Powering through the water with a killer whale at my feet, I sometimes thought of Isaac Newton at the strangest times. Twenty feet up in the air, having been propelled off the rostrum of Shamu the killer whale, my physics lessons returned to mind. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction - oh how true. I need to time my jumps perfectly in order to get the biggest amount of lift. Right before the culmination of Shamu's forward momentum, I flex my knees a bit and spring. I aspire to a perfect arch back into the water. Flying through the air feels free and effortless; once in the water, my inertia is halted rather abruptly. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, with the same speed and direction, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The "law of inertia" is all too evident as I hit the water. Shamu, it seems, does not experience the same problem, but that is merely a perception that has as much to do with evolution, hydrodynamics, and pure power as it does physics. The vocabulary of physics, however, is very evident in killer whales to be sure. Energy. Force. Magnitude. They have it. Lots of it. And working with these giants is much like working in the field of physics - some theory, some laws, and a lot of personal knowledge, experience and intuition.

One of the first, most impressive things we probably all notice about killer whales is how comfortable, graceful and powerful these mammals are in the water. And when you enter the water with them, it becomes all the more evident. They can be racing towards you, ready to pick you up and send you flying into space, but the moment of contact is precise and controlled. They can be barreling full speed around the pool in an impressive display of energy, but can stop at our hand placed into the water seconds before. Being pushed along through the water by Shamu, I gained an extraordinary sense of the physical capabilities of these whales - not only in strength and energy, but in sensitivity. The most minute signals of shift in body position from me are picked up immediately and responded to. A slight lean to the left and arch of my back, sends us up towards the stage; a hunch and gentle bend at the knees gets us to the bottom quickly. If I give three light taps on the rostrum with my toe, we increase speed, like something out of a Star Trek episode. The whales are intensely aware of their mass and their environment, and the interaction between the two. Of course this is one of the reasons trainers work day in and day out to improve their relationships with the whales, and create an environment which is interesting, stimulating, and fun, so the whales look forward to our interactions.

I am thankful for the opportunity to know an animal such as this, in a way few others ever will. I may be one of Shamu's trainer's, but Shamu has taught me lessons, of partnership, friendship, trust and never taking any of those for granted.

And, oh yeah, of physics.