reaching new heights

yesterday as i wandered the nature's best photography exhibit at the national museum of natural history i came across this picture of a dolphin on the nose of a giant humpback whale taken off the coast of kauai, hawaii. lori mazzuca, photographer and marine biologist, tells of the odd interaction between two dolphins and this humpback in which, with great understanding between species, the whale gently lifted the dolphin out of the water where the dolphin laid atop the whale's rostrum for as long as she could hold on.
maybe it was a dolphin-double-dare that led to this stunt or maybe she simply wanted to work on her tan before vacationing off the coast of mexico. my personal opinion is that the good-natured humpback willingly aided the dolphin in her endless desire to reach new heights and perhaps a new sense of freedom (which i imagine is possibly the most universal desire across the entire animal kingdom).

in the middle of a museum filled with the contents of our world was a picture of understanding and caring between two beautiful creatures and i found myself hoping that we might all someday share that understanding. though, i suppose that before we can expect that level of understanding with other species we must first learn to understand and love our own.
the nature's best exhibit is fantastic and a great transition for me, an avid photographer, especially after just completing bbc's planet earth series as seen on the discovery channel. i would highly recommend seeing the exhibit in person if you have the means but i hooked you up with a link to all the photos and their stories in case you can't venture to the museum before it's closing which has been extended until october 28, 2007.

up next: bodies: the exhibition, currently at the dome in rosslyn, virginia also open until october 28, 2007.

*if you have the interest or simply haven't seen much of the planet earth series. the bbc, planet earth and discovery channel links above are amazing and full of great videos and information.