Whale of a time

Picture of the Day ( 25 )

Whale of a time

A female white whale calf swims with her mother at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama on Monday.

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25 Comments

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  • 3

    not who you think it is

    Oishisou!

  • 1

    sctaber56

    Seeing these two whales reminds me of my dad...he had a thing for whales and tales of whaling.

  • -4

    Stuart hayward

    Very beutiful photo, I hope no one want's to "Research" them!

  • 0

    Guza!

    nice shot

  • 7

    Pukey2

    I'd rather see them in the open waters.

  • 1

    gogogo

    Can't have your cake and eat it too... at least it raises awareness

  • 3

    tokyokawasaki

    Hakkeijima Sea Prison - Is more suitable..... FFS animals are not for human entertainment.... Come on!

  • 0

    Wakarimasen

    Is there a kind of whale called a "white whale". I always thought that was just Moby Dick?

  • 0

    konjo4u

    Animals socializing, with you and me!

    This is their apartment.. Be nice, please.

  • 0

    gogogo

    Damn that photo is CUTE!

  • 1

    Joey1

    They are beluga whales.

  • 2

    Vesperto

    Oughta be in the wild.

  • -2

    mrmalice

    matter of time before this came up, no more words need to be spilled on the matter, opinion is obvious

  • -2

    oberst

    the photo reminds me of the trips I made to seafood resturants in Hong Kong. Many , many live fish swimming in the tank with no worry........................

  • -1

    CrazyJoe

    Looks like an Irrawaddy dolphin.

  • -1

    Yubaru

    I wonder about the irony on JT, having this picture on the top page next to an article about whaling?

    http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/whaling-nations-defeat-proposed-atlantic-sanctuary

    And like I wrote on the other topic I say here as well, I think that people who protest whaling but sit here and call out kawaii or like to visit these creatures in captivity have their priorities skewed.

    If one is going to protest against Japanese hunting of whales they should also be protesting about the one's which were taken from their natural habitat and placed in captivity.

    I think that's a fate worse than death, just like an innocent person tossed into prison for life, losing one's freedom, not a pretty way to spend the rest of one's natural life.

  • 1

    smithinjapan

    That's so cute! Hope the little one doesn't end up wasting away in the freezer for scientific research.

  • 1

    Thunderbird2

    Yubaru... I think most of us would rather the whales were free... and thousands of miles from the nearest Japanese whaling vessels.

    That aside this is a beautiful photo of mother and daughter. AND, as was shown in the thread about animal intelligence dolphins (and presumably other cetaceans) are self aware, which makes this photo both beautiful and heart-breaking.

  • 0

    dracpoo2

    cute cute...

  • 1

    Fadamor

    Is there a kind of whale called a "white whale". I always thought that was just Moby Dick?

    Moby Dick was a sperm whale that happened to be white. Adult beluga whales are ALWAYS completely white (though calves are born grey) and "white whale" is, indeed, their alternate name.

    The status of the species as a whole is "Near Threatened" - mainly because accurate counts could not be obtained. Subpopulations, however, are in danger of extinction. The Cook Inlet subpopulation is listed as "Endangered" because by all accounts the population of beluga whales there has fallen below 400 members.

    What concerns me in this picture is all the damage the calf has taken. What I first perceived as the snout deforming against the glass of the aquarium actually looks more like rot on closer inspection when you expand the photo to its largest size. And what's with those gashes along the calf's side?

  • -2

    Pukey2

    gogogo:

    Can't have your cake and eat it too... at least it raises awareness

    I didn't have my cake and I didn't eat it. What awareness does it raise, exactly? The fact that they're stick inside a wet cage for people's entertainment?

  • -1

    Fadamor

    Gogogo got the saying backwards anyway. You most certainly CAN have cake and (then) eat it. What you CAN'T do is eat your cake and (then) still have it. That would be the accurate description of a phrase intended to describe taking an action, but not having to deal with the outcome of that action.

  • -1

    Tommy Lee

    I'd rather see them in the open waters. Oughta be in the wild!

  • -1

    Elbuda Mexicano

    We all prefer to these beautiful creatures frolicking in the wild, in the open seas, fending for their lives against orcas, against sharks etc..geez people just enjoy this beautiful picture and think back when you were young and your mommy or daddy took you swimming etc..kind of happy my mommy and daddy were not so slippery like these whales.

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