The Shinto religion honors the souls of whales. Since ancient times, Japanese whalers have placated their cetacean victims with prayers and offerings. Yet, Japanese whalers remain the number one threat to the whale s existence on earth. Animal rights activists might respond that you can t trust any human, even a Shinto nature-worshipper. But people aren t the only ones who kill recklessly.
Whales do it too.
In the January 1999 issue of Natural History , marine biologists Robert L. Pitman and Susan J. Chivers described an event they had witnessed on the high seas. A pack of about fifty killer whales attacked a pod of nine sperm whales, killing one and maiming the rest. All may die from wounds received this morning the authors observe. We are struck by the tremendous waste. Waste is normal for killer whales.