9781422275030

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Exploiting the rich nutrients of the seabed, a gray whale feeds in brightly lit, shallow water. They prefer such waters, where they can scoop mud from the bottom and filter

out their food, usually shrimp, worms, and shellfish.

I n the distant past, the giants of the sea were often perceived as monsters intent on the destruction of ships and all who sailed in them. Some even came ashore, as recounted in Homer’s Iliad, to kill people on the beaches. These beliefs began soon after humans first built ocean-going vessels. Strange marine animals were sighted that had never been seen before, inspiring tales of enormous creatures as large as or even larger than ships. No doubt details were exaggerated and enhanced in the narration of these stories, and the creatures grew in size and ferocity with each retelling. Some accounts have become part of the folklore of ancient peoples; the myths of classical Greece are filled with tales of the sea god Pose- idon and his realm. The Bible, too, has its share of references to the deep, most notably in stories such as Jonah and the whale and the parting of the Red Sea. During the Middle Ages, as ships traveled farther from home, Euro- pean sailors came back with fantastic stories of sea serpents and mon- sters they had encountered. Gradually though, as myth, superstition, and fantasy gave way to science, people began to realize that the life forms of the sea, including its giants, were even more complex and miraculous than anyone had imagined.

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