Category: Uncategorized

Winter 2024

This winter has been very stressful. So many wars and fascist leaning regimes, even elected in  “democracies” where the citizens have a choice. This is happening alongside all the wonderful, inventive grassroots organizations in those same countries that are working for peace and regenerating farming, energy sourcing, fishing and community building.

We humans are certainly at a point of crisis/opportunity in our journey on Moma Earth. Stories that introduce themes of joyous, creative cultures we could co-create together with the other-than-human beings with whom we share our planetary home are scarce. Dystopia and Doom porn are trending.

So I decided to write a short vignette and share it here. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Middle Earth Minus Mordor – The Climate Cost of War

“Do you like it?” I turn slowly, breathing in the fresh seaweed scent of algae as it integrates into my skin cells.  “Ah, the first tingle of photosynthesis –  It’s working” I admire the sheen of my deep bluegreen skin. “I should test this symbiosis for any thermal properties”.

Terry nods dislodging a hummingbird sipping from a small blossom in his bushy moss beard. “Are you going to test it in the water?” 

I scan the  horizon “There’s a pod of pacific white-sides at Mace Point now.”

“A dolphin might be too wild a ride for a new algal partner. There’s a grey whale over there” Terry points to a tangle of bull kelp with a few sea otters wrapped up in the fronds.

I step deeper into the Salish Sea, carefully skirting a huge orange sunflower star and spotting a favourite basking shark friend “Hmmm.. maybe Bella might be interested”. A rock full of feeding barnacles agrees and a passing octopus offers to help me hold on to her.

Terry waves at us from the shore as an earnest looking 10 year old approaches.
“Hi Grandpaw, can you help me? I have to go to Every Persons’ Best Landfill  to pick up some materials. 

“What are you building?”  

“It’s a sensory translator for some of the worms in the Lund Regeneration Community Farm. They’re giving a demonstration to the Tri-Galactic conference on wormhole technology next month”

Obviously this is a fantasy. But why not? Why not Avatar without the invasion of mega-metal war machines? Hobbits, Lothlórien elves and Ent forests – Middle Earth without Mordor? Why can’t humans create a future of shared prosperity and partnership with the myriad amazing life-forms with whom we share Mama Gaia?

But what has this got to do with the Climate Cost of War? Well, that was one fantasy of a world we might create if we didn’t consume so much of our Earth to feed Mordor – the military machine. Imagine (reference intended) the human energy, skill and creativity, the immense supply of materials it would free up that we could use to enhance local ecosystems, regenerate our soils, invent truly green technologies available to everyone, build homes, communities, heal the ancient wounds that war and human brutality created.  Is that reason enough to give up war?

How about some basic statistics? In simple terms of GHGs the worlds’ military operations, manufacture and transportation of arms emits around 5.5% of the total global greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. But we can only estimate that percentage because the military won’t give us all the information. Add to that the emissions caused by deployment of bombs and obliteration of infrastructure. Then there is destruction of ecosystems, animals, croplands, forests. And how can we even measure the loss of the brilliant minds, creativity and energy of murdered humans and traumatized children? 

So are humans ready to give up War and repurpose the military? It would mean acknowledging that we have all been damaged by the physical and psychological violence of war even if we were on the “winning” side. It would mean searching our hearts for the intergenerational wounds still festering from millennia of violent oppression and exploitation. It would mean giving up Hate and Demonizing others in order to project our fears onto an “inhuman” Enemy. 

Can we do that? Can we choose compassion and healing – for ourselves and others. Take a deep breath – take another – and another. This isn’t easy – And it’s a practise. And it’s a practise we can’t impose on anyone – certainly not on anyone suffering in crisis in a war zone. But those of us lucky enough to live in Canada, a relatively safe place – we’re the ones who can speak to each other – not to condemn and pile our “righteous” anger onto the “other” side but to listen to each other with compassion and the goal of ending war and saving lives. 

What if Canadians on both sides of a conflict call for an end to the war – together. We can stand united in demanding that our political and business leaders stop the flow of money and arms from our country and allies that enables deranged leaders to destroy their part of the world. We can use those repurposed military resources to support people inside those war zones working for peaceful solutions and get food and medical aid delivered safely to people who desperately need it. 
We can stop feeding the psychological Climate of War with blaming and shaming energy. Then we can work together to start healing.  

Are we ready?

 

December 2022 – Amazing Sounds of Humpback Whales!

In 2019 Terry (aka “the amphibiographer”) got a camera that can shoot 4K video. But in 2019 our 2008 computer was not fast enough to play the clips. This meant that we couldn’t actually review video or audio of the whales that Terry recorded. Further down the line we couldn’t coordinate it with my hydrophone recordings. So in 2021 we finally bought a 2019 computer that could actually play the recordings we’d made.  While listening to audio files of singing whales that I had recorded in October 2019 I heard grunts, growls, belches and squeaks that didn’t sound like a song. Are these these whales practising whale solfège? are they enjoying a good meal? or are they talking?  What a find! I hope you enjoy the underwater conversation as much as we did.

October 2022 – Floating on Whale Song

“I think I see him” Terry calls me – “He’s over there – sails up – coming along Hernando”  Terry and I are floating in Blue Parrot, our 27ft C&C schooner, between Vancouver Island and Savary Island. A dozen humpback whales have been emerging from long dives, probably fishing. I love hearing them breathe and watching their high, heart-shaped blows.

“I don’t see his boat – is he in his trimaran?”  We are looking for our friend Jamie. He’s in a plywood trimaran which he has resurrected out of 2 trimarans he salvaged. One he actually pulled from the sea where it had sunk in shallow water. This monumental job has taken him at least 7 years in between other construction and land caretaking jobs. Jamie rebuilt the trimaran, rigged her and is now sailing towards us on his maiden voyage for a Salish Sea rendezvous.

“You need your binoculars” Terry advises  “he’s not moving very fast in this light breeze”

“Is that him? – he’s way out. It’s going to take him a couple of hours to get here. did you tell him there are whales?”

“I told him. He’s excited to see them” A couple of hours later he arrives! ” “Ahoy Jamie!”  And that’s the long slow story of whale watching from a sailboat.

“Let’s raft up and drift together” Jamie suggests. “Sounds good” says Terry. We pull fenders out of the lazerettes and tie them to the toe rail. Then we tie the 2 boats together. There are a few commercial whale watching boats nearby along with some recreational cruisers and runabouts. But there’s not a lot of thrilling surface action to entertain them, just whales fishing on long dives. So they all depart as dinnertime approaches and the sun arcs towards the Vancouver Island mountains.

“Come see what I did with the boat” We clamber over the attached ama of Jamie’s trimaran onto the main hull to admire his expert carpentry work. “I caught too many prawns this morning.” He tells us.  “Do you want prawns for dinner?” Does he need to ask?

We enjoy dinner together listening to the whales still breathing around us.

Now that the noisy boats are gone I drop my hydrophone again ” Listen to this Jamie” I hand him my headphones. Jamie’s eyes light up “Wow! What’s that sound?” he exclaims. “Sounds like bubble feeding to me but deeper under the water.” I tell him “They’re not lunging at the surface” We all take turns listening and I connect my bluetooth speaker. “One is singing now!” I cry out.

“I’m getting in the water” Jamie announces. He squeezes into his wetsuit, jumps in and tries to imitate a whale singing. “Do I sound like a whale” he asks “No” I laugh. “I can feel the vibrations in my body.”  Jamie is floating blissfully around our rafted boats.”This is incredible! Come on in the water.”

“I want to record them singing.” I tell him. “I can’t record if I’m in the water.”   In the recording below a male humpback is practising his vocal percussion.

 

After about 25 minutes Jamie pulls himself up onto his ship. “I don’t want to leave yet. I just got here and the whales are coming closer” Jamie sighs “Do you want to stay the night?”   Terry and I look at each other. I check the weather prophesy which indicates a 10-15 knot NW wind overnight. But right now it’s calm and there aren’t any signs of a bigger wind coming up the Strait. “OK” we agree.

Kelp Creature “KC” one of the first whales we met in 2016

A group of 3 whales dives under our boats. Another 3 surface close by. “KC! It’s KC!” Terry calls out. The split dorsal fin of the first whale we ever met at close range 7 years ago breaks the surface of the water. “It’s KC” I echo happily. “Was it KC who was singing? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could recognize their voices?”

“One of the other whales looks familiar. I recognize that white mark on herm’s left fluke.” Later, after pouring over the ID catalogs for an hour I find her. “It’s Crescent! We’ve seen them together before. This is so exciting!” I started a “Who Hangs Out With Whom” chart to map humpback relationships that we’ve observed. KC and Crescent are old companions.

It seems that the whales are moving closer. They’re circling around and under our 2 rafted boats. Perhaps they are feeling comfortable with us being here after so many hours of floating with them.  “Are you going up the mast?” Jamie is climbing the steps he has secured on the trimaran mast. “This will be a perfect angle” he says as he lines up an approaching whale. He does and it is. In Jamie’s video you can see his trimaran rafted with Blue Parrot. And here comes the whale who has the most beautiful nostrils!

Video by Jamie McPhail

At dusk Jamie plays the passionate music of Lassa on his stereo. He secures a multi-coloured strobe light on his deck to alert other boats to our presence. Blue Parrot’s 2 solar lights kick in as the darkness deepens.

We’re at half moon but at 23:00 it has just set. “This is amazing – A whale is singing right under us!” I’m ecstatic “I can take the first watch and wake Terry up at 2:00. Go to sleep Jamie.”

After my experiences with heavy dew in Baja I pull on my long underwear, heavy pants and  Pollen sweater and cover  them up with all my old rain gear.

I settle in with headphones on for a long moist watch listening to singing whales.

 

March 2202 #2 – Humpback Whale Concert Hall

Vicki Aireus at the wheel

This is a recording of humpback whales singing in a canyon whose walls bounce sound around like a concert hall. It seems that whales appreciate a venue with great acoustics too! Their operatic pyrotechnics are thrilling as they vibrate through my chilled dew-soaked body in the middle of the night floating on the Sea of Cortes. I’m back in Los Frailes this time in a different sailboat with a different captain. She’s a skipper who has been sailing her 45 ft Morgan ketch around the Sea of Cortes mostly solo for the past 4 years.

Actually we aren’t back in Los Frailes yet. It was our destination but that afternoon the boat’s diesel engine overheated and capitane Vicki shut her down immediately. We spend the day troubleshooting; replacing hoses, tightening screws and listening to every sound. As night creeps in Vicki declares work done for the day to be continued next morning. So we’re floating on the calm seas off the East Cape of Baja California Sur. Good time to drop the hydrophone. Whale voices rise up and envelope us. We are enthralled and calmed. “I’m turning in” Vicki heads down to the aft cabin. I find myself on night watch soaked, exhausted and in love with the undulating stars in the black sky.

Just above the eastern horizon Venus is bright. Orange Mars attends her on one side and dimmer Scorpio on the other. As I watch 2 shiny yellow spots emerge from the sea. They swell into horns and then become a bright bowl floating on the the water. It’s the crescent moon rising out of the ocean! The whales’ songs fade with the starlight as dawn brightens the sky.

When Vicki wakes up we discover that the engine shutdown was caused by flotsam and jetsam clogging up the raw water intake. It’s no big deal and a common problem.

What was clogging the water intake

 

After clearing the intake and hoses and tightening up the water maker belt which was making disturbing noises we get underway again and make it to Frailes to anchor and snooze. In the morning I take the kayak to paddle a surf landing on the beach and freedive along the NW shore. The constant wind and waves stir up the sandy bottom. Visibility is about 5 meters in the silty water. However it’s fun to follow a herd of parrot fish around in the surging surf.

 

We spend a couple of days in Frailes recovering our energy. scanning for whales and listening for whalesong. We see a few whales but not the busy nursery of Moms and calves that I had hoped to encounter. “let’s retrace our track to where we heard the whales and find them again” I suggest. We motor out along our track for a few hours but don’t hear anything. “I want to head back” Vicki says. I would like to stay and give it more time but it takes a lot of patience to be with whales. Mostly it’s long stretches of waiting. So we start to head north in the late afternoon. There’s a little bit of breeze. “I’m gonna raise up the main” Vicki says as she unties Rhiannon’s yellow sail cover. “I’ll leave the hydrophone down while we’re sailing” I say. We rig it off the stern and hear whalesong through my speaker. “I think it’s getting louder” I shout ” Is that a whale that just breached off our beam about 400meters?”  We are sailing along Cabo Pulmo a couple of miles offshore as the sound amplifies.  We zone out to healing sounds of whales singing and ocean waves washing over the hydrophone cable.

It sounds like the ocean is breathing.

March 2022 #1 – Whales and Whale Sharks

We are lucky. Onno is amazing, competent AND easy going!! This is a rare combination in a ship’s captain.

In fact, after Roger and Aashima come aboard the 4 of us spend a lot of time laughing …… and eating. Turns out Onno is a professional chef and Aashima is a great cook. I cook some but most of my contribution is washing dishes – especially in rough weather. I have never been seasick.

The good part: The first days we were anchored in Frailes I recorded the whales singing. They were close. “From the reverb of their voices I’ll bet they are singing near pinnacles” I say to the crew.

“Onno, can I look at your chart plotter? I want to check out the topography of the ocean bottom around here. Up north the whales like to sing in cathedral-like structures; pinnacles and canyons. I think they like the acoustics – they sound fabulous!”

“Aha! There’s a canyon just to the south of Los Frailes” I think we’ve found their concert hall” I record the whales singing on the 4 days we are anchored off Frailes. A few Humpback whales including a mother and calf acually swim past Lost Pearl. These recordings are still not the best because the background of shrimp and sand masks the whale sound when we are anchored so close to the shore. However you can hear more of the song.

Unfortunately this is the last recording I could make from Lost Pearl because we had to leave Los Frailes. Onno’s dinghy was stolen in La Cruz and he has to get to La Paz to pick up another one at the repair shop. Onno and I head out in Lost Pearl early in the morning to catch a calm weather window and motor north to Los Muertos. Roger and Aashima drive there to meet us. We count Olive Ridley sea turtles on the way there and a gorgeous young whale shark glowing in the sunlight slips by Lost Pearl just under the water’s surface. The Sea of Cortes is still magic even though much has been lost.

The view underwater from a whale shark’s tail;  In the murky winter water a 20 ft long whale shark’s head disappears into the gloom

 

February 2022 #2 – Finally, Singing Whales!

After 3 days the social and economic inequalities of Cabo San Lucas are getting to me. They remind me of how privileged I am as a Canadian tourist in this world where 1% of the population controls 99% of the wealth. I am happy to leave a few days later for the east cape.

Several stops and one flat tire later we are in Frailes driving out to the beach as the sand gets softer … and deeper.
“Better get out of this soft stuff while we can.” announces Roger as he contemplates the soft sand mixed with cobbles under the tires. He clambers back into the truck. “We’ll back out on our tracks coming in” I hop out of the camper to find our tracks and guide us out onto the harder pan.

I am relieved “Whew! Let’s look for the boat”. We scan the bay “Is that it?” A double masted wooden ketch is riding high on the 2 foot chop a few hundred meters off the beach. “She’s a beauty” Roger sighs. Lost Pearl is a 1978 45ft custom built Hardin ketch. Quite a few Hardins were built to customer specs at that time. The heavy wood and full keel weighs in at 17,000 pounds. For reference our Blue Parrot is 27ft with a fin keel and weighs in at <6,000 pounds.

“is that him, in the dinghy, heading into shore over there?” The wind is whipping up white caps cresting the chop. The beach ends in sand banks piled 3 meters high at the shore. Pickup trucks push pangas on trailers into the water down a bank that has been slightly levelled. Onno is steering the dinghy toward the panga launch area. He has to jump out of the dinghy and quickly yank it up the bank before the next wave sucks it back into the ocean. We run to help him pull the dinghy up and over the sand bank.

That night I sleep on Lost Pearl squeezed into 1/2 the V-berth amongst sails, empty buckets and fishing poles. But I love the motion of the bow riding over waves on this windy night and soon fall into a velvet sleep rocked by Mama Ocean.

The next day Roger leaves to pick up Aashima from La Paz. Onno and I organize the boat and extend his gopro selfie pole from the deck of Lost Pearl so I can drop my hydrophone into the Sea of Cortes for the first time. “I can hear them. They’re singing!” (Oh frabjous day!) I think it’s a different song from the Salish Sea song in 2020. I didn’t get a good enough recording this Fall.”

Unfortunately this still isn’t a great recording. Because Lost Pearl is anchored in shallow water close to the shore you can hear the sand hissing as it moves with the surging surf in waves towards the shore. There is also an intense snapping sound made by shrimp and barnacles as they feed.

September #1 2021 – How to Sex a Humpback Whale

Terry, the amphibious videographer and I are scanning the water between Powell River and Texada Island searching for a humpback whale that might be entangled. “She said they saw a white buoy on the whale’s back around the dorsal fin.” Reported Susan, the founder of the Wild Ocean Whales Society and monitor of the whale reporting hotline. “They couldn’t be any more specific than that and they weren’t sure but keep an eye out.” So we were, 4 eyes out to be exact. We’d seen half a dozen whales today but none with any trap gear attached. Sometimes the light playing on a wet black back can play tricks on human eyes.

We have been floating in the area of the Upper Sunshine Coast off Powell River for the past few days. We’ve floated around with 1 duo and 1 trio of humpback whales this morning who don’t seem to mind that they are snoozing and/or fishing in the middle of a ferry line used frequently by 2 local ferries that travel across the strait and back. Perhaps they like the predictability of a ferry schedule and time their activities around them although I wouldn’t stake my fishing bank on BC ferries schedules! Staying out of their way and minimizing the effects of rolling ferry wake and loud engine noise on video and underwater sound recordings is a challenge. But whales are where you find them so when 2 of the trio get lively and head South along Texada Island shore we are curious.

A Huge noisy Barge is heading towards them (and us). We’ve observed some sleeping whales reacting to the big wake of a heavy displacement ship with what seems to us to be an annoyed or startled tail slap. These 2 aren’t sleeping but one raises flukes high in the air and slams half their body down in a powerful peduncle throw. The other whale is tail lobbing repeatedly. “Are they pissed off because of the barge?” I wonder. But the barge passes and the high level activity continues.

The whales are raising their flukes high enough out of the water that their genital area is visible in some of the video. It is very difficult to determine the sex of a humpback whale. A very clear view of the underside of their body between flukes and bottom of their throat pleats is necessary. Both male and female whales have navels, longitudinal genital slits and a bump near the flukes called a carina. The females have 2 mammary slits which cover their nipples, one on either side of the genital slit. They also have a smaller “hemispherical lobe” which is a bump at the base of their genital slit.

Humpback Whale Genitalia

Does sexing the humpback whales in the video still elude you? Keep in mind that the clear illustration of Humpback Genitalia is not obscured by jets of seawater coursing over the whale’s body from the tremendous splashing caused by a peduncle throw. Also missing are the many barnacles clinging to all openings and bumpy skin surfaces. Good Luck!

July #1 2021 – Find the Sleeping Whale

Why do whales get runover by boats? The following video holds some clues.

Did you find the sleeping whale? Did you notice that even on a calm day it is difficult to spot a whale resting just under the surface of the water and barely breathing. Some days even strong blows won’t be visible due to atmospheric conditions. Add a brisk breeze and half-meter waves to people in a hurry and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Tragically, strikes on whales by speeding recreational or crew boats, fishing boats, cruise ships and tankers are increasing. More boats and ships are occupying whale migration routes and plying the coastlines where whales feed, mate and give birth to their babies. Whales are showing up with more split dorsal fins and propellor scars striping their backs. Careless fishers, crabbers and prawners abandon nets and traps or leave floating polypro lines and bouys which entangle baleen whales. Unlike dolphins, baleen whales don’t have the advantage of echolocation to help reveal hidden dangers in often murky waters.

Here is a site where you can find Best Practises to avoid whale entanglements in Fishing gear and what to do if you see an entangled whale.
https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/mammals-mammiferes/whales-baleines/docs/entanglements-empetrements-pub-eng.html#best-practices

Whales are large and strong so they can carry heavy loads of fishing gear long distances for a long time. Nylon and steel lines don’t break in the way that kelp does when twisted so whales often become wrapped in lines and nets in their twisting attempts to break free.

An entangled whale or dolphin on the west coast of Canada has only one shot at getting help. The DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) in their wisdom has assigned only one person, Paul Cottrell, to monitor the entire Pacific Coast. He alone can officially initiate and direct disentanglements. This means that he flies to wherever a whale is entangled on the whole Pacific coast with its many islands and inlets. It’s no wonder so many whales, pinnipeds, turtles and fish are dying.

Check out this article on the Tyee news website. https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/30/Whales-Back-BC-Fishing-Gear-Killing-Them/

This video shows some of the Dangers marine mammals endure.

You can help. If you are in a boat for any purpose watch for whales and SLOW DOWN in waters where whales are going about their business. Watch for whales the way you would watch for deadheads or reefs that could damage you and your vessel.

December 2020 #2 – Chain of Whales Feed Together

“I don’t know how many whales are out here! 6 of them – at least.” Terry is counting whales diving, surfacing, circling. They’re almost rubbing together they’re so close. I wonder: “Are they fishing? They must be fishing”.

It’s common in Alaska for humpback whales to form large feeding groups where each whale has a role to play. The iconic shot of all the whales surfacing together, mouths agape and pleated throats bulging is in every humpback whale documentary. Here in the Salish Sea we have yet to see anything like this group feeding buffet. Perhaps the schools of fish are bigger in Alaska or maybe the schools are in deeper water here and the whales finish gulping under the water. Even without the lunging at the surface half a dozen whales swirling and moving together is fascinating to see.

“Do you recognize anyone?” I ask camera man Terry as he zooms in on the action. “One is definitely ‘Zed’, with the chewed off left fluke.”

“Yeah” Terry answers “and I see Nick with them. See that white fluke? Could be Apollo or maybe even Neptune” Neptune is Apollo’s calf.

“Snouter!” I exclaim as a whale rostrum partially emerges from the water. Snouter is our affectionate name for a whale’s “face” also known by whale lovers as “pickeleface” because of the many bumps on a whale’s chin. Each bump contains at least one single sensing hair. Biologists are not sure what tubercule hairs are sensing but a good guess would be movement and vibration. Like the whiskers of seals and sealions humpback whales could sense schools of fish from the “trails” of disturbance their swimming leaves in the water. Tubercule hairs may even sense electrical charge or something more mysterious since they are rich in nerves.

Mother whales like to support their babies on their rostrums so they might have other functions as well – smell? There is an organ in a humpback’s chin whose function hasn’t been identified as yet. Could it have an olfactory function along with the tubercules? The deeper down the whale whole one ventures the more questions bubble out!

November 2019 #2 Fall Frolic

Now that the Whales are talking and singing Jude drops her hydrophone off Blue Parrot at every available opportunity.  We are floating near Grant Reefs when she hears “Orp Orp Orp – PT’CHOOOO” in the headphones. So we fire up ol’ Lazarus (our WWII Atomic 4 engine) and beetle over there to investigate. A roiling mass of intertwined flippers and fins greets us accompanied by excited Humpback bugles and sealion barks. “Terry, it’s a sealion – Humpback Frolic!”

We approach cautiously as two Humpbacks and several sealions wrestle noisily.  Flukes and flippers appear and submerge. “The sealions are doing flips over the backs of the whales!” Terry laughs “Don’t they look tiny when you see them together?”.  Splash!  Trumpet!  Orp!  “It must be a circus under the water!”

Meanwhile the tide and a breeze behind us are pushing us towards the action. “Damn!” whispers Jude “I don’t want to disturb them” Suddenly the cetacean/pinniped play pauses. The sealions crane their necks to look around. (They really do resemble bears). The 2 Whales relax and rest on the surface breathing quietly. Did we drift too close?

No – The Whales are coming over! Will they visit with us a while? They are SOOOOO BiiiiiiiiiiiiG! With a slow-motion flick of flukes one whale dives and disappears. Now the other whale lazily rolls over to reveal a curious eye watching us. Then Whale dives under Blue P’s stern. The Whales leave  smooth round “footprints” beside Blue P as they sound and dive under her hull. They surface 200m away trending NE toward the mainland shore.  The curious seabears hang around a while longer checking us out – perhaps for possible playmate material. Obviously we fail the test because they soon grow bored and swim away.

We discuss whether we might have interrupted their fun. “The Whales might have used the opportunity to get away from the seabears. Maybe they were bothering them again.” Terry says. “Wouldn’t I love to be able to mind meld and understand them telepathically” says Jude.

It takes years of dedicated observation to understand the body language and emotional reactions of species with whom we share our domestic lives like cats, dogs and farm animals. Though Whales are mammals like us they are very different in physiology and perceptions. We can only be part of the 1% of their lives that they spend at the surface of the water. What are they doing the other 99% of the time? “If only I could genetically engineer myself a pair of gills” Jude muses “I would love to live with them in their world for a while…….”