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Post by watchmanjim on Mar 6, 2017 16:48:35 GMT -6
I mentioned this in a different thread but figured it would be good to post it here as possibly a sign in the earth (or sea, rather). When this giant squid showed up in a harbor in Japan on Christmas Eve 2015, it immediately struck me as being a sign. Of what, I really don't know. A giant squid had never been filmed or reported to be seen alive and healthy at the surface before. The Japanese diver who entered the water with this creature took some beautiful video of it, first of its kind. It is perhaps relevant that the squid was found in Japan, where mini squids are a famously eaten food-- the squid as an animal is well associated with Japan symbolically, and Japan is one of the world's most populous nations to live with such a high percentage of seafood in their diet (around 50% from what I understand). If the squid had shown up in San Francisco or Hawaii or Melbourne or New Guinea, the symbolism would not have resonated with me in the fashion with which it did-- Japan could almost count the squid as its national animal like Russia has the bear and Australia has the kangaroo. www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/30/giant-squid-that-swam-into-japanese-bay-guided-back-out-to-sea-by-diverwww.cnn.com/2015/12/28/asia/toyama-japan-giant-squid/ |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 19:38:13 GMT -6
This is really interesting, watchmanjim. This instantly reminds me of a story from a few years ago about a gray whale spotted off the coast of Israel. A gray whale hadn't been seen outside of the Pacific Ocean for two hundred years and then one showed up right by Israel!!! Made me think maybe this was the species of "fish" that swallowed Jonah or something. Check out this story - www.seeker.com/gray-whale-spotted-on-wrong-side-of-world-1765058043.html  |
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Post by watchmanjim on Mar 13, 2017 16:07:10 GMT -6
Nice.
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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 29, 2017 18:53:54 GMT -6
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Post by watchmanjim on May 2, 2017 20:36:57 GMT -6
And a followup twist on the killer whales-- now three very distinct species are involved-- gray whales, killer whales, and humpback whales. Humpbacks and grays are both baleen whales, which means they have no teeth, and eat only small sea creatures such as shrimp, krill, plankton, small fishes, etc. However the two species are very different from each other physically in most other respects, being two of the most different from each other of any two baleen species. Both are distinctly different from the mainline baleen whales such as blue whales, fin whales, sei whales, and minke whales. So the killer whales are aggressively attacking the gray whales, which are nearly but not quite defenseless. But now a pod of humpbacks has entered the bay and is defending the gray whales by aggressively counterattacking the killer whales. Killer whales are the same as orcas, and yes, this is the same kind of whale as Shamu and Free Willy. They attack and eat other whales and seals. All these interactions are probably natural, but this year it has been incredibly well witnessed, documented, and disseminated by humans. www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Humpbacks-trying-to-fight-off-killer-whale-11116315.php#photo-12791230 |
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Post by watchmanjim on May 27, 2017 8:20:19 GMT -6
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Post by Gary on May 29, 2017 9:09:35 GMT -6
Wow. Notice the full-grown man on the left. He looks like an ant in comparison and the shot doesn't even have the full whale in frame:  |
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Post by watchmanjim on May 29, 2017 17:49:22 GMT -6
I find it fascinating that all these things involving whales are happening near San Francisco. They've always been a big whale watching place, and real interested in saving the whales. Blue whales are the holy grail of whale study, as they rarely come near shore, and are the biggest, and quite rare. Wonder if this whale has any more messages for us?
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