Being with the Whales

Technological advancements have been largely responsible for the increased rate at which the extinction of species has and continues to occur worldwide at an alarming rate.  The whaling industry is just another example of how we can change our ways of living and save some of the creatures that have thrived for millennium on our planet.  The invention of the steamboat in the 1860’s, and the exploding harpoon gun increased our ability in killing and harvesting the whales.  By 1903 floating factory ships were introduced increasing our efficiency for canning and processing whale products and within a few decades the entire whale species was threatened with extinction.  Early attempts to regulate whaling was unsuccessful until 1946 when the International Convention of the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) was drafted.  Even today the controversy behind whale watching by extremists argue that chasing the whales around to watch them is in fact harassing them, is irresponsible and should be outlawed.  Josie and I recently went on a whale watching tour near Guerrero Negro, Mexico in a small twenty-foot boat.  While my recent experiences with nature are in no way scientific, my intuitive self tells me that our interaction with nature when done with the heart and not our Ego or to fill our wallet, are felt and understood by the natural species being observed.  My experience with whaling watching is that the whales understood our intention and were attracted to us and didn’t feel threatened or harassed.  Often instead of us chasing the whales, the whales were chasing us or following our boat.  They would often spend a few minutes swimming just beneath our boat, coming up close appearing as if they were playing, blowing water at us from their air spout or splashing their tail near the boat.  I believe the whales instinctively felt our presents not as a threat, but as a relationship of our observing and supporting them, thereby increasing their chance of existence.  Once during our outing, a mother and its new born calf suspended themselves on or near the surface of the water for several minutes allowing me to caress them.  I was surprised at how soft and silky smooth they felt.  It’s times like these that we interact up close and personal with nature that we understand, “we are the ones we have been waiting for” to help save ourselves and our fellow creatures from our own destruction and extinction.  With having said this, remember wild life is wild and should be observed and respected at a distance.  If and when you chose to get up close and personal, you do so with the understanding and awareness that you are placing yourself and anyone else near you in harm’s way.