The Salmon Nose (knows)!

The Salmon Nose (knows)!

NOW that's a Schnoze!  Proboscus Salmonoid??  No, it's called Oncorhynchus  kisutch, Coho Salmon and the males have these hooked noses.

Unlike Hollywood, Nature constructs for purpose NOT "appearance of purpose". BIG DIFFERENCE!  Not enough is said about the nose of a fish. No one talks about that?  But it is by far, better at smelling particles than anything on the planet- bar or bear none!  

Let me explain...

I'll be as brief as I can, but one thing I learned in Alaska is how prolific everything is with the ever changing seasons (which are HIGHLY visible here) and the fish know it better than we do.

This fish's life began 4-years ago and could have come from any Alaskan river. BUT IT IS the same river he was born in 4-years ago. They leave the rivers and follow them for miles to the ocean water the following spring after they are spawned. Look at the inset map and see where they go-remember the North Pacific Ocean is a BIG POND! They spend 4-years of their life there dodging Killer whales and ALL manner of hungry mouths.

This photo was taken while rafting the Talachalitna River after being flown into Judd Lake. We are many miles from Cook Inlet(Ocean) but large salmon numbers make it back to these pristine rivers and the fishing is Great!

Those Salmon that make it through their 4-year Oceanic cycle, return to the same streams AND SPOT they were spawned in to spawn as their ancestors did- then die!  Many of them travel the ocean shores heading to the spot where the river they were spawned in flows into the Pacific. Then they head up that river to the next one finally arriving at their spawn site. THEY DO ALL THIS by smelling their way home. It can be hundreds of miles! What a Nose!!

We all have a place, purpose and timeframe for our days on Earth. I think the Salmon understand that better than Humans do. WE ALL PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE CREATURES IN NATURE!  

SALMON don't need OnStar...THE SALMON NOSE KNOWS...