A Whale of A Story!

One of my favorite things is when My John takes me on a dolphin ride. When we first did this in the earlier part of our relationship, he would immediately kill the boat engine, as soon as we saw them. Being that he has a special bond with all animals, he would then do a series of things to get the dolphins to come closer. Then once they went away, we would sit and wait before starting the engine again.
This is why.
Please don't feed the dolphins or whales (if you are that lucky) when you are out on a boat. It teaches them to associate boat engines and food.

Amazingly smart animals they are.

Now you probably think you will never see a killer whale. It has been recently discovered that there are killer whales in the Gulf of Mexico. It was well researched and documented. One day The Bumpkin is going to have a "killer" story to tell you.

In 2001 a pod of killer whales were swimming through Nootka Sound when a young calf became separated from his pod. He became known as Luna, and attracted the attention of many boaters wanting their own orca experience. In Luna's community, orcas spend their entire lives with their mothers and are in the constant company of large pods. All alone, Luna was desperate for company and would approach boaters, even letting the brave ones pet him. Efforts were made to keep boats away, and reunite him with his pod, however those efforts met complications. Unfortunately Luna's obsession with boats led to his demise, and in 2006 he was sucked into the propeller of a tugboat.

Luna's story had a very sad outcome, but we wanted to show this clip of him imitating a motorboat engine in an apparent attempt to make a new friend. It just goes as a reminder of just how intelligent and socially dependent dolphins and whales are.
Here is your good cry for today! Watch this, little abandoned baby! Just want's to play!