Spirit Animal Teacher

Andre had overseen maintenance at the aquarium for the past ten years. It was not a simple task. He had to time the rotation of displays, the return specimens to the sea and when to collect new specimens so they would not have undue stress. That meant coordinating dives and tanks. He was preparing for his weekly meeting with AJ, the head of Animal Care. She had started two years ago, and their weekly meeting had become a highlight of the week for Andre. He watched as she entered the front door . Each time he saw her, he remembered when he first saw her as something more than a casual acquaintance. It was just after she was hired and she explained, "I come from the freshwater Great Lakes region of Ontario. There is no celebration of lake life. The ochre greens of seaweed and animal life of the freshwater are bland. compared to the colourful west coast of Canada. I love my job here.”

Andre noticed how her eyes twinkled. At first, he told himself that he just appreciated her passion for the job. It reminded him of his own love of his work. He had no problem getting into a wet suit and diving with his team in the middle of winter, to catch the fish for the Salish sea aquarium. This was more than just a job, it was his calling and a chance to realize his dreams. He wanted the public to know of sea creatures without punishing the innocent teachers.

AJ and he seemed to be on the same page, and saw eye to eye on most things. Within the first month, AJ had approached him with an idea that she wanted to present to the Director of Exhibits. She wanted to present a vision of the inhabitants of the inland sea in the natural estuary of the Salish Sea. Andre was thrilled with her ideas. Her thoughts embodied timely considerations. She wanted to transmit some of the biological, geographical and geospatial knowledge of the indigenous inhabitants who had lived in the area over 10 000 years. This included native humans and the sea animals, who had once lived in harmony.

AJ explained, "The region from the south end of Puget Sound was renamed by arrogant, chauvinistic Europeans who considered the inhabitants ignorant and primitive. The Lushootseed peoples called it the Whulge, meaning salt water, to denote the sound of the waves. From the north end of the Strait of Georgia to the west end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the savage invasions of explorers, ignored names that organically arose in a place, like the 'place of squeaking' that represented the sound of the wind on Bainbridge Island. European explorers had no idea of how to exist in harmony with the environment; they sought to exploit it. This added to the troubled histories of what now has been termed the Salish peoples, a label applied to a mixed group of ethnically and linguistically related indigenous tribes who were once the stewards of the lands.

"The many tribes of the 'Great and Mighty people who honor the Giver of the Water' and the life of the ocean, knew how to connect their existence with the constant change and diversity of resources. They dealt with diurnal tides of up to 6 meters, that caused raging, counter clockwise currents. that influenced the biological productivity of the estuaries. They did not separate themselves from the spirit of the land and waters, nor did they believe in ownership of the forbidding shorelines, steep promontories, rocky islands and reefs where phytoplankton and zooplankton support salmon, seals, resident orcas and other whales and seabirds."

AJ described how she wanted to tweak the experience of the aquarium. She considered having Indigenous drum music play as visitors entered the gallery of drifters and watched the moon jellies follow the water column. She hoped to synchronize the rhythm of the pulses and drums with the heartbeat of those who passed through this area with the immortal beat of the waters. The narrative would explain how Aurelia aurita, ‘golden ears,’ create their own bioluminescence. They pulse in the black light of ultraviolet radiation, to communicate with each other, defend against predators and attract food. The four circles on their back of their body, known as a bell, represents the passing of the four seasons.

AJ had done her homework. "The moon jellies are considered plankton. They are the oldest multicellular creature on earth, older than the dinosaurs. They have no brain, yet among the sea life they are one of the best survivors of the well-honed brutality of nature, resource exploitation and economic intervention by real estate developers in the name of social democracy that brings pollution and destruction.

" Some jellyfish are considered immortal because they use a process called ‘transdifferentiation’ to regenerate old cells. Jellyfish are among the original species that are the source of transformation not only of their body, but of predominating myths that move with the currents of change.

"Jellyfish starts of as a planktonic larva, that attach to seabed or corals, where they develop into polyps that can detach to feed. They then become adult medusa. Medusa is the namesake of the virgin goddess of myth who patriarchal stories suggest was transformed into a monstrous gorgon who could cause men to turn into stone as a consequence of the curse of a jealous Athena. However, Athena was more likely to have protected Medusa from the male gaze, because her beauty caused her to be raped by Poseidon. Indeed, the Greek verb medusa means to guard and protect. It is time for that story to be told.

" The moon jellies teach about a connection, defined as love, that can flow with the gender fluid moon. The Eternal One can be both male and female. Greek sects thought that the moon was the home of the dead, Hindu’s believed it was where souls returned to await rebirth. The Tartars of Central Asia called the moon the Queen of Life and death. The moon holds forces beyond light and sound as it waxes and wanes in a repeating cycle."

Andre enjoyed watching AJ’s eyes light up as she described her pitch. He thought it was brilliant and of course, so did the director. The display was a great success and now Andre was ready to contribute to helping AJ develop another exhibit.

They sat in front of the large aquarium in the aquarium. "Tell me what you see," began Andre.

“I see the wild colours of sea stars beneath the kelp forest grove. The yellow, red, orange, green, and purple indigo Anemones, resemble the flowers and excite the chakras." AJ stated.

Andre added, "The Anemone is the deadly flower of the sea. It was the first active predators on the planet. It attracts its prey, enticing them to contact their tentacles which then shoot threadlike projectiles of toxins from the nematocysts, with the speed of a bullet,paralyzing the prey.

"Let's look at this tank for a bit more. Each time I come here I feel a charge of electricity moves through the water to me and back again. It is a feeling of connection to the wolf eel, my Wolfie.” Andre told AJ about his relationship with Wolfie. "I cannot imagine how Wolfie senses me. I seriously doubt that he can see me through the glass very well, but when I come, he most often leaves its cave to visit me. Today I am planning a surprise and want to let him know. I feel a connection with him. We have been friends for over four years when I found him injured during mating season. Guess he was a loser in some battle for a mate. I think today he might recover his courage."

"You've got my curiosity." said AJ. Andre pointed to the seafloor. A skulking sculpin, that looked like a rock, hopped from its perch in an empty barnacle shell then hopped back. Then the giant pacific sea wolf, slowly uncoiled from under a rock and extended its 6-foot body.

“Anarrhichthys ocellatus prefers to stay as a recluse in its crevice. They are called the 'ugly old man of the sea' and look the part. They have vicious-looking, snaggly teeth that grow back when they are broken and an ugly face that was likely used to create Orcs in Lord of the Rings or the alien parasites that inhabit the main nemesis race of Go-auld in the first seasons of Stargate SG1. The teeth are essential to eating sea urchins, their prey. However, believe it or not, they are gentle giants who like to play. Wolfie came to me with little coaxing and offered no resistance when I captured him and brought him here. Of course, he was wounded."

“You never cease to amaze me” commented AJ. As they sat Andre explained. "Four years ago I also collected a juvenile female wolf eel. Juveniles are orange. Her name is Blenny. The wolf eel is a form of a Blenny, from the Greek word for mucus. She has a lovely slimy glow about her I think.

“The wolf fish are called eels, but they have fins unlike eels. In the time of Pythagoras and Aristotle, eels were thought to spontaneously generate. It was not until the Renaissance that Aristotle was questioned. Sexual reproduction in eels was then thought to be a result of their divine nature or putrefaction. What rot."

AJ smiled at his corny humour and commented, " Talk about extremes."

Andre continued, "Hildegard of Bongen 1098-1179 thought they reproduced sexually but could find no obvious genitalia. Eels were thought to be slimy Virgin Mary’s." His humour was not lost on AJ.

"By the 1600’s, microscopes revealed unseen eggs in ovaries of flies, earthworms, sponges, conches and catadromous eels, that means they live in freshwater and migrate to salt water to spawn. However, testes remained invisible. By the late 1800’s, at age 17, Sigmund Freud visited Trieste, to study science. He was tasked to find the testes in male eels. After dissecting at least 400 eels, at the semi transparent glass eel stage, he got lucky. He found a pair of furrowed organs in the abdominal cavity. He discovered testes development was stimulated when eels leave salt water and reach freshwater. He got a sexual eeling."

AJ did the appropriate groan and Andre continued. "Eels are like many fish, they are neither male or female when hatched. The sex is determined by the environment. A friend of Freud suggested that his good fortune in finding sexual organs in eels, shaped like a rather long slender penis, triggered Freud on his search to understand the neurology of sexual anxieties central to his psychoanalytical theories based on the unconscious mind."

AJ looked at Andre with a smile. "This is a great story."

Andre said, "There is more. I was hoping to write a grant proposal to examine is if we can increase the population of this protected species. There are three reasons. The wolf eel is potential priority species for domestication and aquaculture commercial farming. The egg yield is great. Most offspring are usually taken by predators. Secondly, the wolf-eel have no scales but are covered in a type of mucous secretion made of glycoproteins that are thought to offer antibacterial protection. It holds potential in cryostablitly programs for organs. Lastly, the wolf eel forms antifreeze proteins when in shallow freezing waters. The wolf fish antifreeze proteins developed independently of other fish, between 5-14 million years ago. It has been shown that they used junk DNA to create new genes that allow them to live in below freezing water and avoid ice crystals.

"The Native tribes considered this fish was sacred. It is called mukah 'doctor fish' and is only consumed by tribal leaders and medicine men since it is thought to enhance healing powers.

"There is also one other factor that might help the application. Wolf eels are a species that can bioaccumulate minerals in the otoliths, and form calcium carbonate pearls called vaterite, if there is any physiological stress. It is a sort of the canary in the mine that can monitored pollution.

"Farming wolf fish has challenges. Did I mention that they are monogamous? The female holds eggs for 4-9 months then lays eggs that the male fertilizes, then both parents coil round them offering parental care, and never leaving the eggs unattended for about another 4 months. During the long gestation period they often lose and regrow their teeth. "

Andre looked at his watch. "Are you ready for love at first sight? Its time form Blenny to meet Wolfie. She seems to have come of age. She changed from orange to brown and her abdomen appears to be swollen. This is their first date."

They watched as the female was released. She swam briskly, with speed and stealth, investigating the environment. AJ commented, “She is a shapeshifter. She twists and turns with a confluence of serpentine kundalini energy as if she is a phantom in camouflage.”

They silently watched the male leave the burrow and were impressed as Blenny danced with the Wolfie. The grey spotted male approached the glass and seemed to look into Andre's eyes and smile before he butted the female's abdomen. The female glanced coyly at Andre and AJ, then followed Wolfie into the burrow.

AJ lifted an eyebrow and said, "Did you feel that? I really felt a connection, Andre."

Andre took her hand She did not resist. He said, "I think I’ve learned a valuable lesson from my spirit animal friends. I have not had a partner for a long time, and I am pretty sure you know that I do like you. Although I am not sure about long term relationships, I'm ready to figure out how pair bonding works with you.”

Their relationship flowed. The wedding was splendid. It was held at the aquarium and the two teachers made a their appearance, as witnesses to how connections can form invisible attachments that hold life's mysteries.