Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Hippies Horrified by Nature

Just So You Know

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. 


Posted by on 05/26/04 at 07:12 PM
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