I
was born into a very dark and cold world. I had no mother to read me
to sleep or tell me what not to eat. The road I had to follow was a long one,
but nature made me into the perfect underwater predator. My kind has been
around the world for centuries. I am a great white shark and I rule the
underwater world.
Life
started off quite grizzly. My
first meal was in the womb of my powerful mother and it was the unfertilized
eggs of my siblings. It had been 12 months since we had hatched and we
had been eating the other eggs for our teeth (for calcium) before my other
three siblings and I were starting to feel a bit cramped.
I
had grown to be a wholesome, five-foot long great white shark. My
underbelly had become a smooth white surface, perfect for camouflage
from an underwater attack. The pearly white of my skin morphed into a dark grey
color half way along the sides of my body. This convergence of colors
left a pattern that resembled white flames licking up the side of my body.
Similarly, on my dorsal fin was a white pigmentation in the shape of a
small flame, which would serve as my own personal shark version of a
fingerprint. Later in my life, unbeknownst to me, fishermen and researchers
would name me Wit Vuur or White Flame,
but that is neither important to me nor my life. My juxtaposition of colors
made me the perfect predator, so perfect that my species’ camouflage had
not changed for centuries.
Finally,
after a month past my first year of living, my world had permanently been
turned upside down, literally. My mother’s already-crowded womb began to
shrink and grow in successions. I
suddenly was being pushed to the back of my mother’s womb and into the wondrous
wide-open ocean. As I was being pushed out tail first, I
wriggled and twisted, unsure as to where I was being forced. My
body twisted and turned as it was caught in a very narrow space; then,
with one final push I was released into my permanent home and new mother,
the ocean.
Being
suspended in this new world was riveting and my first instinct was to move,
but never having swum before, I dove face first into the sea floor. I
kept wriggling my caudal (tail) fin in hopes that what I previously had done
would remove me from this sandy face plant, but that just made it
worse.
Finally I lifted the front of my body out of the sand and moved my caudal fin
at the same time. Unfortunately,
this sent me rocketing up towards the surface. I twisted in hopes this
would change my trajectory, but this only made it worse. My
world was again upside down and I could not even move a muscle. Turns
out I had put myself into a state of tonic immobility; due to the unusual
positioning of my body I put myself into a state of shock. After
a small amount of time I began to come to and started wriggling again. I
managed to flip myself over and began swimming very slowly forward. I
was exhausted from this experience and just wanted to move at a leisurely pace, so
I would not waste anymore precious energy.
As
I was swimming along the most amazing feeling came over me. My
snout began to fill with most tantalizing aroma I had ever smelled. I
picked up my pace with caution as I headed toward this new sensation. As
the smell became stronger and stronger the water turned from clear blue to a
crimson red. The whole experience was exhilarating.
My
olfactory bulbs were flooded with this new scent, leaving me feeling almost
drunk with the fragrance, but then I slowed my pursuit. In front of me, at
the very source of the glorious scent was one of my older siblings.
She easily reached 10-feet of splendid muscle. She was gracefully tearing
her morsel into smaller pieces to swallow. As she was busy with her
meal I saw to her left only a few feet away a long string-like fleshy object,
smelling of the same sweet aroma that was coming from her meal. In
the next seconds I made a quick decision and dashed toward the tantalizing
object.
With one gulp I swallowed it and darted quickly away from the scene. Luckily, my
sister from whom I had stolen the scrap either did not notice my thievery, or
did not want to waste her energy on me after such a superb meal.
My
second adventure after birth had left me as fatigued as the first. Due
to the fact that I am a great white shark I am unable to do two things: move
backwards and stop. Because of this fact I thought it best to take a
leisurely swim around my new home to better orient myself and discover a more
safe way to procure my food from then on.
I was completely alone in this 335,258,000 sq km of deep blue sea,
but that did not bother me as I was a strong,
independent female carcharodon
carcharias (great white shark in scientific talk). The
next couple of days I spent surveying my new home.
It was a small bay area with many other sharks around my age and size. The bay served as a safe place from the strong ocean currents. If you were to sit in the middle of the bay and turn towards the west, you would see “the point,”
where many other sharks of different shapes and sizes stayed. My cousins the hammerhead and ragged tooth shark were two of the many
sharks in that area. Unlike my brethren
and myself, these sharks traveled in large packs, which, of course,
would scatter in my presence.
Traveling
west from “the point” one finds the harbor,
where loud creatures troll the top of the water. Oddly these creatures seem to be mostly
active during the day and sometimes leave their leftovers for me to eat, but be warned, fellow siblings. These seemingly easy buffets are not always the best source of food. I have had multiple encounters with these odd things.
The
first few experiences I had I simply come into investigate the area that was producing the scent of fish blood. I swam through the area to find the exact source of the blood, but to no avail. The only thing I
was able to decipher was a large outline of some odd sea creature, which did not move or produce heat.
Then suddenly a large splash from the rear of the object grabbed my attention. My instincts told me to use caution with this oddly-shaped object. I approached the object slowly at a sideways angle, so that I could get a proper view of it. As
I came closer it seemed to have fish tales hanging from it, so I thought it best to inspect the possible meal with my teeth. My 3,000 teeth are similar to the whiskers of cats, and they can discover if an item is eatable or not. When I was close enough, I
extended my jaw for a tentative bite,
but interestingly as I went to bite down the object was snatched from my jaws
and headed back towards the stationary surface. This
was particularly peculiar, so I decided to
come at the object faster. Once again the
object was pulled from the reach
of my teeth. On the third time I came in faster and was
rewarded with my meal.
Still
hungry because the morsel was nowhere large enough to meet my hunger, as I am a large animal, I
decided to try my hand at the meal again. This
time I was assaulted from above. Some alien
creature from above pierced my skin. I
angrily thrashed to be free from the attacker and I swam away quickly from my
assaulters. For days after my incident the creature followed
me everywhere! All of the fish were scared away by the large alien thing and I
found myself getting hungry. I swam all around
the bay in hopes of losing my stalkers,
but to no avail. At times I thought they would never leave me
alone. Finally on the fifth day they were gone and I
was able to hunt once again.
Following
the coastline east of the harbor I come to a small island where I have
discovered my favorite animal to chase and observe (because at this age I am
too little to actually catch them on my own): the fur seals. They leave the island in packs,
and head out to the open ocean to hunt their prey,
the herring. It is really quite interesting to watch them
dive into giant bait balls of fish with other predators of the sea such as
other sharks much bigger than I and whales that join in for the frenzy of
eating. These seals would one day be my prey and I learn
to respect their agility and precision.
They are not easy prey, and so I spend
most of my early years observing their movements and tactics. I could spend a large portion of my day watching them cork screwing, diving, and ascending in different patterns every time.
One
incident in particular made my reverence for this lower animal grow. It was once while I was patrolling the area that I found a large
group of seals rafting near the island in a shallow river mouth. My curiosity was immediately aroused and I investigated the rafting
seals further. As soon as I came within a hundred feet of the
seals, I was mobbed by a large group of bull seals. They came at me from behind,
bumping me and torpedoing towards me. I
had never experienced a “seal attack.”
They were everywhere, swarming around me
like a pack of wasps. Seemingly I had
disturbed their hive and I was the target of their attacks. The water was shallower than I was accustomed to, and so it seemed I had lost any opportunity for an attack. I exited the area
quickly, away from my angry attackers. My respect for my prey grew after this encounter, and I became ever-vigilant of my future meal.
Further
down the coastline were shelves of reefs where the water would be oxygen-enriched.
This was the one place I could let myself rest and relax. I could almost stop
dead in the water and still breathe efficiently. You see,
unlike many of my shark cousins I do not have the proper muscles to move my
gills and produce oxygen, so this oxygen-enhanced water serves as the perfect
resting place for me and my siblings. Further down the bay is an opening to a large
river.
Here I could find my diet fulfilled during my younger years with fish. I
would use my huge muscles to quickly propel myself into a large school of fish
and snatch a meal that would last me for weeks.
After
ten years of maturing in the bay, feasting on fish and other dead creatures, I
had grown into a healthy 14-foot predator of the sea. At this age I was
able to finally attack seals with precision and stealth. My years of
observation had finally paid off and my huge body was large enough to attack my
favorite prey with the power and grace of my species.
I
would begin my hunt similarly to my observations. Patrolling around Seal
Island I would wait for a group of seals to leave the island for their hunt, in
hopes that a seal would lag behind the rest of the group, opening up an
opportunity for my attack. A majority of the time my luck would fail me here
because only the strongest and swiftest seals would leave the island to hunt. The
best condition for my hunt is when the water visibility is low, so
that I have the element of surprise. My best chance is when a seal is lollygagging
about in the ocean and not paying attention to their surroundings.
For example, a young seal that has been recently booted off the island by its
parents because it was not strong enough or good enough to cut it on the island
is the perfect prey for me.
One
of my first attacks was probably the most memorable. As I was taking a leisurely
tour around the bay near the river’s mouth, I was suddenly struck by
thousands of electrical shocks riveting through my body. I could tell by the
amount of electrical shocks tickling my body and the smell that it was a seal. A
young one by the size, and it was all by its lonesome. I
redirected my trajectory towards the source of the muscle contractions
producing the electrical waves. I moved swiftly in on it from below to the
place where I could sense the pinniped was resting, probably basking in the
mid afternoon sun.
After
properly inspecting the seal basking above, I know exactly my plan of
attack.
With a few swift flicks of my mighty tail I torpedo myself at 35 miles per hour
toward my meal at a fifty-degree angle from the ocean floor. Then,
just as I become close to my victim, I twist my body sideways,
extend my jaw, and with two more flicks of my tail I propel myself
into my seal meal. When my mouth touches the seal I automatically close
my jaws as I rocket myself 10 feet into the air. This is my full breach and
probably one of the most spectacular feelings in the world. My
heart is pounding and I am flying through the air. This is exactly what
Mother Nature intended for me, and I am perfect. As I land back into the
water I start to shake my meal, tearing it into pieces. Swallowing the
pieces whole, I leave no piece of the seal uneaten.
Since
I am such a powerful creature I have very few fears, but among these few is the
dread of a strong storm. Sharks like me have a strong sense that humans like
you do not possess. We are able to predict a storm entering the bay.
During this time we evacuate the area. Some people suppose that our sense is tied to
the pressure in the water changing right before a storm, but that is a
secret I will never tell. You can ask the scientists when or if they find out.
Another
phobia we have in this world is you. Your kind litters our water with plastic and
metal.
I have seen and eaten things from car tires to the kitchen sink.
Mother Nature made me hungry and curious, so my stomach tends to be
a type of dumpster for your trash. Besides filling up my stomach like a landfill,
you have been destroying the fish we feed on. The seas were once filled
with beautiful rivers of fish coursing through the oceans of the world.
Your large nets not only catch fish, but other sea animals. I have already told you my present age,
but not the number of years I have yet to experience before I die. Your scientists have no true measure of
the time span of my existence, whether it takes fifty or a hundred years before
my time is up, although many count the growth rings in my vertebrae
to guess my time in the sea. What my kind knows is that our life span
has been diminished by your influence on our world, and the havoc done to the
environment through which we swim. The day I met your race was the day my world closed
in around me.
After
a short patrol of the bay I found myself stalking a small Herd of seals leaving their home. As I had not found the opportune moment when one
of the group had been left behind I realized I was heading straight out to
ocean. I guess it is
Tuna tonight, I thought to myself. However, I leisurely followed the group, not wanting to waste my energy. I simply followed the smell of
fish and seal urine. My stomach constricted and grumbled at the prospect of dinner. After several minutes of
traveling 10 miles out to sea, I found myself in another feeding frenzy.
A
silver ball of fish as two seals dove head first into the mass followed quickly
by a swordfish, who quickly
nabbed its prey. Soon
afterwards, the ebony and
ivory body of an orca gave an astounding downward twirl into the tumult of
animals. My brethren
flanked the great beasts with a quick 90-degree attack, in and out just as we like it. The only glimpse you caught of
my siblings was of their tail fins disappearing off into the deep dark sea, swallowing their prey with one
powerful swallow. Seabirds dove
from above adjoining the elements of water and wind. Even the playful dolphins worked
together in tactics to retrieve their dinner. Finally the beautifully orchestrated music of all
the ocean animals ended with the tambourine
crescendo of the blue whales, pirouetting into the sky with their immense jaws agape, accepting their prey with humble
majesty. My soul sang
with the pure joy and beauty of my extended family. The music that resonated from
our union of feeding would bring stronger sharks to their knees, but I used my passion to thrust
me into what was left of the fishes’ bait ball and that’s when it happened.
As
I was exiting the arena, my never-ending ocean became smaller. I darted headfirst into a wall I had never seen
before. My tail
swished back and forth powerfully in hopes that I would be released, but to no avail. This only seemed to hinder me
further, as I found
myself on my side being pulled in the exact opposite direction I had wished to
go. I squirmed
and wriggled like a worm on a hook. Why? How? What could cause me to do this? There
was no major predator I smelled or anything holding this wall, but why did it have such
strength? I looked to my side to see other individuals of the sea struggling
against the prevailing wall. Seabirds, sea turtles, fish, dolphins, whales and even sharks were
surrounding me. Soon we were
brought close together, not in a sea of water, but of silver fish with no way to breathe.
I
was snatched from my home, pulled by my tail and prodded. I thrashed, but the wall and other fish limited me. The ocean I had easily glided
through just moments before had disappeared to be replaced with this empty
space. My jaw retracted, as I could not determine the reason for it. Then it hit me. A sensation I had never before
experienced and it rocked me to the core. The gills my mother gave me to receive the oxygen
from the open water were burning. If I had hands I would tear at the fire scorching
my neck, but alas I
could not. I was only
able to react to the pain with the trashing of my body and the opening and
closing of my swollen jaw. The bodies of other marine animals clouded my vision, and everything was black. The only thing visible was the burning
hot cold fire of my gills. As I found myself almost at the point of releasing a new terror woke me
from my peace.
A
searing pain shot through the right side of my mouth. It tugged, pulled and then left. Then it was back followed by
another jeering pain on the left side of my jaw. I found myself being lifted by the corners of my
cheeks. I trashed
more furiously in response, hoping to free myself from this horrific pain. As I was lifted through the
multitude of marine life I shifted first left, and then right thrashing to be free. My energy began to wane as my
nose entered a lighted atmosphere. Finally my eyes were atop the broken bodies of
fish and I saw the strong iron carcass. It resembled the gigantic form of the creatures in
the harbor. My tormentors
had returned and now they planned to finish me off. With the throbbing pain in my
gills and the sides of my jowls’ pain pleading to be released I was about to
accept defeat. As I laid my
eyes on the small, insignificant
creatures hoisting me to my death, a passion began to fill me. I began to see my life and
remember the powerful grace I had always possessed and the animals that fleeted
at the mere sight of me.
How
could I, a species
surviving over millions of years give in so readily? No, if I am going to die it will not
be in fear, but fighting
well into the final throes of death. My eyes filled with blood and I took on a new
tactic. I swayed my
body in the alien environment. As I thought my body was too much for the small bodies to withstand. Soon one hook hung loose from my
right jaw. My body swung
left toward my home and away from the infernal iron skeleton. Then I swung again, and realizing their defeat my horrendous foes
released me.
The
joy of finally being free was accepted with such relish that my mind retreated
into darkness. A final
sensation engulfed me as my loving motherland embraced me. Her arms reached out to the
perpetrators as she accepted me. All was silent…
Then
a faint nudging at my wounds followed the perception of light. Small fish had entered the
graveyard. Sharks’
carcasses filled the water with the beautiful bodies that nature had given them
decimated. The fins that
made each of them distinct from each other were gone. For miles on end you could see
their corpses suspended in the open water. Each shark’s distorted face told a different story
of its demise. I prayed with
all my soul that I was not a victim of these terrible transgressions, and used my caudal fin to propel
myself away. As I had when
I was first brought into this glorious and extensive realm, I swam.
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