Salmon

Hello! I am a Salmon, and my life is a very big adventure. My story began when I hatched from a tiny, glowing egg. My mother had carefully buried me in a cozy gravel nest called a redd at the bottom of a cool, clear river. When I first wiggled out, I was called an 'alevin.' I didn't need to find food right away because I had my very own lunchbox—a yolk sac—attached to my belly. As I grew, I became a 'fry' and then a 'parr.' As a parr, I had special stripes on my sides that looked like fingerprints. These stripes were great camouflage and helped me hide from birds and bigger fish while I explored my river home.

After spending some time in the river, my body began a magical change. I became a 'smolt,' and this meant I was getting ready for the greatest journey of all: swimming to the big, salty ocean. I joined thousands of other smolts, and together we swam downstream, saying goodbye to our river for a while. The ocean was so vast and different! I spent a few years there, growing big and strong by eating krill and little fish. It was around the year 1912 that scientists first discovered a secret about me. They learned that they could look at the scales on my body and read the rings on them to tell how old I am, just like counting the rings on a tree.

After a few years in the ocean, a mysterious feeling deep inside me said, 'It's time to go home.' I had to return to the exact same river where I was born. How did I find my way? I used my super sense of smell! The journey home was very tough. I had to swim with all my might against the strong river current. Sometimes, I even had to leap high out of the water to get past tall waterfalls. It was like being a superhero! I always had to be careful, because hungry bears and eagles were often waiting, hoping to catch me for their dinner. In 1985, people created something called the Pacific Salmon Treaty to work together and help protect my journey, making it safer for me and my friends to travel.

Why did I make such a long and difficult trip? The whole purpose of my journey was to return home and lay my own eggs in the gravel, starting the amazing cycle of life all over again for a new generation of salmon. My adventure connects the ocean and the forest in a special way. When my journey is over, my body gives a gift back to the land. I bring important nutrients from the sea that help feed the bears, eagles, and even the giant trees. By feeding the forest, I help keep my whole home healthy and strong.