I wanted to bring to your attention this excellent documentary on spring Chinook salmon. They're one of the most endangered of the Pacific salmonids, and they face a variety of threats, from dams to climate change. They also have unique behaviors and traits that set them apart from other salmon, and recent genetic research shows that they're different even down to the level of their DNA.
It's only an hour long, and very well done; if you aren't able to just sit and focus on something for that long, it's good either watched in bite-sized chunks, or having on in the background while you do chores, art, etc. And while it does highlight some distressing realities, it leaves on a hopeful note, IMO.
1: A newborn salmon chimera takes a rest after using a keratinized sheath on its snout analogous to an egg tooth to break free from one of the hundreds of eggs laid on the stream bed. At this point its limbs cannot even extend past its yolk sac, which incidentally makes for a perfect cushion. Newborns primarily use their strong tails to propel themselves through the water, and eventually develop their leg muscles as they hunt the stream beds for aquatic insects and mollusks.
2: A chum salmon chimera male brings one of its developing young to the surface to force it to learn to breath air for the first time. The vast majority of their several hundreds of offspring are predated upon within the first month, but mortality greatly decreases as they grow and the parents become more protective of individuals rather than the general vicinity.
The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii utah, is the state fish of Utah. It is identified by the red mark under its lower jaw, and the presence of many large, black spots.
SALMONIDS of ALASKA
The bane of my existence for the entirety of 2020 and part of 2021: the salmon poster. You've seen the separate illustrations, but now, finally, here is the full thing.
This entire project was a journey. I had never illustrated fish before, let alone in this much detail. I have retained an appropriate hatred of scales and fin rays from this project. But also a persistent joy from having created these illustrations, and appreciation for what beautiful animals these salmon are. Putting together the poster, making all elements fit together and - not unimportantly - making the poster fit its allotted space on the wall was an additional endeavour.
It is currently displayed aboard the David B, the vessel of Northwest Navigation who commissioned this piece. If you're interested in having a copy of your own, you can contact them. For now I hope you enjoy reading this (if you open the image in a separate tab, I made it big enough to read) - and mayhaps learn something new about the intriguing world of salmon! I certainly did.