Page 92 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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The Compass in the Salmon’s Nose
The word migration generally reminds one of the way birds change

location on a semi-annual basis. Yet there are other creatures that migrate
on land and sea, as well as just in the air. Young salmon hatch from their
eggs in rivers at the end of winter. Some species migrate to the open
waters and the sea immediately after hatching, others do so
after feeding for a few weeks, and still others after spend-
ing a few years in the river. Salmon that have spent a
few years in the oceans and reached reproductive
maturity now engage in a journey that aston-
ishes human beings.
On this journey, the salmon’s objec-
tive is to return to the stream where it
hatched, and lay its own eggs there.
This journey is very much harder
than the first one, because the salm-

on must swim up against the pow-
erful flowing current and leap up
over cliffs and waterfalls. Every
salmon travels hundreds or even
thousands of miles to reach the riv-
74
er or branch where it hatched. Red
salmon travel more than 1,609 kilo-
meters (1,000 miles) in the sea and
rivers. 75 King salmon and dog salm-
on swim for more than 3,218 kilome-
ters (2,000 miles) in the Yukon River.
76 Atlantic salmon repeat this migra-
tion every year, while other species per-

The Miracles of Smell and
Taste