The novel Greatest show by Richard Dawkins tells about how in spite of being an animal in the ocean; the dolphin is actually more related to the human being!
It is all in the walk!
Not catwalk! The again when you talk about catwalk!
The term “catwalk” combines physical structure and feline grace: it refers to both the physical narrowness of the elevated stage—originally modeled after precarious industrial or maritime bridges—and the smooth, precise “foot-after-foot” walk models use to showcase clothing on it!
But here the focus is not on the ramp but the walk!
The Dolphins actually do not SWIM in the conventional sense! They actually Gallop in the water!
Unfortunately they do not have land so they use the water!
They also do it for Energy Efficiency! Leaping out of the water and diving back is called “porpoising and is actually easier and faster than swimming entirely underwater when going at high speeds, because air creates less drag than water!
Dolphins also use this motion to cover long distances quickly. Also since they are actually Mammals it also helps them in ‘breathing’! Breaking the surface allows them to easily grab a breath of air while moving at top speed!
Then you have an animal which does not have water so it uses the land!
The snake!
A snake does not gallop or walk on land, in fact it remembers it’s ancestor in water and actually swims on land! So the water snake or the sea snake is not an exception! They are actually aquatic creatures! They later LAND snakes arrived on land but did not FORGET to swim! Which is what they do even now!
Then again they have developed so many modifications of the swim!
The first is the Serpentine or Lateral Undulation movement where the snake curves its body into an S-shape. It pushes off objects (like rocks or branches) to propel itself forward! Then you also have the Concertina or the Accordion like movement, the Rectilinear or Straight Line movement and finally the Sidewinding which is used primarily by desert snakes to travel on loose, slippery sand!
Then you have those who mix and match!
Like the crocodile which mostly swims or walks like a lizard but sometimes it apparently gallops and it does it fast! And then you have an amalgamation of all the walks!
It is all in the walk!
Swimming is thus an act! And a necessary skill! So if a snake is chasing you (it is unlikely though!); try SWIMMING on land!
Like how your tongue swims in the oral cavity! Speaking of tongues reminds me of the polyglot PV N Rao who could speak over 17 languages!
Then again it’s better to walk the talk!
Just getting the WALK in the last line that’s all!
Hope you don’t get a dream of a swimming snake!
Shubh ratri…
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