I once went on a trip with GrandDad to Alaska, the State that is so far north and west that it is almost touching Russia. Anyway, not too far out of Seattle, Washington we saw some big beautiful black and white fish. They were swimming right along side our boat, actually going faster than we were, and they were sort of rolling and diving in and out of the water as they swam. They all had a big fin that sticks right out of the water like the fin of a shark. The boy's fin is 6 feet tall, and the girl's fin is three feet tall.
The other people on the boat called them "Killer Whales", but GrandDad said that their real name is "Orcas". They aren't a threat to humans, but they can kill even the largest sharks, which is good because sharks bite humans all the time. The Orcas stayed with us for a long while, just having a great time riding the wave that our boat made.
Here are some interesting facts about Orcas. They always swim in family groups of 6 to 12 called a "Pod". And they really are a family, because the babies stay with their mother all their lives. And that can be a long time, as the boys can live 60 - 70 years, and the girls can live 100 years. Also, the oldest female is in charge of the family, and all the others do what she says. She tells them when to feed, where to swim to and even when to sleep. And after they sleep, when she feels they all have had enough sleep, she raises her tail out of the water and smacks it down, waking everyone up.
And you know what though? They sleep while they swim. What they do is face toward the incoming tide and swim so slowly that they hardly move as the tide might be coming in about as fast as they are swimming out. And they all get into the same rhythm and speed as the littlest one, so they won't go off and leave the baby in the process.
I guess that would be like me sleeping while I hop around slowly. No thanks, I think I'll just sleep lying down real still. Besides I don't want to wake up somewhere different from where I go to sleep. I might just hop into the fox's den without knowing it until it's too late.
Keep your chin up
Robert P. Rabbit