The Humpback Whale
Photo and Journey
Humpback whales are mysterious, magnificent creatures. I sometimes envy people who have swum with the whales but I would be too afraid to try that myself. A whale may choose to swim with you but you cannot choose to swim with the whale.
Humpbacks are the kings of the sea and I feel so sad when I think about how humans have hunted them for hundreds of years. It's unfair. We have waged war on an intelligent, emotional species of gentle creature. They never deserved to be treated as a resource for oil lamps.
The hunting of whales may be no more cruel than our wars amongst ourselves. We have killed far more humans than whales. But the whales never asked to be hunted.
I am thankful that modern technology has found ways to replace the things we made from the whale carcasses. Any whale hunting today is completely unnecessary and it is cruel. I hope we never lose our humpback whales.
In a billion years, scientists say, the sun will grow larger and destroy all life on Earth. Humanity - if we survive that long - will have long since passed on. Or maybe we'll pass our final days here. But the whales will still be in their oceans because they cannot leave.
As romantic as the notion of space-faring whales may seem in movies like Star Trek, they are forever bound to the Earth. We have ventured into space and are making plans to colonize other worlds. I don't know how we could take whales with us, or how we could keep them safe and healthy. But if one day the whales reach the stars with mankind, I hope they appreciate the beauty and wonder that awaits them as we do.