Why I Love Blue: The dead whale inspiring changeStephan the ocean diverI once jumped off a chartered

Why I Love Blue: The dead whale inspiring changeStephan the ocean diverI once jumped off a chartered boat into the ocean when I was in Mexico. As my body hit the frigid water I remember spreading my arms and kicking my feet to surface. As I let out a massive sigh, the captain of the boat told us to look west. I swam to my parents asking for my glasses. I looked west to see something else emerging from the water in the very far distance. All of a sudden water was expelled into the air like the Jet d’Eau in Geneva. I had seen my first whale.Ensuring wonder and discoveryThe vision of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), as outlined by its governors, is to ensure wonder and discovery for generations to come. The ROM has succeeded in this through its permanent collection, programming and special exhibits. Its current exhibit hits close home, giving generations of Canadians the opportunity to see the wonder and beauty of wildlife as well as discovering the how fragile our marine ecosystem has become.(Dead blue whale by Jacqueline Miller)Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story, on now until September 4, 2017, stems from a tragedy that occurred in eastern Canada in 2014 when nine endangered blue whales got trapped in thick ice and died. Two of the magnificent creatures washed ashore and began rotting. One at Trout River and the other at Rocky Harbour.There was question on what to do with the giant whales, which many locals thought would explode. In the end, the ROM was granted permission by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to recover the skeleton and DNA, which researchers and scientist could use to better understand these endangered creatures.This original exhibition touts to having one of the largest, most complete blue whale skeletons in the world. The 80-foot female whale, which weighed 200,000 lbs, now sits in the basement of the ROM. The process of preparing the whale for display was an interesting and smelly one, documented in the exhibit. It took almost a full week and 10 people to strip the blubber from a decaying whale, which smelled horrendous. If you can’t imagine the smell, the ROM has a watch on display which still wreaks from the 2014 flensing.(Carving up a whale by Jacqueline Miller)Learning about BlueThe exhibit is truly interesting presenting a number facts showcasing how mammoth these creatures are. Comparing it to the size of dinosaurs as well as its anatomy to humans and animals we interact with daily, it was astonishing to learn how big whales are.It was also heartbreaking.These water beasts are the world’s largest creatures, yet the nine blue whales found dead in 2014, represented 3 per cent of the Northwest Atlantic population. One must wonder what happened to the other 97 per cent. It illustrates how defenceless these creatures are, our neglect towards the environment and our barbarism to kill them for fashion and heat. Though not the intended point of the exhibit, I left thinking how much we suck – and that’s putting it kindly. The exhibit was an eye opener about the treatment of our environment and wildlife.As we made our way through the exhibit we learned about the evolution of the whale from prehistoric times, where they once had legs and were land creatures. There was a section exploring the human hunt for whales looking at harpoon guns, lamps which used blubber and corsets made with whale bone.(Dressing up as a krill)The exhibit was also interactive. You could dress up as a krill and stand in a whale mouth or play a video game where you had to eat as many krill as you could in three dives. I personally loved the game, but sadly did not beat my video game nemesis Shane. I lost points because as I was emerging from the water, I was blocked from the surface by a ship. In fact, being struck by large ships is one of the biggest threats to blue whales.(Hayden trying to eat krill)The exhibit is an astonishing learning experience and if there is one exhibit to see this year for Canada 150, I highly suggest this one. As Canadians, we speak about being kind to each other and to those immigrating to our land. However, we forget wildlife call Canada home as well. This is as much as their home and native land as it is ours. In fact, wildlife has been on this planet longer than any human being – that we know of.Go check out this exhibit before it’s over, but before you do here are some interesting facts about blue whales that I learned:While you may think Blue is big, blue whales can actually grow to be 105 feet and weigh 330,000 lbs.Its heart is the largest of any animal weighing 400 lbs. That’s almost bigger than a smartcar.(Blue whale heart by Jacqueline Miller)You will not find blue whales in the Arctic Ocean.It is estimated blue whales can live to be between 70-90 years old.Blue whales can eat 4 million individual krill (8,800 lbs) a day - I thought I ate a lot.The blue whale is the loudest animal in the world. You can listen to whale sounds at the exhibit. I suggest listening to the beluga whale which sounds like its emitting EDM beats.Lead image from the ROM -- source link

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