Animal Medicine #26

A few years ago I lived in a beautiful tourist town on Queensland’s east coast, and every year between late July and mid October, a different type of tourist would arrive that would lift the excitement of the town, and its human visitors, to new heights.

As a manager of several holiday resorts, I was in the thick of it, and every year had the opportunity to go out into the bay and interact with these amazing animals.  First would come the teenagers; then the females and new babies, closely followed by the males.  It is tourist season for Humpback Whales. 

These animals are fascinating.  They spend all summer in the Antarctic, eating themselves silly and putting on thousands of pounds of blubber before starting the long swim up the east coast of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef where the pregnant females would give birth.  A relatively short distance from the birthing areas is a huge, wide bay protected by K’gari Island.  A safe haven to spend a few weeks teaching the juveniles the skills they would need to survive the long journey home.  The last year that I was out on the water during whale season, the bay was described as being ‘whale soup’ with an estimated 15,000 humpback whales stopping off for R&R.

I could talk forever about these wonderful creatures of the deep.  Of how they would come up to the boats and that you could never be sure who was more amused by whom?  They have just as great a curiosity about us, as we do of them.  They were there on holiday and wanted to see all the sights – us!

These particular whales teach us a valuable lesson about emotion, vulnerability, and the power of resurrection.  A little further south is Morton Island which, between 1952 and 1962, was home to a whaling station which decimated the humpback population from tens of thousands to under 500.   Every single one of the whales visiting the wide bay this season, are the children and grandchildren of those survivors. 

Whales are known as Earth’s Record Keepers, and it is said that these whales carry with them the stories of their lost families, and that they return to the bay each year in honour of their ancestors.  They remind us to honour the past but to also examine how that past has brought you to this point.  Check if you have been diving too deeply into murky waters and are feeling the pressure.  It could be time to rise to the surface and release, with a powerful out-breath, all that holds you back. 

Listen to your inner voice.  Listen to the communication between yourself and family and friends.  Seek support in community, and bridge any gaps that may be causing separation between you and those you love.  Be willing to go the distance to achieve your goals. 

Take a deep breath – gather your joy, and your curiosity, and go make a big splash!!