There is apparently an alpha mate in the tank. The super big one. According to the volunteer breeder there, you can easily identify them by the size and the way they act. After listening to all their breeding and fertilizing stories, I couldn't help but wonder: What will the alpha human male suppose to look like? ( Do I sound like a geek? NO I AM NOT! I am a very romantic person! )
I feel almost guilty holding a big salmon sandwich while watching them struggle up stream and working so hard in keeping the eco system alive. What can we do but eating salmon bums!
Yes, lot of dead salmons in the river. It is of course not the reservation's fault. Salmon do not eat during their whole voyage upstream to the spawning grounds (waters). Since swimming upstream on an empty stomach and ending with a rigorous spawning ritual, they probably die of exhaustion or malnutrition.Also, their cells are used to maintaining homeostasis in a salt water environment. This is just a guess, but it's possible that the transition from salt water to fresh water can cause their cells to absorb too much water and cause massive cell death resulting in death of the organism.
http://goldseal.ca/wildsalmon/life_cycle.asp
Salmons can get a bit scary(or painful) looking during spawning season.
Life of salmon in certain way resemble human life circle, somehow there is a kind of tragical beauty about it.They are of course not thinkong about " purpose of life". If I ask them, what is the purpose of you swimming upstream and lay eggs? They might just give me a blank look into the universe. But somehow in the so call human world, they serve a purpose. So us as human being, are we also serving " purpose" to a bigger more advance intelligence or being? Maybe only them can look at us and answer the question of so call " purpose". But again, who can answer the same question for them? I guess, this question is the drive of a urge to worship the almighty power, the unknown.
I guess the breeder might have missed the intellectual part of " alpha mate" . A big fish might look like one, but a smart fish might be more important to keep than only the big ones. But again, how can you judge a fish is smart or not, it will be just as difficult as judging a male is a virgin or not... ( I am not being very nice here, sorry)
I am sick and tired of people telling me, you are thinking too much, you worry too much. I feel like they are almost trying to play the role of that almighty super being, and trying to reduce me to a fish or a monkey which might never " think" according to our standard. How proud you are! By branding yourself as a monkey, or trying to control others like they are monkeys to serve your purpose! ( I am a bit irrational )
