Top of the Ecological Pyramid

What do you think is the strongest animal on earth? The lion No — they are often trampled to death by African elephants. The hippo and rhino are also considered to be strong animals that lions are unable to  defeat in a one-to-one fight. As far as aquatic animals go, crocodiles would present strong competition as well. Meanwhile, many people think that polar bears are the strongest carnivores although taking their habitats into account, they would never meet African elephants. After all, there is no absolute champion on the ground.

Turning the focus to marine animals, on the other hand, orcas reign supreme over the oceanic ecosystem. Also known as killer whales, orcas can swim incredibly fast (approximately 80 km/h; for comparison, great white sharks swim at 25~35 km/h), intelligently communicate with their shoal by means of sound and supersonic, pressure their targets in various clever ways and prey with their sharp fangs. Their habitat ranges across almost the entire ocean, from the polar regions to the equator. Thus they dominate the whole ocean which occupies more than 70% of our planet. 

In addition to preying on aquatic species, killer whales often attack animals living near the seaside. Believe it or not, orcas can sometimes even triumph over polar bears. Once in the water, even polar bears are powerless against killer whales due to significant differences of swimming speed and body size. Although labelled “killer”, however, there have been few reports of killer whales actually killing a human. They have the intelligence to avoid unnecessary, meaningless battles. Along with their beauty, killer whales deserve to be titled king of the vast ocean. 

One Year After the March 11 Earthquake

Tragedies are difficult to overcome, even though one year has passed. Ever since the devastating March 11earthquake occurred, much has been snatched away.

Japan was seriously damaged by the one-two punch of the massive March 11 earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. The ensuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant has been making the situation even worse. For the meantime, all that people can do is stay away from the atomic epicenter and avoid eating foods contaminated by radioactive substances; no one knows how to cope with this disaster. Most Japanese people even do not knowhow large the actual danger zone is because there is little data published. Besides, few studies have been conducted to examine how the radioactive materials used in the nuclear plants affect real humans. When radiation leaks were detected after the reactor explosions, a government dignitary stated that there would be no immediate influence upon health. To the contrary, when he visited Fukushima on April 19, he was wearing protective clothing that covered his entire body and stayed there only a couple of minutes, although citizens around the plant were told to just stay at their homes without adequate countermeasures against the radiation leaks. Apparently TEPCO and the government are concealing the actual hazard map. A Cabinet minister who committed a gaffe by saying “Fukushima is a necropolis,” resigned from his position, probably because of complaints from those outraged by his comment and pressure from other Cabinet members or possibly lobbyists.

Meanwhile, due to an increasing fear of another nuclear crisis, almost all the domestic nuclear plants have been suspended since last March, which triggered an energy crisis across the country. In Japan, there is only one electricity provider in each district, and few alternative energy resources are ready to replace this country's major powers, namely thermal or hydroelectric power. Electricity demand in the capital is so huge that TEPCO, which exclusively provides electricity in the Tokyo metropolitan area and caused the nuclear crisis, cannot supply sufficient energy without atomic power, which led to last summer's energy crisis.

Despite these hurdles, however, the stricken areas are gradually recovering. Some media reported the incredible recuperation in northeastern Japan:

• What a comeback! Eleven months after the tsunami ravaged Japan, a series of pictures reveals the incredible progress being made to clear up the devastation — Daily Mail
• Japan tsunami recovery: Then and now — CBS

I do believe Japan is an amazingly strong country. Despite the fact that many cities were completely obliterated by the tsunami, hopes won't be shattered.