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A story told about sea mammals suggests that whales, seals, and walrus come from a woman's finger joints. Her fingers were cut off by her father in his effort to push her into the sea. The woman sank to the ocean bottom, where she lives as the respected and feared protectress of the ocean's creatures.
The Yupiit gave the flippers of animals special treatment as the animals first entered the human world when hunters brought home their catch. A woman traditionally greeted sea mammals with pure snow or fresh "sweet" water, a product of the land that they believed the animals craved. The Yup'ik women placed this water in the sea mammal's mouth as well as over its back and front flippers. The Yup'ik believed the animal yuit would come to life again if the human hunter and his wife "fed" them and gave them proper treatment and respect.
Perhaps these ritual acts are represented by the paws, flippers, heads and tails attached to the Yup'ik dance masks. These are often attached with flexible feather quills. The paws, flippers, heads and tails on the masks would come to life as the dancers moved.
Whales can swim from the instant they are born. Immediately after birth a baby whale will rise unaided to the ocean's surface for its first breath. Even though whales live their entire life (birth to death) in the water, they breathe air. Whales have nostrils on the top of their head.
Killer whales live in a pod that usually includes 5 to 12 animals. Young whales appear to remain permanently in the family pod.
Killer whales have teeth that are uniform in size and shape. They feed on fish, squid and crustaceans. They will also eat seabirds, and marine mammals.
Whale bodies are enclosed with a thick layer of blubber that aids in buoyancy, helps to preserve, body heat, and is a source of stored energy.
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