that he can fly with grace and ease, as though gravity does not exist for him. That describes the ethereal daily life of killer whales: gliding sylphlike through their element, their large pectoral fins spread like wings, soaring above the canyons and cliffs of the ocean floor, swooping and diving weightlessly at their leisure, with intelligent minds that rule over all they survey. Their only real encounters with gravity occur when they play in the element—the air—that gives them such buoyancy in water. Orcas do more than merely breathe air; they leap into it with gusto, in events we call
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