#Whale Lice

[beauty-funny-trippy]

For years now, this wild grey whale has come to this boat captain to have its lice removed at the calving lagoon of Ojo de Liebre, Baja California, Mexico.

#whale #nature #ocean #video #whales #cute #wildlife #sea #Mexico #travel #vacation #photography #animals #wild animals #ocean life #marine biology #aesthetic #marine life #beauty-funny-trippy #Baja California #lice #boat #marine

[apoemaday]

In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself

by Wislawa Szymborska tr. Stanislaw Baraczak and Clare Cavanagh

The buzzard never says it is to blame. The panther wouldn’t know what scruples mean. When the piranha strikes, it feels no shame. If snakes had hands, they’d claim their hands were clean.

A jackal doesn’t understand remorse. Lions and lice don’t waver in their course. Why should they, when they know they’re right?

Though hearts of killer whales may weigh a ton, in every other way they’re light.

On this third planet of the sun among the signs of bestiality a clear conscience is Number One.

#poetry #wislawa szymborska #in praise of feeling bad about yourself #tr. stanislaw baraczak and clare cavanagh

[leaping-laelaps-art]

The archeocete Perucetus colossus dives through a coastal bloom of jellyfish in the Pisco Basin (southern Peru), some time during the Eocene (with bonus multiview).

I originally intended to add epibionts to this reconstruction (reflecting the specialized communities found on many living whales, especially baleen whales). Yet, interestingly, it appears that most animal epibionts and ectoparasites of modern cetaceans, such as whale barnacles (Hayashi et al. 2013) and remoras (Friedman et al. 2013), only appeared in the Neogene or late Paleogene, or have a poorly known (co-)evolutionary history, like whale lice (Pfeiffer 2009, Iwasa-Arai & Serejo 2018) and pennellids (large parasitic copepods) (Hermosilla et al. 2015). So, no epibionts* for big lad Perucetus!

References and notes about the reconstruction:

*animal epibionts. Unicellular eukaryotes like diatoms were most likely present on early cetaceans, given their prevalence on modern large marine animals (Ashworth et al. 2022). Of course, it is possible that other animals (i.e., early, less specialized representatives of modern groups, or different taxa altogether) were also already exploiting the surfaces offered by these early whales; however, this remains entirely speculative.

The reconstruction of Perucetus proposed in its original description (Bianucci et al. 2023) includes some rather odd (if interesting) choices about soft tissues, including limbs with webbed and distinguishable fingers, and a manatee-like tail. While these choices might be defendable in light of the rather basal status of Perucetus among cetaceans, I opted for a more derived look based on the assumption that fully marine cetaceans like basilosaurids would have probably rapidly acquired hydrodynamically favorable adaptations, pushing them towards a more familiar Neoceti-like appearance (even though Perucetus itself was likely a poor swimmer (Bianucci et al. 2023), it seems likely to me that this was a secondarily acquired trait, given the less extreme morphology of other basilosaurids).

Reconstruction in the multiview scaled to ~18 m in length after the estimations of Bianucci et al. (2023).

References:

Ashworth, M. P., Majewska, R., Frankovich, T. A., Sullivan, M., Bosak, S., Filek, K., Van de Vijver, B., Arendt, M., Schwenter, J., Nel, R., Robinson, N. J., Gary, M. P., Theriot, E. C., Stacy, N. I., Lam, D. W., Perrault, J. R., Manire, C. A., & Manning, S. R. (2022). Cultivating epizoic diatoms provides insights into the evolution and ecology of both epibionts and hosts. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19064-0

Bianucci, G., Lambert, O., Urbina, M., Merella, M., Collareta, A., Bennion, R., Salas-Gismondi, R., Benites-Palomino, A., Post, K., de Muizon, C., Bosio, G., Di Celma, C., Malinverno, E., Pierantoni, P. P., Villa, I. M., & Amson, E. (2023). A heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of vertebrate morphology. Nature, 620(7975), Article 7975. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06381-1

Friedman, M., Johanson, Z., Harrington, R. C., Near, T. J., & Graham, M. R. (2013). An early fossil remora (Echeneoidea) reveals the evolutionary assembly of the adhesion disc. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1766), 20131200. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1200

Hayashi, R., Chan, B. K. K., Simon-Blecher, N., Watanabe, H., Guy-Haim, T., Yonezawa, T., Levy, Y., Shuto, T., & Achituv, Y. (2013). Phylogenetic position and evolutionary history of the turtle and whale barnacles (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha: Coronuloidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 67(1), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.12.018

Hermosilla, C., Silva, L. M. R., Prieto, R., Kleinertz, S., Taubert, A., & Silva, M. A. (2015). Endo- and ectoparasites of large whales (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae): Overcoming difficulties in obtaining appropriate samples by non- and minimally-invasive methods. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 4(3), 414–420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.11.002

Pfeiffer, C. J. (2009). Whale Lice. In W. F. Perrin, B. Würsig, & J. G. M. Thewissen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition) (pp. 1220–1223). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-373553-9.00279-0

#'a heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of...' blablabla you've all read it by now #i have nothing to add #it's fat #look at it #that is all #perucetus #cetacean #mammal #vertebrate #eocene #cenozoic #paleontology #palaeoblr #paleoart #my art

[atlaculture]

Arctic Tools & Weapons Pt. 3

Ivory Combs

As the name implies, ivory combs are combs carved from bone, usually seal or another arctic mammal. These combs were used to brush the lice out of furs to prepare them for use, as well as to detangle hair. I like the combs that resemble whale tails. ^_^

Also, quick question to any circumpolar readers: Is the “Y”-shape design that you sometimes see on arctic tattoos and carvings supposed to be a representation of a kakivak (trident spear)?

Harpoons

A harpoon is a spear with a detachable pointed tip. This tip is usually tied to the staff portion of the harpoon with a rope long enough to be held by the harpoon thrower. The tip is traditionally made of bone, the rope is made of sinew, and the staff portion is made of wood. The function of the harpoon is to embed the sharpened tip into an animal’s hide, and then using the rope and staff to pull the hunted animal towards your boat.

#water tribe #building up

[focsle]

Waiting for an opportunity in Going to Weather to acknowledge whale lice…I need to bring in the hyper specific details of every little element of this work.

#I need to get the feeling of blubber that gets under your fingernails and scraping the skin off your knuckles #how the spermaceti rolls down your arms and under your shirtsleeves #I’m working on another cutting in trying out scene right now u see…

[providencehq]

Hey~! What are your top 5 fave EVO designs from Generator Rex? Also, do you like any of Generator Rex's soundtrack?

Such an easy yet hard question. Without fail my number 1 spot has to go to Weaver. Dude has such a fucked up design and it really pushes the idea of human to monster bounty in Generator Rex combined with the aspect that unlike most EVOs, we see him human first. The visual of the skin tearing to reveal almost puss like growth that is too much for his skin, his BODY to contain shows the horror of EVOs. That in itself, the destruction of the human body molecule by molecule may be recognizable in some fun house of horror mirrors but only in it's base. You have a full monster there. That's fucked up. Love him for that.

Second would probably be the Blimp or how I so lovingly called it Whale Fall EVO. I honestly don't care about how it's used for transportation but the fact that it's recognizable as a whale is oh my god, what amazing world building. A majority of the EVOs seen throughout Generator Rex are either humans or fairly recognizable, every day animals like rabbits or rats or dogs. Before we ever see Rex and Six go into the ocean, we're fairly limited on knowledge that nanites have spread past a terrestrial and aerial means. Like, of course it would have gone into the water ways to some degree considering the Nanite Event effected everything but you see a whale coming out of the sky all messed up, I would have realized that the nanite endemic is so much worse than it initially appeared. It looks like an actual whale fall of an EVO whale with EVO scavengers (barnacles, whale lice, squid???? FUCKING YES) just hitching along it's so gross I can't help but love it.

Next is the Stegerat. I think they look cool, like a gross puppy, and fucked up, that is all.

Fourth favorite is probably Quarry's enforcers or as I've always called them in my head, the maggot EVOs. A lot of the human EVOs don't balance a lot of the monstrous with the human aspect in the more small scale EVOs we see. EVOs like No Face and some of the background no name EVOs have cool designs but don't hit that gross factor a lot of the animal EVOs do, this is truly effecting us on a genetic level and not a slightly more quirky X-Men looking character (I'm looking at you Squidd). These guys though? They're gross, I hate them, solid A+ in my book.

And lastly we have Alpha! Love him for the concept that and EVO doesn't have to pertain to modifying biological matter in order to exist, it just can. Such a dense concentration of nanites given sentience that other nanites don't quite have and manage to come together and create this mirror image of us? A haunting figure of the failures and potentials successes lost through blind pursuit manifested into a quote on quote perfect human? One without disease or death and the ability to manipulate itself into whatever without the cost of losing genetic/biological material or sanity (questionable)???? OH MY GOD I LOVE IT!!! And the fact the denser nanites in my mind make it look almost skeletal form peeking through. (he has little fangies)

In regards to the music I do actually listen to quite a bit of the music from Generator Rex, mostly Orange (though my brother listens to them and I'm fairly sure I stole all my music taste from him). Flashback Heart Attack has some super fun songs and I even made a patch of their band for one of my many patch jackets. I love the song Loser specifically. I don't think I listen to any of the actual music composed for the show however.

#generator rex #mine #ask #genrex

[charkyzombicorn]

MOON GOD USOPP FORM?!??

What happens when Usopp realizes he’s the reincarnated moon god? Dose he get a cool form or something?

Anon Just So You Know I've been thinking abt this for 2 days and the answer involves a whole new arc between Wano and Egghead and I blame you--

So, post-recovery, news just came in abt Vivi's dissapearance and the crew is a bit antsy. They're following the log pose (which is acting strange, kind of like on Jaya) on a low-wind day, enjoying the small amount of piece they can scrounge in the new world when ripples start forming in the water. The whole crew panics, thinking it's a giant whale about to eat them (Brook gets a little excited it might be Laboon) but then the Sunny starts being lifted, starts shaking like an earthquake, and the crew watches as an island rises from the sea all around them.

The island looks like a colourful swamp, covered in trees and coral, and a lot of wild den den mushis that seem to be able to breathe air and water. Usopp is immediately snail catching because water snails give him so many ideas, Luffy goes with him because Luffy's been strangely clingy lately, and Sanji seems distracted, but other than that, the crew sets off exploring. It's nice, getting back into a routine they started when it was just Luffy, Nami and Zoro. They go in pairs: Luffy and Usopp, Sanji and Robin, Nami and Jimbe, Zoro and Chopper, Brook and Franky

Then Robin finds a hatch, very rusty, but still solid. Sanji kicks it open before Robin can even properly inspect it, and a dozen sets of eyes meet theirs.

It turned out, since the island had a habit of dissapearing under the sea for a week every few days, the entire human population of that island had to hide in an underground bunker. They said it took three months to reset the log pose, which was annoying but not unreasonable - much better than little garden, they could survive three months stationary. The people, however, were a problem.

The underground bunker was large, but not nearly large enough, seventy, maybe eighty people were living in a bunker made for a single rich family. Dermatitis, lice, flu, Chopper jumped right in, Sanji right next to him making food out of everything they could fish up or forage.

Then Robin found a mural in the bunker - a laughing man shrouded in white flame. And she started investigating, with Nami. Franky was busy trying to expand the bunker, and Brook was entertaining the children.

#one piece #selkie usopp au #I'm having trouble getting my thoughts down but I have a lot of them #Hmmm wonder where the bunk came from #Hmmm wonder why they know abt Nika #Hmmm wonder what this has to do with the ask #Hmmm wonder why the children aren't bothered by Brook's appearance #Hmmm wonder why there are so many people

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP MEMES FROM REDDIT 5/24/2023

“What is it with insufferable people and gaping their mouths open like fucking whales when they speak?” “I hate accountability too.” “Why cheat when you can leave the relationship?” “I guess we should decide who we’re eating first.” “Target in sight-- take aim and be ready to fire at my cue” "This body is weak, I must find a new host.” “So who wants an orgy if the elevator gets stuck?” “That might be kinda hot if everyone’s in the mood.” "Calm down, calm down, I said scabies not rabies" “Do you still have lice?” “Does anyone have a handkerchief, scarf or some garment I can borrow? I promise to return it.” “100% mortality rate my ass!” “Given your history, do you think you should be in here?” “Say nothing. Just laugh hysterically like someone’s just told you the funniest joke you’ve ever heard.” “Just taking this baby for its test ride. We've fixed it 3 times this week.” “You can add green onions to almost everything. “You have become the very thing you swore to destroy.” “Once every few months?!?” “What exactly does she want to know about her vagina?” “The standard has been pretty fucking low for a very long time but it's clear today that the mask of integrity has totally fallen from the face of greed.” “I can only imagine how funny that must have been from your neighbors perspective.” “Did you light your house on fire to kill the bedbugs?!?” “Just let me be happy before I die.” “Two chicks at the same time, man.” “You got a million bucks?” “You ever meet some of those people who are just happy people? Like genuinely happy, and kind.” “I want to do shrooms and experience ego death, cause god damn it sounds so horrendous and scary, but so beautiful and enlightening.” “I want to hit a crocodile in the face with a frying pan.” “I desperately want to be genuinely happy with what I have but I feel a fire burning deep inside me telling me that I havent hit the top of the mountain yet.” “I just wanna be the hottest goth at the gas station.” “Hunt a boar and eat it in a fire camp.” “My goal is to Eiffel Tower someone.” “Giraffes. No, I won’t explain myself.” “Not kinkshaming but kinkquestioning. Kinkpondering.” “I'm sorry for ruining 4.5k people's day.” “I’m so glad I don’t know what a lot of these are.” “Those disgusting, dirty little perverts.” “So long as everyone involved consents then I don't care, honestly.” “Rule 4, no chili powder in the bedroom.” “Sure enough, it was a small plastic baby doll he has shoved up his ass and then gave birth to.” “How do I delete my vision history?” “Yeah don't actually shove stuff up your ass unless you have a way to remove it Like a rope or a flared base Or some really strong ass muscles.” “Is it possible to kink shame someone who's into humiliation?” “I can not be responsible for anything I do.” “Lady that was dressed in full nurse regalia just took a squat and pissed in her nurse pants in the middle of a CVS parking lot.” “How do you feel about wigs?” “Are you sure there is tea in there?” “I wish Tinkerbell would poop rainbows on my face.” “Equal cake for everyone?” “Made it look so easy. That was badass.” “This takes me back to my childhood.” “Now I want my face painted!” “His jiggling is almost hypnotic. It's like a lava lamp.” “This is not the belly-dancer I ordered.” “So his red flags are all women!??!” “I love that our oceans are still a mystery to us.” “The earth is fucking weird.” “I'd hate to have a little tailbutt like that. I'd probably get it caught on everything.” “Wow that looks like a creature from a S. Dali painting!” “Why bother looking into outer space for aliens when we can just look at the bottom of our own oceans?” “You’re trying to tell me THAT isn’t from outer space?!?” “No idea what it is but it looks beautiful” “Once you decide to believe something, not only without evidence but in spite of it, all bets are off.” “It’s awful when a blowup doll gets a mind of its own. “The best pranks are the ones intended to confuse, not abuse.”

#rp meme #rp memes #rp starters #roleplay meme #roleplay memes #reddit

[meatshowers]

I understand furries I just don't understand the the basic bitch ones ie colored dogs.

I mean I *get* it but why stop there. I wanna see a whale lice fursuit.

#furries #ig #sorry i dont wanna invade tags or whatever

[notchainedtotrauma]

The body of a gray whale is like a map. A plane of scars, barnacles and lices. A living environment itself, replete with evidence.

from Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

#Alexis Pauline Gumbs #Black feminism #the afterlife of slavery

[namu-the-orca]

A Rally of Right Whales

Seems another month has just flown by. I’ve been so busy with the trains, I’ve hardly painted at all this year. Things are coming to a close though so I really hope things will calm down a bit soon. I miss painting! I’ve very slowly started work on another “colour anomalies in x” poster, and luckily I still have last year’s commissions to upload.

Here a trio of right whales - or actually a duo, pygmy right whales are in quite a different family. Some believe they belong to the Cetotheriidae, an ancient lineage of baleen whales previously thought to be extinct. Others dispute this and say they are the sole member of the Neobalaenidae, a sister family. I highly recommend checking out their skeleton because they are unlike any other cetacean. They have a comparatively huge ribcage with almost plate-like ribs.

The true right whales count three in number: two northern species - one for each ocean - and a single southern one. All species have varying white markings on their ventral side. Southern animals can have very large swatches of white, grey patches, or even be white or grey all over, but on average they look quite like their northern counterparts. Their heads have raised patches of rough skin (present at birth) which are infested by barnacles and whale lice turning them yellow. The shape and placement of these callosities are unique and can be used to identify individuals. Southern right whales also have a fun hobby: sailing. Occasionally, when the wind is right, they’ll stick their huge flukes up in the air and “sail” around for a bit. Apparently great fun, because once they’ve gone a little ways the whales often swim back to where they came from, to have another go.

#illustrations #scientific illustrations #North Atlantic Right whale #Eubalaena glacialis #Southern right whale #Eubalaena australis #Eubalaena #right whale #Pygmy right whale #Caperea marginata #cetotheriidae #baleen whale #digital art

[victimized-martyr]

If you've answered this before then ignore this ask, but do you have a favorite episode, or several? (and as an optional bonus, favorite season/s?)

I have many. In no particular order:

Kenny Dies, Cartmanland, Krazy Kripples, awesome-o, trapped in the closet, follow that egg!, Cartoon Wars 1+2, Tsst!, miss teacher bangs a boy, lice capades, night of the living homeless, imagionationland trilogy, the list, tonsil troubles, the ungroundable, margaritaville, w.t.f., whale whores, 200 + 201, crippled summer, fatbeard, it’s a jersey thing, crack baby athletic association, you’re getting old, the last of the meheecans, 1%, a history channel thanksgiving, faith hilling, I should have never gone zip lining, cartman finds love, a scause for applause, black friday trilogy, go fund yourself, the cissy, safe space, a boy and a priest, the big fix, help my teenager hates me!, cupid ye, deep learning

as for favorite season, hm…I can’t decide, but I’ve noticed 10, 14, 16 are the seasons I find my self revisiting most 🫢

#asks #I do like s 1-4 it’s just that none in particular rly stand out to me where I find myself wanting to rewatch it again #s1-4 is like something amateurish cute and nostalgic to put on as background noise #s 1-3 feel like a prequel? the show feels like it starts at s4. I know that doesn’t make any sense but those are the vibes to me

[braincorrosion]

The segmentation on whale lice reminded me of fat folds, so I decided to try something

Just ended up as a generic anthro thingy though, eh.

(P.S. whale lice are great, they're easily at the top of my critter tier list)

#art #digital art #artwork #character design #doodles #marine life #bugs

[endlingmusings]

[ Aerial photograph of Snow Cone. ]

“Scientists say there is no hope of survival for an endangered North Atlantic right whale sighted with more fishing gear wrapped around its body.

In a news release, the New England Aquarium said Snow Cone, the whale featured in a recent documentary about the endangered species, was spotted south of Massachusetts on Wednesday.

The whale, a 17-year-old female, appears to be "in extremely poor health," and "her death is all but certain."

Snow Cone was first seen entangled in March 2021. In July of this year, researchers spotted the whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence still entangled. This week, the whale appeared to be carrying rope from a new entanglement on top of the old gear.

"Eighteen months ago, there was hope that disentanglement efforts could remove enough of the gear and that would allow her to survive," research assistant Sharon Hsu said in the release.

"Now, she's covered in orange cyamids [whale lice]. She was moving so slowly, she couldn't dive, she just sunk. She's suffering. There is no longer hope for her survival."

[ Snow Cone and her calf, photographed in January of 2022. The calf has not been seen since April of the same year. ]

This is Snow Cone's fifth known entanglement, according to Heather Pettis, research scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. The right whale is also one of the last 100 reproducing females.

"Losing her is devastating," Pettis said.

Snow Cone's death means the likely loss of her lineage. Pettis said the whale's first calf was killed by a boat and her second calf, born while Snow Cone was entangled, has not been seen since April.

Pettis said some calves can survive without their mothers after eight months, but knowing Snow Cone was entangled while nursing her calf means it's not likely the young whale is still alive.

"We've never seen a calf fully weaned that early to a mom who's in this poor condition," she said.”

- Excerpt from “Snow Cone death 'all but certain,' researchers say about entangled right whale” by Hadeel Ibrahim.

#North Atlantic right whale #Mammal #CR #Text #Article #Photo #Live specimen #Wild #Upload

[josiebelladonna]

Apes: a shrewdness

Baboons: a troop

Badgers: a cete

Bass: a shoal

Bats: a colony, cloud or cauldron

Bears: a sloth or sleuth; Cubs: a litter

Beavers: a colony

Bees: a swarm

Boar: a sounder

Buffalo: a gang or obstinacy

Camels: a caravan

Caterpillars: an army

Cats: a clowder, glaring, pounce, nuisance or clutter; Kittens: a litter or kindle; Wild cats: a destruction

Cattle: a herd or drove

Cheetahs: a coalition

Chickens: a brood or peep; Chicks: a clutch or chattering

Clams: a bed

Cobras: a quiver

Colts: a rag

Cows: a kine, drove, herd or fold; twelve or more cows are a flink

Coyotes: a band

Cranes: a sedge

Crocodiles: a float or bask

Crows: a murder

Deer: a herd

Dogs: a pack or cowardice; Puppies: a litter

Dolphins: a pod

Donkeys: a drove

Doves: a dule

Ducks: a brace, paddling or team

Eagles: a convocation

Elephants: a herd or parade

Elk: a gang or herd

Emus: a mob

Falcons: a cast

Ferrets: a business or fesnyng

Finches: a charm

Fish: a school, shoal, run, haul or catch

Flamingos: a stand or flamboyance

Flies: a swarm, hatch or business

Foxes: a skulk or leash

Frogs: an army or a colony

Geese: a gaggle or flock, a skein when in flight

Giraffes: a tower

Gnats: a cloud or horde

Goats: a herd, tribe or trip

Goldfinches: a charm

Goldfish: a troubling

Gorillas: a band

Grasshoppers: a cloud

Greyhounds: a leach

Hares: a down or husk

Hawks: a cast or kettle

Hippopotami: a bloat or thunder

Hogs: a drift or parcel

Horses: a team or harras

Hounds: a pack, mute or cry

Hyenas: a cackle

Jaguars: a shadow

Jellyfish: a smack or brood

Kangaroos: a troop or mob

Larks: an ascension or exaltation

Lemurs: a conspiracy

Leopards: a leap

Lice: a flock

Lions: a pride

Locust: a plague or cloud

Magpies: a tiding or tittering

Mallards: a sord

Manatees: an aggregation

Mares: a stud

Martens: a richness

Minnows: a steam

Moles: a labor

Monkeys: a barrel, cartload or troop

Mules: a pack, barren or span

Nightingales: a watch

Otters: a family, romp or raft

Owls: a parliament

Oxen: a team or yoke

Oysters: a bed

Parrots: a pandemonium or company

Partridges: a covey

Peacocks: a muster or ostentation

Penguins: a colony

Pheasants: a nest, nide or bouquet

Pigeons: a flock or flights

Pigs: a drift or drove (younger pigs), or a sounder, litter or team (older pigs)

Ponies: a string

Porcupines: a prickle

Rabbits: a colony or warren

Raccoons: a gaze

Rats: a colony, pack, swarm or mischief

Rattlesnakes: a rhumba

Ravens: an unkindness

Rhinoceroses: a crash

Sharks: a shiver

Sheep: a drove or flock

Skunks: a stench

Snakes: a nest or knot

Sparrows: a host

Squirrels: a dray or scurry

Starlings: a murmuration

Stingrays: a fever

Storks: a mustering

Swans: a bevy or lamentation, a wedge when in flight

Tigers: an ambush or a streak

Toads: a knot or knab

Trout: a hover

Turkeys: a gang, posse or rafter

Turtles: a bale or nest

Vultures: a venue

Wasps: a pledge

Weasels: a colony, gang or pack

Whales: a pod, school or gam

Wolves: a pack or route

Wombats: a wisdom

Woodpeckers: a descent

Zebras: a zeal

#my dad posted this and i had to share it #‘conspiracy of lemurs’ sounds like a monty python bit #animals #text

[manwalksintobar]

Visitation // Mark Doty

When I heard he had entered the harbor, and circled the wharf for days, I expected the worst: shallow water, confusion, some accident to bring the young humpback to grief. Don't they depend on a compass lodged in the salt-flooded folds of the brain, some delicate musical mechanism to navigate their true course?  How many ways, in our century's late iron hours, might we have led him to disaster? That, in those days, was how I'd come to see the world: dark upon dark, any sense of spirit an embattled flame sparked against wind-driven rain till pain snuffed it out.  I thought, This is what experience gives us , and I moved carefully through my life while I waited. . .  Enough, it wasn't that way at all.  The whale —exuberant, proud maybe, playful, like the early music of Beethoven— cruised the footings for smelts clustered near the pylons in mercury flocks.  He (do I have the gender right?) would negotiate the rusty hulls of the Portuguese fishing boats —Holy Infant, Little Marie— with what could only be read as pleasure, coming close then diving, trailing on the surface big spreading circles until he'd breach, thrilling us with the release of pressured breath, and the bulk of his sleek young head —a wet black leather sofa already barnacled with ghostly lice— and his elegant and unlikely mouth, and the marvelous afterthought of the flukes, and the way his broad flippers resembled a pair of clownish gloves or puppet hands, looming greenish white beneath the bay's clouded sheen. When he had consumed his pleasure of the shimmering swarm, his pleasure, perhaps, in his own admired performance, he swam out the harbor mouth, into the Atlantic.  And though grief has seemed to me itself a dim, salt suspension in which I've moved, blind thing, day by day, through the wreckage, barely aware of what I stumbled toward, even I couldn't help but look at the way this immense figure graces the dark medium, and shines so: heaviness which is no burden to itself. What did you think, that joy was some slight thing?

(hear Mark Doty read this poem here.)

#poetry #Mark Doty #grief #humpback whale #despair #joy