July 11, 2012

Well, had a nice day off from working today. Got to hang out with friends and paint! Not really "a day off" if you ask me, but better than not having friends around to hang out with. As I'm typing this, I can't help but notice the hundreds of splotches of paint on my arms and legs. At least the color goes well with my skin tone! 

Now, I guess I can start talking about whales since I consider myself a girl who likes whales above any other marine creature (excluding the whale shark, which was discussed earlier). There are sperm whales, humpback whales, fin whales, blue whales, baleen whales, killer whales (AKA orcas), and many more, believe me. Most are considered either endangered or vulnerable to become endangered. It's quite sad, these huge creatures of the deep on the verge of becoming extinct. 

I had the opportunity to see a couple humpback whales once. (Humpbacks are endangered, by the way.) It was when I went to the Great Barrier Reef 5 years ago. We saw them off the boat while sailing to the reef, and it was astounding how big they were. Just breathtaking. The one thing that stands out in my mind when I think back on that moment was how all the people around me just looked at me. I was so thoroughly shocked at the whales that I neglected to hold back my "Oohs" and "Aahs" flying out of my mouth left and right. Lord, I was acting like such a geek. Glad I didn't know anyone there. Too bad y'all weren't there...

This is a humpback whale breaching. If you can imagine how much strength it takes for a 20-30 ton animal to force itself up out of the water completely...Wow, it's simply amazing. Maybe it's just me, but I'm a nerd, so yeah. 

Even though you, my multitudes of readers, may think, "Wow, that's awesome! I can't imagine any person who wouldn't think of these mammals as nothing less than a beautiful creature worthy of respect." 

Hate to burst your bubble, but, yeah, there are whale killers out there. They've been hunting whales for decades. They would hunt them for their blubber and sometimes even their meat. Just lately there have been some laws that protect the whales. Like in the past 40ish years. Even so, only so much political jargon can do something for these wild animals. 

I can go days talking about these guys and their sad situation thanks to humans. Definitely stay tuned!