upon a life-or- death struggle as a pack of six killer whales attacked a gray whale calf while its mother valiantly fought to shield her 8-ton baby... as whale watchers looked on with a mixture of awe and sadness, mother killer whales -- the most experienced hunters -- took turns ramming head- first, like 6-ton torpedoes, into the calf's soft underbelly, their force nearly knocking it out of the water, while others leapt atop the 20-foot baby, trying to drown it."
As usual, the humans witnessing the event were horrified by the display of unfiltered, unfriendly nature. No commercials, no editors, no narrator, no cute and fuzzy, no political correctness, no value judgements. Just nature.
"To the relief of the spectators, the clash had a happy ending: The 40-ton mother gray whale, rolling like a log to shed attackers and lifting the calf on her back above the attack, led her battered and bleeding baby to shallow coastal waters -- where the orcas do not venture."
The "happy ending" was that the calf survived this attack. I guess the corollary, that these orcas and their young have to go another day without food, must also be a "happy ending" to these people. Phew!
I think they should probably amend their mantra to read "Save the (cute) Whales". The predatory ones are much too mean.
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Hi, Mrs. Buckethead here.
Hi, Mrs. Buckethead here. What an interesting story. It reminds me of a comment that a certain close relative (a baby-boomer-era liberal) once made. We were in Texas in the middle of August for my sister's wedding and we decided to get out of the heat and go to a tex-mex restaurant for dinner. This relative was bemoaning the state of the world and everyone in it who is not like them, then announced in a rather condescending tone that people are the "only animals that kill each other." I about choked to death on my fajitas and in my shock accidentally insulted said relative and their ignorance about what "nature" actually is - sorry, but it's not all babbling brooks and purple sunsets. Granted, these killer whales were trying to kill a gray whale and not another killer whale, but there are certain parallels. As JC grows up, I want him to love animals. Love them AND respect them for what they are and are capable of. Only some of the nature films he watches will be "G" rated, and I'm fine with that because then I know that he'll never end up like this guy .
Mrs. B,
Mrs. B,
Nice to "meet" you.
The guy in the CNN story maybe deserved to lose a digit. Now, I dunno what he was doing, or attempting. But you don't need a PhD to teach you some truths in this life: it sucks to be wet, so stay out of the rain. Being cold is even worse, so stay near heat. And keep your damn fingers away from the predatory cats.
In a similar vein to your experience at dinner that time, I have little sympathy who put themselves at nature's mercy. Like you said so colorfully, it's not all babbling brooks and purple sunsets.
My attitude is this: Nature IS. There is no right or wrong. There is no fairness. There is no justice. All of those concepts are abstractions imagined by humans, and if you bring those with you into the bush, expecting recourse to a dispute resolution facilitator when a bear wants you for an appetizer, you're going to get hurt. Nature simply IS. And alot of that present tense existence has to do with getting water, eating other things, and making more things with lady things. If you interfere with (or become!) any of those, you're in trouble.
I just have to shake my head in wonder when people go into remote places without sufficient (if any) means to protect themselves and end up dead. As you said, respect for these creatures is a must. Part of respect is understanding what they are capable of, an idea of their behavior, and alas what it would take to stop one bent on eating you.
Becoming a bear's appetizer
Becoming a bear's appetizer is frightening. Becoming a bear's "lady thing" is horrifying.
Dunno, Buckethead. "Bear's
Dunno, Buckethead. "Bear's Bitch" is one hell of a resume stuffer.