Tag: wolves

A Little Shark Love

A Little Shark Love

Grey whaler SharkSharks have been in the news lately. Or perhaps the lack of sharks has been in the news. It is estimated that up to 90% of the total shark population has disappeared from our oceans worldwide. That means that only 10%, or there about, of all sharks are left in our oceans.

Last October was the first time I had seen a shark while scuba diving in years. I was on a reef off the coast of Turks and Caicos and it was just a small reef shark but I was thrilled. It swam along beside me like a friendly puppy. So much for the demon, man-eater.

When I first started diving, many years ago, I remember being told divers can go years without seeing sharks. My first year brought some close encounters with these sleek, gorgeous beauties. One experience in particular was unnerving but only because I was on a reef where sharks were hand-fed regularly. They had lost their fear of humans and exhaust bubbles and were so overly-friendly that they thought every human in the water had a hand-out for them. (Read more about that adventure in my book, Sharks On My Fin Tips. Chapter 3, page 29). I am against feeding any wild animal. Ultimately it hurts them.

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But that same summer I had a huge hammerhead shark…ten feet would not be an exaggeration….casually swim past and was so close I saw his eyes moving on his enormous hammers, watching me. The little mouth was underneath his head so I didn’t feel any fear. I was simply in awe of this beautiful animal.

About a decade ago my partner and I went to California and joined a charter leaving from San Diego for the Coronodos Islands. I didn’t like the cold, Pacific water but I hardly noticed, so lost was my mind in looking around every kelp strand for the denizen of the deep….the Great White! Which brings me to unjustified fear, induced by media. In this case, Jaws.

I grew up on the Gulf Coast and loved swimming in the Gulf until the movie came out. That so warped my understanding of sharks that I never recovered any decent appreciation for these massive creatures until a few years ago when I educated myself on them. I still have no desire to meet a twenty foot shark face-to-face but I want them to survive and thrive…for their own experience of life and for the health of the Ocean.

A large bull shark has been within arms-reach but I tucked my hands and shooed it away with my internal scolding. Have you ever felt like a shark was peeling you out of your wetsuit with his eyes? I did but nothing ever came of it. I remained calm and that was that. No blood, no carnage. Just a good memory.

book (2)It is time the media stops sensationalizing the dangerous sharks they want us to gasp and fret over and start informing the public about the amazing creatures these apex predators are…we owe it to sharks. We need to right the wrongs done to them.

Wolves, snakes, mountain lions, bobcats….all of these animals deserve their place in the world. They all have a valuable part to play in keeping ecosystems healthy. Let’s show a little shark love and protect these darlings of the deep. Can’t you just see them smiling their toothy grin when more humans gain understanding and wisdom about living a life of balance.

Wolf Spirit

Wolf Spirit

The wolf approached me from behind as I sat on the ground with my cameras. He reached over my shoulder, bringing his face next to mine. I closed my eyes and he gently licked my neck.

Something shifted within me at that moment. A wild part of me was freed and I felt myself trust my own wildness, just as I trusted the wolf.

I was attending a program on wolves and was photographing them and their interactions with people. The crowd was thinning out and I was on the ground getting some really great shots of their faces. While focusing on one wolf, the other wolf became interested in me. The handler told me the wolf had been trying to reach me but I was just out of reach of his restraint. When he was able to touch me, it was evident he wanted to connect. I put my cameras aside and stroked him, while verbalizing my appreciation for his spirit.

When he reached for my neck, I surrendered in total trust. It was more than an internal shift–it was a leap toward my own nature.

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Human fear nearly wiped out the wild wolf population in our country. How sad that we project our fear onto innocents. Innocent?, you ask. There has never been any confirmed attack and killing of a human by a healthy wolf. Tales of terror have been programmed into our psyches, but wolves are almost exactly the opposite of what we’ve been told. They are social, friendly, and highly intelligent. They have a tremendous sense of family and have a strong ‘wolf’ code the family groups live by. Wolves use body language to communicate and learn at an early age to read movements, glances, and other gestures and assign great meaning to them. Wild wolves avoid humans through their sense of smell that is said to be 100 times greater than our olfactory ability. Ted Andrew’s says, “Many believe that the true test of America’s sincerity about protecting the environment will revolve around whether or not the wolf remains protected and is allowed to be reintroduced into areas of the country where it has heretofore been eliminated. The wolf is the true spirit of the free and unspoiled wilderness.”