Introduction
Welcome to a new segment where it has less of an informational tone and more of a personal one. Similar to a chat, a conversation, just a one-sided one as you can’t talk back… This will be a Wednesday post, middle of the week as a break from all my factoid ones! So sit back, relax, and let me chat your ear off. Figuratively of course.
I know, I know, this is a regularly scheduled piece for Wednesday and here I am posting it on a Thursday. I’m late, I admit it but I have a reason! It was a chain of events, a domino effect if you will, lack of sleep and a pile of schoolwork will do that! Take it from me, DON’T do that.
All right, let’s get into what this blog is actually about—Sharks!!
Stars n’ Snowflakes
Have you ever thought about how the back of Whale Sharks look like the sky and stars? I think about it quite often. While the space we see when we look up is a constant steady sight, the stars on a Whale Shark are a fluid motion viewed from looking downwards. Funnily enough, I also happen to really like space, though I'd never go myself. I admire from a safe distance far, far, away.
They also happen to have something in common with snowflakes, so buckle up winter lovers! Snowflakes despite their tiny appearances have very detailed designs on almost a microscopic level, each unique and beautiful. A little factoid is that every snowflake has a different design than the others, never does it repeat. It is the same for Whale Sharks! Each pattern of spots is never seen twice on Whale Sharks, all completely unique!
The Origin Story
The interesting thing about me now being almost obsessed with Whale Sharks is that I actually used to be scared of them. Now, I just have a healthy wariness about being around them(as you should with all wild animals). So you might be thinking, Zoie, you live in the Midwest, why did you have an irrational fear of sharks? For this, dear reader, I will have to take you back to my youth years…
It was a random day when I was about 7-8 years old, my aunt’s family had just moved back just before she gave birth to my twin cousins. My dearest mother had brought me with her to drop something off, and like a spell she got lost in conversation with my aunt. As such my little brain got bored and wanted entertainment. Here comes into play my older cousin, who had been watching a show on their living room TV. What was that show you might ask? Shark Week.
You know, just the show where they talk in detail about different shark attacks. And I happen to have impeccable luck(no I don’t), so of course the episode I had walked into was one that would scar me for many years. It was a story about a boy just a couple years older than me who had the misfortune of being attacked very close to shore. It talked about how the shark had bitten the kid's arm and wouldn’t let go, multiple men had to open its jaw to free him.
Now, as the age you are now, you’d likely think “wow, how tragic” and move on. I, however, was a very, very, impressionable young child. So to me, who had never heard anything about shark attacks before, was suddenly overwhelmed with the fear of it happening. Despite being nowhere by an ocean. My mom realized how freaked out I was and turned it off, but not before the damage was done. This began the story of my irrational fear of sharks that lasted almost 8-9 years.
Though, my fear of sharks is what actually got me into learning about them in the first place. See at first it was just about learning how to survive an attack, I cannot tell you how many books I got for tips… However, as time went on, I found myself just finding out whatever I could about sharks, even though the more I learned the more my nerves increased. Leading to me knowing an exorbitant amount of shark facts.
The de-fearing was slow and over the course of many years, however I grew into a fan and advocate of sharks. So here I am now!
My Dream
A dream of mine, that may seem pretty obvious, is that I really want to see a Whale Shark in person. Not from a screen, but with my very own eyes. The most likely way I will be seeing one is by visiting a place called The Georgia Aquarium. This aquarium is the largest in the US and one of the largest in the world. Now, usually I would be against holding such large animals in captivity, but this is an exception.
The Georgia Aquarium rescued four whale sharks from a fish market in Taiwan, where they were going to be cut up and sold. Because of the nature of their rescue, they were unable to be rehabilitated and released. In order to combat this, the aquarium built a specialty tank to hold their giant friends so that they could have the best quality life possible. They even have their own culinary team!
Unfortunately, three of the four whale sharks have already passed away, one just relatively recently. That means there is only one left. My dream is to go to Georgia and visit this very aquarium and see him! I very much hope that sometime early next year I can go before my chance slips away.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it folks! Thanks for reading, as I really enjoyed writing this! It can be fun to just let loose and let the word vomit roll out, without having to do in-depth research of what you're writing about. Tune in next week for another post eerily similar to this last one, and I hope it’s just as wonderful. Have a great afternoon, evening, or night.
P.S. I’ll try not to be late next time!
