The Humpback Whale
Having no teeth has its disadvantages. Instead of having teeth like my distant cousins, the killer whales, who have the privilege of having a jagged row of teeth, I use my baleen to filter minuscule plankton, krill, and small fish from the water. Right now, I am traveling with a group of whales (called a pod) from Alaska to the warm waters Hawaii, with the intention of finding a mate.
A small school of fish swim below me, their color so dim that they blend in with the water. As they twist in the water, a flash of silver flashes across their bodies from the sunlight reflecting from above the water. I glance up at the sun; the bright yellow shines and dims with each wave. The fish swim closer to me. Knowing I can’t leave my …show more content…
I stretch my mouth as wide as I can, trying to gather as many fish as possible. I feel thin scales fluttering against the sides of my mouth and water jumbling. I close my mouth and shove my tongue to the top of my mouth to squash fish. Water files out my mouth and through my baleen. The fish in my mouth steadily stop moving, their smooth scales running across my tongue are the only reminder that they are in my mouth. I tilt my head toward the sky and swallow them. I feel content and successful as each fragile, slimy fish slides down my throat without needing any help. I look around, only to see that my pod had continued their journey without me. While I was distracted by the fish, they kept …show more content…
The sound continues, and I replicate it as I swim as fast as I can towards it. The boat doesn’t follow me. Luckily, my pod of whales travels very slowly to preserve energy for the long journey. After a few minutes of following and communicating with the deep sound, I approach a juvenile whale from my pod. He is alone and waiting for me. He is about half my size. He only lingers for a moment before he lazily rotates its body away from me and swims forward. His fluke begins to slowly flap to launch him forward. I follow. He leads me onward in
Having no teeth has its disadvantages. Instead of having teeth like my distant cousins, the killer whales, who have the privilege of having a jagged row of teeth, I use my baleen to filter minuscule plankton, krill, and small fish from the water. Right now, I am traveling with a group of whales (called a pod) from Alaska to the warm waters Hawaii, with the intention of finding a mate.
A small school of fish swim below me, their color so dim that they blend in with the water. As they twist in the water, a flash of silver flashes across their bodies from the sunlight reflecting from above the water. I glance up at the sun; the bright yellow shines and dims with each wave. The fish swim closer to me. Knowing I can’t leave my …show more content…
I stretch my mouth as wide as I can, trying to gather as many fish as possible. I feel thin scales fluttering against the sides of my mouth and water jumbling. I close my mouth and shove my tongue to the top of my mouth to squash fish. Water files out my mouth and through my baleen. The fish in my mouth steadily stop moving, their smooth scales running across my tongue are the only reminder that they are in my mouth. I tilt my head toward the sky and swallow them. I feel content and successful as each fragile, slimy fish slides down my throat without needing any help. I look around, only to see that my pod had continued their journey without me. While I was distracted by the fish, they kept …show more content…
The sound continues, and I replicate it as I swim as fast as I can towards it. The boat doesn’t follow me. Luckily, my pod of whales travels very slowly to preserve energy for the long journey. After a few minutes of following and communicating with the deep sound, I approach a juvenile whale from my pod. He is alone and waiting for me. He is about half my size. He only lingers for a moment before he lazily rotates its body away from me and swims forward. His fluke begins to slowly flap to launch him forward. I follow. He leads me onward in