W is for Whale sharks (Folktales of Endangered Species)

Welcome to the 2020 A to Z blogging challenge! This year my theme is Folktales of Endangered Species. I am researching cool traditional stories about rare, fascinating animals - to raise awareness of what we might lose if we don't get our collective shit together. Enjoy!

Species: Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Status: Endangered

Lolo Awing

Bantoanon legend from the Philippines

Muslim pirates capture an old man from his island, but they decide he is not useful to them, so they put him ashore on a deserted island. With no way to get home, the old man prays every day to God for help, and survives by foraging. One day a whale shark swims up to the shore. The next it comes back with another whale shark. On the third day there are three of them. The old man hopes they were sent by God, so he tells them to swim away and come back, to prove they understand him. When they do, he sits on the back of the largest whale shark, and it carries him safely home, with the other two swimming along for protection.

I also found a Swahili legend from Kenya and Mozambique, in which God creates all the creatures of the sea, and he is so pleased with how beautiful the whale shark turned out that he and the angels throw handfuls of gold and silver coins at it. The coins stick, and the whale shark has had spots on its back ever since. In Kiswahili they call it "papa shillingi."

Sources: Read Lolo Awing here. Read the Swahili story here.

How can I help?

Read about conservation efforts here, here, here, or here.

Would you swim with a whale shark? They are the largest fish in the ocean, and they only eat plankton! 

H is for Hammerhead sharks (Folktales of Endangered Species)

Welcome to the 2020 A to Z blogging challenge! This year my theme is Folktales of Endangered Species. I am researching cool traditional stories about rare, fascinating animals - to raise awareness of what we might lose if we don't get our collective shit together. Enjoy!

Species: Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae)

Status: Their nine species range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered (Great hammerhead)

The brothers' escape

Pacific island legend*

Bakoa (a deity whose name means Shark) married twice. From his first wife he had many children: all the fish in the world. From his second wife he had two sons: Taburimai (Man) and Te-anoi (Hammerhead Shark). The fish got jealous of Taburimai because he looked so different from them, and had a secret meeting where they decided to kill and eat him. However, Te-anoi went to his father and revealed the plan. With a heavy heart, Bakoa decided that his human son should flee to safety, and asked Te-anoi to help him escape.

The next day before dawn the father woke up Te-anoi first, and told him where to travel. Then he woke up Taburimai, and said goodbye to his sons. Te-anoi told his brother to sit on his back and hold on to his hammerhead. He swam swiftly towards the east, following the eastern star. They traveled thus until they reached Samoa. There Taburimai went to shore, and said goodbye to his brother.

Te-anoi continued his journey until he reached the eastern sky, and swam upwards until he became a constellation. That constellation is till known as Te-anoi (the last five stars in the tail of Scorpio). Taburimai traveled a lot between the islands, and had many children.

*The source of the story is noted as "from Nui, an island of the Ellice group [Tuvalu] with a Gilbertese [Kiribati] population"

Sources: Read the story here or here.

How can I help?
You can adopt a hammerhead shark through the WWF here. Read about conservation efforts here and here. Read about Kiribati's shark sanctuary here.

If you could pick a shark brother (or sister), what kind of a shark would it be?