Whales and Other Marine Mammals

Moby the White Whale

Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales.

OK, so I realize I already have Mammals, Pets, and Aquatic Animals indices, but I became so fascinated with whales and all the different species when I read Melville's Moby-Dick, that I couldn't resist doing one dedicated to Marine Mammals. I knew other members belonging to that category, and as I began to put more thought into it, I realzed there are quite a few. But it was when I researched the subject on Wikipedia, that I was amazed of the number of species categorized as "Marine Mammals." Polar Bears, for instance—that is one I never would have considered, but of course it makes sense. The rest, however, are more obvious: the numerous species of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seal lions, sea otters, sea minks, fur seals and numerous other seals, sea cows and dugongs (never even heard of that one!), manatees and walruses. WOW! Quite a list.

In any case, I also could see how many of the book reviews I post would fit into this index. Whaling was such a huge industry for a while. Of course, obviously I deplore anything related to animal slaughter, but nonetheless, it was a way of life, and a frequent book theme. I am including here books that are not only about whaling, but adventures that began as a whaling expedition. That would include Melville's Typee, which was actually based on his own experience of deserting a whaling ship. Moby-Dick of course IS the ultimate whaling adventure in probably the total of historical novels, but in that one, I am pleased to say, the whale won . . . . What made that book most interesting is that Melville provided SO much material about whales in general—stuff I never would have known. Incidentally, whaling now is of course illegal, although some countries such as Japan still do it.

All books that concern any of these mammals in any way will be included in this index. I have lots of Marine Mammal coloring books, too. What really got me excited about doing this page was looking at the online photos of these really cool critters, and trying to decide what to post. I hope you get inspired to do more research on these magnificent animals. At the rate we are poisoning our planet, they may not be around much longer. (But then, neither will we.) And that is the heartbreaking aspect of this particular subject, seeing how human greed, ignorance and apathy has wiped out so many other life forms that have just as much right to be here as we do. More right, as far as I am concerned. (The Wikipedia page includes endangered species status.)

The image below is a big smooch between a walrus and beluga whale. Other tender kisses may be found on Top 5 Walrus Kisses of All Time!. Please check out this page. There is some serious love here. Be sure to watch the little video at the bottom, of the laziest walrus colony ever! And here is a page on Sperm Whale Facts. Sperm whales were usually the biggest target on whaling expeditions.

Walrus and Beluga Whale

Right Whale with Baleen

Novels Which Begin as an Expedition

There are many novels that really have little to so with hunting marine mammals, but their setting begins as an expedition. For instance, as mentioned above, Melville himself began his career on a whaling ship, then deserted, resulting in the semi-autobiographical novel, Typee.

Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I
Narrative of A. Gordon Pym
Typee: A Romance of the South Seas

West Indian Manatee and Calf

Books Where an Expedition is a Main Theme

Fiction
Moby-Dick
The Sea-Wolf
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Non-Fiction
Galápagos: World's End
Mutiny on the Bounty
Narratives of the Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex

California Sea Lion

Northern Fur Seal Bull

Books Concerning Marine Mammals

Fiction
The Day of the Dolphin
In Search of the Castaways; Or, The Children of Captain Grant
The Mysterious Island
Redburn: His First Voyage
Rewards and Fairies
Non-Fiction
Angel Animals: Exploring Our Spiritual Connection with Animals
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
Geoengineering: A Chronicle of Indictment
Save the Animals: 101 Easy Things You Can Do
Triangle of the Lost: The Bermuda Triangle Explored and Explained
Myth
Myths and Legends of the Polynesians

Pacific White-Sided Dolphin

Polar Bear

Collections With at Least One Marine Mammal Story

The Best Supernatural Tales of Arthur Conan Doyle
Just So Stories

Harbour Porpoise

Dugong

Coloring Books

Coming Soon!

Sea Otter

I Am the Walrus!

The Beatles: I Am the Walrus

Enjoy . . .

Edible Marine Mammals!

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