, P.O. Box 3839, Palos Verdes, California 90274, USA, e-mail: wilddp@ix.netcom.com, or from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
Last update: June 30, 2005
Note: Includes videos, films, film clips, unedited footage available for purchase, television series, CD-ROMs, computer games, and slide collections/shows either wholly or partially about cetaceans or containing cetacean characters. Special thanks to Frank Glover (frankglover@delphi.com) and Scott Taylor (dolphin@roadrunner.com) for their contributions to this list and to Steve King for permitting me to view his extraordinary collection of cetacean videos. Because of Steve, this list has been significantly extended.
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. Starring Jim Carrey and Courtney Cox. Warner/Lorimar/Canon Video. 1994. 87 minutes. Available in English or with Spanish subtitles. (See also the Cetacean Children's Bibliography for two novelizations of this movie for children, one by Cynthia Alvarez et al. and the other by Marc Cerasini.)
Frank: Ace specializes in finding lost pets and gets his biggest challenge when someone kidnaps the Miami Dolphins football team mascot [a bottlenose dolphin named Snowflake]. In one scene Ace also gives a surprisingly accurate explanation of the difference between dolphins and porpoises.
After Birth computer animation. By Vassili Hurmusiadis. 2001.
From the website: "After Birth is an animation exercise on life and evolution of life, juxtaposing myth, reality and dream. The taboo myth of the child bearer stork is interrupted by a fictitious underwater creature evolution chain. The chain leads to a dream of underwater swimming whereby a homo-acquarious emerges from the waves onto the land. This is the top of the chain, the quintessence of evolution on this planet. The whale's presence is that of a mother-nature, calm, wise, and powerful. But then again she is rendered powerless by her own favourite child. Man turns against his own nature and the outcome is a disturbed evolution path towards a mutation of a human foetus."
After the Whale. Available for sale or rental from University of California, Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, USA, (510) 642-0460. 30 minutes.
"Documents the plight of whales today as technological improvements in the whaling industry have brought them nearly to extinction. Shows a scientist studying the behavior and physiology of whales and recording their underwater 'songs,' and argues for their conservation."
Ahmed, Abdhallah and the Dolphin. Seven Seas series. Executive produced and directed by Joao Ponces de Carvalho. In Portuguese (English dub). 50 minutes. Available from Seven Seas, R.Prof. Prado Coelho 30-7E, P-1600 Lisbon, Portugal, voice: +351 1 758 7108, fax: +351 1 396 4182, e-mail: joao.ponces@mail.telepac.pt. (See also in this videography A Dolphin - A Gift from Allah.)
From the producer: "This is the first episode (of 12) in the series 'The Seven Seas,' about the interaction between people and the oceans in the end of [the 20th] century, after which nature will never be the same."Living in the Sinai Peninsula, on the Red Sea, the Bedouins lived a totally different lifestyle from the West until now. Ahmed turned his back to the sea and was forced to drive a taxi for living. Abdhallah was autistic, both deaf and mute, and found himself on a dolphin that came to pay a visit and never left."
Alaska's Arctic Wildlife. Written and directed by Bo Boudart. Coproduced by Bo Boudart and Elizabeth O'Connell. The Discovery Channel. WonderVisions, 1997. 60 minutes. Available from WonderVisions, Box 1372, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650-233-0540.
Examines the North Slope's ecosystem and includes bowheads, belugas, and birds.
Alaska's Whales and Wildlife. Hosted by naturalist Michael Ellis. Written and filmed by Bo Boudart. Coproduced by Bo Boudart and Elizabeth O'Connell. Music by John Huling. WonderVisions, 1990. From the Discovery Sunday series. Available from WonderVisions, Box 1372, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650-233-0540. 50 minutes.
Along Alaska's southeastern coast, whales leap, bears fight, eagles soar, and glaciers crumble. Naturalist Ellis leads a tour of this diverse ecosystem.Includes segments on the rain forest, glaciers, orcas, Dall's porpoises, humpbacks, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, other marine life, bald eagles and many other birds, and Alaskan brown (grizzly) and black bears.
All About Dolphins. From The Wonderful World of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises series. Produced by Cetacean Society International. Available from BTA Films and Videos, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA. 30 minutes.
"What is a dolphin? How large is a dolphin's brain? How do they communicate? What about their sense of humor? . . . Nancy Wallace of the International Dolphin Watch talks with Dr. Robbins Barstow and shows dramatic video footage of humans swimming with dolphins and dolphins herding fish."
Amazing Destinations television program. Episode: "Hawaii." 1999.
". . . travel with a group of whales in Maui . . ."
Amazing Tails. Animal Planet cable channel, USA.
A segment of one episode of this program discusses dolphin therapy.
Amazing World of Animals. National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), USA. 1981.
Segment documenting the interaction of autistic eighteen-year-old Michael Williamson with the dolphin Sharkey from the Wometco Seaquarium on Key Biscayne, Florida. Michael, who is nonverbal, began at his second therapy session with Sharkey to make a dolphin clicking sound to get Sharkey's attention and continued to make the clicking sound during all future sessions and whenever he saw a picture or film with dolphins.
The Amazing World of Marine Mammals. Written and directed by Richard Kilbane. Underwater photography by Al Giddings. Narrated by Mariette Hartley and Brion James. Rad Productions in association with Brion James Productions and Sanctuary Productions. Distributed by VisionQuest, 2321 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, California 90291, USA, (800) 350-4639, (310) 578-5300, fax: (310) 578-5308, e-mail: ufocentral@aol.com.
From the video jacket: "Doctor David Warner, neuroscientist and dolphin researcher, presents an in-depth look into the extraordinary interaction between dolphins and people, including their effects on human well-being . . . In addition, several naturalists discuss ways of connecting with [sea mammals] and give us a firsthand look at what people are accomplishing in the protection and preservation of our precious ocean environment."
Amazon: Journey of A Thousand Rivers. From The Best of Cousteau video collection. TimeLife Video. 1996. 95 minutes.
Contains footage of swimming with pink dolphins.
Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest. 60 minutes.
"In waters 50 feet deep, you'll encounter graceful river dolphins navigating through the flooded treetops . . . "
Ancient Millennium (The Key to the Myth). Screenplay by K. Lundbloom & M. Sparks. The authors are seeking to have their screenplay optioned as a movie and can be contacted at eros_1319_music@pipeline.com.
Theme/Premise: "Two middle-aged comical 'wanna be explorers' constantly banter with each other. One is an over-reactive logical fuss-budget and the other is an not-so-logical, lust-driven (and somewhat lazy) wanderer in life. Both men unrealistically seek overnight success and wealth through hopefully finding unusual prehistoric artifacts. They volunteer at an archeological dig thinking, illogically, that they can easily learn how to recognize what they seek. Unbelievably, a gentle telepathic dolphin becomes their teacher as well as their leader as they begin a mutual quest. She takes them into outer space and unexplored dimensions within a time-splitting transparent travel sphere. They discover they must seek the 'key' that will bring back to our planet the last living mammoth land whale which holds the secret to saving a world headed for destruction. That world is Earth. "From the authors: " We would like to think it's a movie that, in the end, is a 'wake up call' to humanity to stop treating the Earth's environment so badly. After all, it IS where our great grandchildren's children intend to live . . ."
And Then There Is Hope: The True Story of Deane Paul. Island Dolphin Care. 52 minutes.
From a website: "The program focuses on the benefits of human and dolphin interaction. The medical community discounts an association, but within two weeks of entering this fledgling program, Deane Paul . . . begins reacting to the world around him. Produced as a television documentary about dolphin-assisted therapy for children with Down Syndrome for a European network and captures the 'awakening' of Deane Paul on film."
Angels of the Sea. Produced and directed by Darren McDonald. Available from The Oceania Project, P.O. Box 646, Byron Bay 2481 NSW, Australia, voice: 61 66 858128, fax: 61 66 858998, e-mail: oceania@nor.com.au. 90 minutes.
This is a one-and-one-half-hour video release of a two-hour documentary special, which aired in Australia on Channel 7 in mid-1996."It offers a unique personal perspective on The Oceania Project's Annual Whale and Dolphin Expedition and superbly portrays the encounters [they] are having with whales and dolphins in Hervey Bay.
"[The director] says of his film: 'In making this film I have tried to capture the true magic of our Cetacean friends. Are the Humpback Whales trying to communicate with us? I think so! In Hervey Bay we are witnessing an extraordinary meeting between two highly intelligent creatures: Whales and Humans!
'Witness giant Humpback Whales reaching out to touch people on board the ship, showering them with water. Be there, as young Whales feed before leaping into the atmosphere for the first time. You will meet Marbles, the Speckled Whale; Bonny and Clyde, the dancing Whales; and Roxanne, the most amorous Whale of them all . . . '"
The Animal. Starring Rob Schneider and Colleen Haskel. 2001.
Schneider plays the role of a down-on-his-luck cop whose life changes when he is severely injured in a car accident and put back together using body parts from animals. The surgery, however, makes him think and act like animals, including dogs, beavers, a goat, and a dolphin.
"Animal Kingdom" segment. Dateline NBC June 28, 1998. USA.
Chronicles the story of Keiko and considers the pros and cons of releasing him to the wild.
Animal IQ Series. Episode 1. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc. 1997.
The opening episode features dolphins communicating with humans via computerized equipment.
"Animal Kingdom" segment on Dateline NBC, January 19, 1997. Produced by Merle Rubine.
Examines the controversy over permitting the Miami Seaquarium orca Lolita, who was captured off the San Juan Islands when she was six and is now thirty-two, to retire in some capacity in the wild instead of being confined to captivity until her death. Lolita's owner does not want to release her, and Ken Balcomb would like to see her at least given the opportunity to spend her remaining years in a protected cove near where she was born. Interesting footage is shown of Lolita responding to a tape of sounds made by her pod in the San Juans.
Animal Minds. Great Britain: BBC, forthcoming Spring 1999.
From The Dolphin Institute Web site: This three-part television documentary will feature Kewalo Basin Marine Lab's work with dolphin in two of the parts, one part focusing on awareness in animals and the other on language competencies of animals. "[The] segment on awareness features the dolphin's awareness of its own behaviors (its ability to 'repeat' or 'not repeat' a previously self-selected action), its awareness of others' behaviors (its ability to imitate the behavior of another dolphin or a human), and its social awareness (its ability to report on the presence or absence of objects in its habitat). The segment on language features a comprehensive look at the dolphin's understanding of semantics (how words can refer to different entities in the environment) and syntax (grammatical rules which govern how words can be ordered to create sentences).
"Animals: How Smart Are They?" segment on PBS Innovations, August 1986.
Includes footage on Louis Herman's dolphin research.
"Animals in Captivity.". Straight Talk with Derek McGinty, PBS, USA. First aired November 11, 1997. Available from PBS, (800) 828-4PBS.
This program aired immediately following the PBS Frontline edition "A Whale of A Business" (see below in this videography) and features a discussion by a panel of experts and questions from a studio audience about the ethical dilemmas of keeping wild animals in captivity, including marine mammals.The panelists include Naomi Rose, marine biologist from The Humane Society of the United States, and Dale Jamieson, professor of philosophy, who oppose captivity, and Michael Hutchins, American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and Roger Burkell, director of the Baltimore Zoo, who favor captivity.
Trisha: It's promising to see this consideration, which raises the basic arguments of both sides and the problems inherent therein, aired in a national public forum.
Animals of the Amazon River Basin. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com. 29 minutes.
"This program explores the dazzling world of Brazil's rainforest in the Amazon River basin as it focuses on the extraordinary wildlife in the area. During the rainy season, when the river can rise more than 20 feet, spilling out into the forest, the largest of the river's fresh-water dolphins, the boto or pink dolphins, move with the flood waters into the forest and dart around the treetops. As the program moves from day to night, an astounding array of animal life comes into view--golden-backed uakari monkeys, red-headed turtles, green kingfishers, blue and yellow macaws, the Amazonian umbrella bird, and the beautiful but poisonous coral snake."
Animals of the North Pacific. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com.
" . . . this program teaches students about the unique and beautiful animals that make their homes in and around the icy North Pacific Ocean. Viewers will see how Stellar sea eagles flock to an icy forest near the coast of the North Pacific. They will learn that many arctic birds have become dependent on the fish that fall from fishing boats and how this relationship has actually altered migration patterns. Also featured is a look at the underwater world or crustaceans, jellyfish, scallops and beaked whales in migration. The program ends with a section on sea lions and seals . . . "
Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT) segment. ABC News's 20/20, February 22, 1999.
On the pros and cons of dolphin-assisted therapy. The segment features the arguments put forth by Drs. Lori Marino and Scott Lilienfeld in their critique of DAT in Anthrozoos as well as proponents of DAT, including Aquathought Foundation.
The Arctic: The Arctic's Living Legend. Narrated by E. G. Marshall. Directed by Brando Quilici. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Brando Quilici Produzione S.R.I. The Discovery Channel.
Explores the behavior of the narwhal in the eastern Arctic and the research of David Kingsley. Also includes a brief consideration of the narwhal's relationship to the unicorn legends, brief footage of the bowhead whale, the killing of narwhals by the Inuit, and PCB poisoning of the narwhals and the Inuits who eat them.
The Arctic: The Beluga. Narrated by E. G. Marshall. Directed by Brando Quilici. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Brando Quilici Produzione S.R.I. The Discovery Channel.
Explores the behavior and migration of belugas, and their sounds are recorded beneath the ice pack by Sue Cosens and Larry Dueck for later analysis. The beluga's communication system also is discussed.
The Arctic: Killer Whales. Narrated by E. G. Marshall. Directed by Brando Quilici. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Brando Quilici Produzione S.R.I. The Discovery Channel.
Explores the behavior of killer whales, their relationship with native cultures, and threats to their existence.
The Arctic: Man's Last Frontier. Narrated by E. G. Marshall. Directed by Brando Quilici. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Brando Quilici Produzione S.R.I. The Discovery Channel.
Topics covered include: the present killing of bowhead whales and narwhals by Eskimos and its cultural significance; whalemeat labeling for later laboratory testing; tracking of the beluga migration; effect of ice movement changes induced by global warming on the bowhead, beluga, and narwhal; surface and underwater footage of narwhals and discussion of their behavior and purpose of their tusk; recording of sounds of the beluga below the ice pack (clicks, pulse tones, and whistles) and effect of noise (icebreakers, oil drills, and ships--up to 900 vessels annually) on their behavior and ability to communicate; cumulation of toxins in the food chain; Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound; behavior of the bowhead whale and its migration over future oil-drilling sites; and the health of the Arctic system as an early warning sign.
The Arctic: Realm of the Polar Whale. Narrated by E. G. Marshall. Directed by Brando Quilici. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Brando Quilici Produzione S.R.I. The Discovery Channel.
Explores the behavior of bowhead whales, their decimation historically by white men and their present killing by Eskimos, and other threats.
Arctic Kingdom: Life at the Edge. National Geographic Video, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-4688, USA. (800) 627-5162.
"In the Canadian Arctic, a blanket of darkness covers the land for nearly six months of the year. As the first rays of light herald the return of the long-awaited sun, hungry polar bears are tantalized by the abundant food just beneath the frozen surface . . . ."Under a thick sheath of ice, Lancaster Sound--the entrance to the Northwest Passage--guards a secret garden of life that flourishes during the season of constant sunshine. While polar bears roam the barren surface, life abounds in the sea below. Unique underwater photography offers astounding views of this marine oasis--and of ring seals, ghostly white beluga whales, rare bowheads, and tusked narwhals sharing this feast of spring."
Around Alone. Promise, Inc. Available from The New Film Company, Inc., 7 Mystic Street, Suite 21, Arlington, Massachusetts 02174, USA, (617) 641-2580. 58 minutes.
Chronicles Dodge Morgan's successful attempt to sail around the world alone without stopping. About 45 minutes into the tape is footage of southern right whale dolphins.
The Art of Saving Whales. By Wyland. Available from Wyland Galleries, 2171 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California 92651, USA, (800) 777-0039, (714) 497-4081, fax: (714) 497-7852.
Documents Wyland's first fourteen lifesize murals dedicated to the great whales, from the first in Laguna Beach, California, to others in Hawaii, Canada, and Japan.
Astro Boy: Dolphins in Distress. Episode no. 75. 30th Anniversary Collector's Series, Vol. 5. Produced by Dr. Osamu Tezuka and Fred Ladd. Japan: Mushi Studios. NBC Films, 1963. In black and white. 30 minutes. Available in the U.S. from The Right Stuf International, P.O. Box 71309 Des Moines, IA 50325, 800-338-7827.
From the Astroboy.tv website: " An underwater city built by Mr. Heel, a greedy developer, has alarmed the race of fish people known as 'The Dolphin Tribe.' They threaten war against the surface people if their undersea expansion doesn't end. When Dr. Elefun and Astroboy agree to stop the developers, the conflict is abated, but only temporarily. Angered by Elefun's presumption and The Dolphin Tribe's demands, Mr. Heel kidnaps 'Finny,' the son of the Dolphin king. Fighting breaks out and it is up to Astro and Elefun to set things right above and below the sea. The Dolphin king declares war on the surface people when his son 'Finny' disappears.""Astroboy, the first Japanese animated TV series to reach the American market. Astroboy was created in Japan by Osamu Tezuka, one of Japan's great pioneers in 'Manga' (Japanese comic books). Beginning in the 1950s the character was known in Japan as 'Tetsuwan Atomu' or 'Mighty Atom.' Atom was popular enough to be made into a live action series in the late 50s. When Tezuka started his production company, 'Mushi' studios, Tetsuwan Atomu was seen as an ideal vehicle for their first animated special. The overwhelming success of this program was enough to inspire several more special episodes and the series went into production soon thereafter.
"Astroboy had a lot going for it . . . action, quirky visual humor, thanks to the original Japanese creators, and quirky verbal humor, thanks to the frequent puns provided by the American producer Fred Laderman better known as Fred Ladd. There were also an abundance of weird electronic sound effects, and of course the bizarre storylines which would sometimes change focus several times in the course of a thirty minute episode.
"It's worth noting that for several years during the mid 60s, it was THE higest rated show in syndication."
For more information on Astroboy, click here and here.
Atlantis. Directed by Luc Besson. 1991. Released in France. 75 minutes.
This film on marine life (dolphins, manatees, seals, sharks, fish, eels, and rays) consists entirely of images and music without narration. Described by a viewer as "Beautiful!"
Awesome Adventures. A Steve Rotfeld production. Whale watching provided by Stubb's Island Whale Watching.
Above-water and underwater footage of orcas off the coast of Canada.
Back to the Sea. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Documents the rehabilitation and return to the wild of captive dolphins Joe and Rosie, who were used in a extended communication experiment by John Lilly.
Baja Whales 1992. By Jack Sims. One J Productions, 1992. Final Cut Video, 1000 Atlantic Avenue, Suite #103, Alameda, California 94501, USA, (415) 522-5169.
Follows the events and adventures of a group of 24 individuals and couples who go on a wildlife journey along the coast of Baja California. Includes forays into the San Ignacio Lagoon for gray whale watching and touching (absolutely wonderful footage of the latter, accompanied by expressions of pure human joy); beach art (using razor clam shells and mangrove pods) on the shores of the lagoon; humpback whale watching in Magdalena Bay (and more expressions of human joy); blue whale watching (a mother and her calf); exploration of the island Todos Santos from the boat; exploration from the boat and on land of the island San Benitos, the island Santa Catalina, and the island San Jose (exquisite rock formations and caves); trip to Los Isalotes (may not be spelled right) to view the sea lions; beach party at Aqua Verde; footage of a pod of over a thousand common dolphins, some of whom ride the bow wave and surf the wake; and a trip to Land's End. Also includes footage of the many bird species of San Ignacio Lagoon and the cactus species at another location.Trisha: The video camera was handheld, so the footage tends to be fairly unsteady, and outtakes, unedited transitions, and Jack Sims's attempts at humor are included, but the extensive footage of human-gray whale interaction in San Ignacio Lagoon is the best I've seen. Nice dialogue by Steve King on the expectations we bring to our first whale-watching experience, the difficulty we have in expressing the feelings our first and subsequent experiences engender, how you can never get enough :-), and the human friendships you make on these journeys.
Bay Area Backroads. Hosted by Jerry Graham.
Segment on a former whale exhibit at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California, which included the only robotic whale exhibit in the world. Robotic species shown include: humpback, gray, sperm, narwhal, and orca whales, plus a small robotic whale framework to show how they move.Trisha: Wonderful; wish I could have seen it live.
The Bay of Dolphins and The Stingray Man. Produced by Jack McKenney Productions, Inc. Bennet Marine Video, 1991. Available from Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. 23 minutes/13 minutes.
The Bay of Dolphins: "Winner of the . . . Cine Golden Eagle award, this film is by far McKenney's finest. It was produced as a conservation film in an effort to establish part of Fernando de Noronha, [an archipelago] off the coast of Brazil, as a marine preserve. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the hearts and souls as schools of up to 500 Spinner Dolphins frolic in the crystal waters of this island paradise."The Stingray Man: "Here is the original version of this classic, one of McKenney's last films before his death. It's the story of an ex-police officer, Pat Kinney, who moves to Grand Cayman Island where he befriends a group of stingrays. If interaction between man and animal was ever meant to be, this is the place, and these are the animals. Watch how man and animal co-exist in a partnership of trust and fun."
Beautiful Killers. From the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) World of Discovery series. Narrated by Richard Crenna. Written and produced by Nicolas Noxon (nnoxon@flash.net). ABC/Kane Productions International, Inc., 1990. 50 minutes.
Trisha: This is an excellent video, which explores the characteristics and behaviors of wild orcas off the coast of British Columbia and Washington, as well as current studies of the latter, along with the sad history of capturing them for display (see Ted Griffin's revealing comments below) and the ongoing controversy surrounding cetacean captivity.The film begins by examining the capture in August 1965 of the third orca ever to be captured, near Namu, a small fishing port in British Columbia (the first two captures took place in 1961 and 1964, but are not mentioned in the film). He (later named Namu) was a four-ton bull trapped in a fishermen's net and sold to Ted Griffin for $8,000. Namu's gentleness helped to dispel the myths about the dangers of orcas to humans, but he sadly died only eleven months after capture from an infection caused by pollution in his sea cage. Regarding the monetary windfall that Namu became prior to his death, Ted Griffin states, "The whale, as we say, was paying his way . . . The attendance at the aquarium was very good. The people are lined up, and the money is stacked up so high that it tips over, and I just love it." Before Namu's death, Griffin captured a two-year-old female, whom he named Shamu, but she would not cooperate, so he sold her to Sea World. Shamu was the first orca to successfully travel over land and by air, which began the booming market for orcas in the aquarium industry and the view by others that orcas had become the helpless victims of human greed.
Ted Griffin further comments on captivity, "I'm trying to say to myself, how can I maintain [my association with Namu], want him to be free like I am to swim around, and yet keep him captive, and it's what I call an anomaly. It's something that I can't quite resolve. So if someone comes at me and says, 'Ted, how can you do it?' I don't want to talk to them about it, because I can't really give them a good, clear-cut answer." The "anomaly" didn't seem to cause Griffin any concern, however, as he kept on capturing and selling orcas for several years hence. By late 1970, hundreds had been captured--almost all from the same population, the southern resident community--with approximately fifty kept for research and exhibition. Many died during capture or soon thereafter. Opposition began to build based on concern about endangering the local population, as no census had ever been taken.
Next profiled is Mike Bigg, who began studying the resident Canadian population in 1971 and accidentally discovered that individual orcas could be recognized through photo identification. Over 300 have been identified, and Bigg was the first to determine that orcas live in maternal family groups.
Some behaviors of orcas are next shown, including spyhopping, breaching, and their occasional gathering in superpods of 100+.
Ken Balcomb, who studies the southern population off San Juan Island and has identified approximately 80 individuals, is next profiled, and he and Mike Bigg point out that the northern and southern populations seem to respect a dividing line between the populations that is about 100 miles north of the U.S/Canadian border.
Transient pods, who eat other sea mammals, are next shown and discussed. The footage of orcas taking and playing with a baby seal, while its mother calls helplessly on the beach, is difficult to watch.
This is followed by footage shot by Robin Morton (prior to his death in September 1986 from equipment malfunction) of orcas rubbing themselves along the gravel at Robson Bight. This is the first underwater footage ever taken of orcas, and Robson Bight is the only location where orcas are known to exhibit this behavior. Alexandra Morton has continued her and Robin's research in British Columbia near Johnstone Strait.
The $5 million whale-watching industry is next briefly discussed, and then the film turns to the captive industry, where there are now approximately 45 captive orcas, each "worth" $1 million. First visited is Marine World Africa U.S.A., where orcas Yaka and Viga (both now deceased from respiratory infections) are held captive. Sonny Allen, head trainer, who speaks to the orcas as if they were children, comments, "I look at them as kids from around 7-10 years old, always trying to see what they can get away with and what they can't get away with. You always have to be pretty much on your toes as a cetacean parent, if you will, not so much a trainer." If you've ever seen orcas in the wild, you will know what a painfully sad commentary this is. Laurie Gage, Marine World's veterinarian, is also shown doing physical exams and commenting on captivity.
The next stop is Vancouver Aquarium, where curator and researcher John Ford comments. Hyak, who has since died, is the lone captive here, and there is fascinating footage of him carefully eyeing pictures of other orcas in books placed up against the glass of his tank. Ford was the first to record orca sounds in Johnstone Strait in 1976, and the dialects of pods R, X, and A5 (Hyak's pod) are shown and played.
The research of Paul Spong and Helena Simons is next profiled, who also study the dialects of orcas in Johnstone Strait over a twenty-square-mile area using a hydrophone array. Spong was the first to note that pods almost always start calling as they round Craycroft Point.
Next visited is Marineland, with captives Orky and Corky. In 1977 Corky bore the first calf ever conceived in captivity, but the calf was brain damaged and soon died. Corky bore four more calves--all of whom died--the deaths being attributed to too small pool size.
In 1984 Sea World of Florida opened a new, larger tank, where, at the time of this film, five calves had survived. Mention is also made that several trainers have been injured in accidents with captive orcas and that one orca died after fighting with another.
Paul Spong and Alexandra Morton speak against captivity, and Mike Bigg, John Ford (director of Vancouver Aquarium), and other staff members at marine parks speak for it.
"Beauty and the Beast." Adventure Crazy television program. 1999.
"Dive into the crystalline waters off Exuma Cays and swim with bottlenose dolphins from the Dolphin Experience program. With Banana George, an 80-year-old scuba enthusiast, Phil studies these trained dolphins and keeps an eye out for local wild ones."
Behind the Scenes at Marine World. Hosted by Kristine Hanson and Bill Martin. Produced by Don McCuaig and Phil Arnone. Copyright KTVU 1997.
Trisha: This one-hour advertisement for Marine World Africa U.S.A. presents a sanitized view of the relationship between trainers and their captives, with an emphasis on the dedication and sacrifice of trainers and, for obvious reasons, not a single mention of the far larger sacrifice made by those confined within Marine World's walls.The orcas are described as being "very intelligent" and "the most beautiful and powerful animal in the world," which automatically, at least for me, raises the question: What is it in the psychological makeup of the proprietors of Marine World that allows them to confine such a magnificent being to such a pathetically small concrete pool?
Other captives featured include dolphins, walruses, sharks, tigers, elephants, baboons, an orangutan, a koala, an owl, and a turtle. The most degrading display is of an elephant being conditioned to "boogie"--head shaking, trunk swinging in huge wide circles, and butt wiggling. What of value does that teach the audience? I thought the days of such gratuitous displays were over, but apparently and sadly not.
Beluga Days. National Film Board of Canada. 16 mm. 15 minutes.
Scott: Documentary of a "round-up" in the lower St. Lawrence River by Canadian Indians.
Beneath the Caribbean Atlantic. By the Oceanic Research Group. 23 minutes. Grade level: Intermediate to adult. Winner, 1997 CINDY Gold Award. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com.
"Beneath the Caribbean shows the importance of the reef community and introduces viewers to many of the great number of unique and fascinating creatures (both large and small) which live on, around, or near the coral reef, including dolphins, manatees, eels, fish, turtles, and much more. Viewers also will learn about the coastal mangroves and their importance as a nursery for small fish . . . "
Beneath the North Atlantic. By the Oceanic Research Group. Musical score by Bruce Bowers. Forthcoming May 1998. 60 minutes. To be broadcast on television in the U.S., Canada, and U.K. See also the companion book of the same name in the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography.
"An hour-long documentary about the incredible wealth of marine life that thrives in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, this new O.R.G. film is sure to delight viewers of all ages. Featuring everything from colorful anemones, swimming scallops, and toothy wolffish to porpoises, seals, sharks, and whales, Beneath the North Atlantic is the most complete film ever made about the North Atlantic. The footage, collected over seven years of filming, is stunning, and the musical score . . . is . . . beautiful."
"Besieged in Paradise." An episode of the Jonny Quest cartoon series. Cartoon Network. Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, 1996. 30 minutes.
From the cover: "Urgent/././Whales endangered/././Quest team under attack/././Jessie lost/././Save whales and Jessie/././"
The Best of Bar Harbor Whale Watching. Available from: The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, USA, voice: (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 40 minutes.
Produced after nearly 200 trips into the waters of Bar Harbor, Maine. Excellent view of "the most beautiful coastline on the east coast" as well as groups of feeding humpbacks and groups of fin whales and pilot whales. Also provides looks at eagles, puffins, and seals.
The Best of Dolphinswim. Dolphinswim, P.O. Box 8653, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, USA, (505) 466-0579, e-mail: seaswim@roadrunner.com.
Footage taken on trips Rebecca Fitzgerald facilitates to swim with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas.Trisha: I've seen excerpts of this footage, and it's beautiful.
The Best of OrcaLive 2002 DVD and video. By Anna Spong. Hanson Island, B.C., Canada: OrcaLab, 2002.
From the website: ". . . presents the rich variety of moods and textures of the orca world with dramatic video and audio highlights from the summer of 2002.quot;
The Best of Provincetown Whale Watching. Available from: The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, USA, voice: (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 50 minutes.
Years in the making, this video presents the many species found swimming and feeding along Stellwagen Bank off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the tip of Cape Cod.Includes the humpback whales Apex and calf Icicle, Silver and calf Coral, Thorn, Appaloosa, and Freeway. Also includes dolphins and fin, minke, and northern right whales.
Bewitched by a Dolphin. By Horace Dobbs. Directed by Colin Stevens for HTV. Available from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, voice: 01 482 632358, fax: 01 482 844468.
The story of the effect a friendly dolphin named Simo has on visitors and locals off the coast of a picturesque Welsh village. Also recounted in Horace Dobbs' book Dance to a Dolphin's Song: The Story of a Quest for the Magic Healing Power of the Dolphin, London: Jonathan Cape, 1990.
Beyond Belief: The Humpback Whale. Available from: The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, USA, (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 50 minutes. (Some of the whale names refer to names assigned to the humpback whales in the International Wildlife Coalition's whale adoption program. This video is also available from the coalition, which can be contacted at: International Wildlife Coalition, 70 East Falmouth Highway, East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536-5954, USA, (800) 548-8705, (508) 548-8328, fax: (508) 548-8543.)
Includes the humpback whales Salt, Sickle, Regulus, Sockeye, Meteor, Appaloosa, Thorn, Electron, Sundial, Ember, Nimbus, and Zodiac. "Unbelievable" breaching and group feeding. "The scenes with whales under and beside the boat are indescribable." Includes rare footage of "a humpback whale blowing perfect rings of air in the water."
Beyond 2000. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
"The Bionic Dolphin" episode: About an underwater craft, VASH (variable-altitude submersible hydrofoil), shaped like a dolphin, with some movements like a dolphin. Should be available commercially by the year 2000."Dolphin Warning" episode: "Dolphin researchers may soon be able to talk dolphins out of trouble, helping them to steer clear of commercial fishing nets."
Episode 209: Shows the AquaThought Foundation virtual reality aid for those who are unable to swim with real dolphins.
The Big Blue. Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, and Rosanna Arquette. Directed by Luc Besson. Weintraub Entertainment Group, 1988. Distributed by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Videos, 3500 W. Olive Avenue, Burbank, California 91505, USA. 118 minutes.
"Experience the peril and intensity of free-diving, the world's most dangerous sport. Jacques (based on Jacques Mayol) and his friendly rival Enzo are considered masters of free-diving and have made a career out of this one-of-a-kind competition. Jacques' life-long obsession with diving comes from his unusual bond with the sea, while Enzo thrives on the challenges of its inherent dangers. In his travels, Jacques meets Joanna, who is attracted to his innocent qualities and follows him across Europe to share his adventures, triumphs and ultimately tragic bond with Enzo. With breathtaking underwater photography."Trisha: When I first began telling people about my interest in dolphins and whales, the most common reply was, "Have you seen The Big Blue? It's a little strange, but you really must see it." It does have a kind of brooding, psychologically dark quality, but I do recommend it.
Bruce Lane disagrees and says: "I can say with confidence that I do not share your opinion. Except for the all-too-brief dolphin sequences in the film, I was bored to tears. A friend of mine, who's also seen it, and I joke about it now. Our favorite alternate title is 'The Big Blue Bomb.' Oh, and the critics shredded it as well. For once, I found myself in complete agreement with them."
To which Mike Hoffman (mike@psa.pencom.com) responded: "Interesting. Do you scuba dive? If not, maybe that is the reason you didn't like it. Back when the movie came out I watched it with my buddies from the local scuba club and everybody agreed about the shivers those deep water shots sent down everybody's spine. Many had had that feeling at least once of what it would be like just to continue downward until you just enter oblivion (which you wouldn't even notice, getting narco'd first). Seeing that up on the big screen moved many to tears."
And finally, Demosthenes (Don) (sir_lowland@pop.pi.net) says: "In my opinion Le Grand Bleu (or The Big Blue) is one of the best movies ever made. It is really a pity that so few people know of it."
Tiffany Tishinski (umtishi0@news.cc.umanitoba.ca) also says: "For anyone who liked The Big Blue, get the soundtrack!! It is amazing. The music captures the mood of the movie so well; it is like you are right there with Enzo and Jacques." She says, too, that if you want to learn more about the film, do a Web search on "The Big Blue" or "Luc Besson," and you will find a few more sites that give good information and great pictures.
Black Harvest. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 1986.
The first documentary on the annual Faeroe Islands slaughter of hundreds of pilot whales. Also contains footage of an attack on a vessel attempting to defend the whales.
Bluestar CD-ROM adventure. Magnet Interactive Studios, 1996. Fox Entertainment, 1997.
"Explore Bluestar station and stand on the edge of the future . . . but don't lose your step; it's a long way down!"Bluestar is unique--a joint human/dolphin program to use the new field of biotronics to explore creative thinking in microgravity. Currently the station is operating at minimum crew, led by the five specialists you see before you. At full capacity, Bluestar will support seventy-five humans and twenty-five dolphins, all highly trained in a wide range of disciplines.
"You are Mojo, Bluestar's first dolphin crew[person]. Your cetacean colleagues are on their way; technicians named Fleet, Charger, and Abacus. Until they arrive, however, we would like to see how well you work up here . . ."
"Bluestar is an idea that has been evolving for decades. In the mid-seventies, Skylab astronauts performed a series of experiments studying the behavior of water droplets in zero gravity. In the absence of gravity, liquid forms into perfect spheres. Visionary architect Doug Michels was inspired by these experiments. He envisioned an orbiting think tank, a 'cathedral of ideas' devoted to pushing the limits of creativity. A firm believer in cetacean intelligence, Michels conceived of Bluestar as having an enormous sphere of water at its center, a space where humans and dolphins would interact and work together to further the collective knowledge of both species.
"In 1985, Michels received a Loeb Fellowship from the Harvard School of Design, giving him an opportunity to design the technical architecture and engineering systems that would be required to make Bluestar a reality. In designing the station, Michels worked to look beyond the limitations of Earthbound architecture and design a structure for the future . . . Over the next few years, his work was displayed to the public in a number of venues, including NASA lectures, science exhibitions and a special exhibit on Space Architecture at the Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C. Over time, Michels continued to develop the ideas behind the station, including 3-D models of Bluestar, dolphin ideograms and the concept of the organic computer at the heart of the watersphere--a supercomputer using human and dolphin brain tissue, operated through an acoustic interface. The addition of this computer gave the dolphins of Bluestar an important role to play on the station. Delphic astronauts would program the computer using ultrasonic sound waves generated by their sophisticated sonar systems . . ."
Found on the web: Eric Hunting (hunting@tigger.jvnc.net), June 27, 1999: "What is a BlueStar space station? If I remember correctly, it was a space station intended to be inhabited by a joint human/dolphin research team. It's unique design was characterized by an enormous sphere of water surrounded by a rigid structural ring. The dolphins were supposed to live in this aqueous planetoid while the human inhabitants lived in the surrounding structural ring. The organization planning this fanciful structure were also planning to build a multi-storey aquarium in the middle of the Arizona or New Mexico desert where interspecies communications research would be conducted. The idea got some public exposure on TV but then fell into obscurity for a couple of years until a CD ROM game company began pre-release promotion in multimedia magazines of a game which featured the same space station design. I lost track of it after that and don't recall ever seeing the game actually hit store shelves. As for why dolphins would want to move to the desert or into orbit, it apparently had something to do with geomancy and the psychic cetacean bodhisattva cult, humans somehow being able to commune better with dolphins by living in a weightless environment with them for very long periods of time."
The Blue Whale CD. A Sierra Club Electronic Guide. For IBM and Mac. InterOptica Publishing Limited, 300 Montgomery Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, California 94104, USA, (800) 708-7827, (415) 788-8788, fax: (415) 788-8886, 1213 Shui On Centre, 6 Harbour Road, Hong Kong, (852) 824-2868, fax: (852) 824-2508, e-mail: 70324.2267@compuserve.com.
"Discover the world's largest living mammal through the following features:Interactive Text - links to animations, illustrations, maps, photos, additional text and video directly from key words or phrases.
Full-motion Video - movie clips throughout the text and in a separate category.
Narrated Slide Show - in a moving sequence of 15-20 photographs, the blue whale is described by a narrator with background music.
Interactive Maps - zoom in or out for general and detailed maps of the blue whale's location.
Interactive Glossary - definitions of difficult words are at your fingertips by calling up text from highlighted words."
Blue Whale: Largest Animal on Earth. Also titled Blue Whales: Giants of the Deep. American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) World of Discovery series. Hosted by James Brolin. With oceanographer Bruce Mate and photographer Al Giddings. Produced by Al Giddings and Rich Blue. ABC/Kane Productions International, 2020 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 400, Los Angeles, California 90067, USA, voice: (310) 557-7800, fax: (310) 557-7800. American Broadcasting Corporation, (800) 650-4ABC. 48 minutes.
Shows Al Giddings obtaining his first close-up underwater photography of blue whales, which he did not expect to obtain in his lifetime. Feeding and migration patterns of the blue are tracked, and Bruce Mate demonstrates the tagging of a whale. Steven King and David Towner's plans to build a life-size, realistic replica of a blue whale are shown, as well as Chris Clark's use of a navy submarine tracking system to identify blue whales by sound. Also shown are human-gray whale encounters in Scammon's Lagoon, some footage of a blue-whale whale-watching trip, and part of a two-hour serendipitous interaction the crew had with two humpback whales.
Blue Whale Selects Reel. Produced and directed by Al Giddings. ABC/Kane Productions, 1995. Al Giddings Images Unlimited, Inc., 75 Bridger Hollow Road, Pray, Montana 59065, USA, voice: (406) 333-4300, fax: (406) 333-4308. 15 minutes.
BlueVoice.org and TappedintoBlueVoice.org. By Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty.
From the BlueVoice.org website: "Using the power of streaming video and Internet technology to preserve and protect the oceans, BlueVoice.org brings vital information to a worldwide audience of concerned citizens and empowers them to act. Here you will find stories not seen on television -- fascinating stories of our communication work with dolphins and ways to help protect whales, dolphins, and the marine environment."At the TappedintoBlueVoice.org website streaming video on the following subjects is available: Kingdom of the Dolphins (52 minutes), 12 seconds of slowed-down dolphin whistles with footage, film short on work identifying dolphins in the Bahamas, Island at the Edge (22 minutes on "the complex forces which drive some Japanese fisherman to kill dolphins").
Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty also run a rapid response force, which monitors the marine environment around the world for illegal and cruel behavior. Their agents provide video over the Internet to expose illegal exploitation of dolphins, whales, and other marine creatures, and they invite your participation in their EcoWitness Video Program. If you videotape such events, please email them at hardyjones@home.com. If you see something and do not have a video camera, email them and they may be able to dispatch someone to the scene. Click here (the file pilot_whale_kill0000.ram has disappeared, sorry) here for sickening footage of a pilot whale slaughter at Taiji -- thank you, Hardy, for taking the risks required to film this and reveal it to a global audience via the Internet.
Bonding. In development by National Wildlife Federation.
A Free Willy-like fictional story about dolphins.
Blunden Harbour. EMC. 16 mm. 20 minutes.
Scott: Tells the legend of killer whales becoming human. From the Kwakiutl Indians of Georgia Strait, Canada.
Boogie Woogie Whale Sing-Along. By Animated. Plaza Secretarial Service, 1997. 30 minutes.
Bottlenose Dolphin. Doubleday Media. Disney footage. Silent loop. 8 mm. 4 minutes.
Scott: Shows birth of a dolphin, mother guarding her infant, dolphins at play.
A Boy on a Dolphin. Starring Sophia Loren and Alan Ladd.
The Bowhead Whale. Wild Discovery. The Discovery Channel, USA. Narrated by Ron David. Directed by Mark Gentili. Produced by David Reed. A Wildlife Association Production for Discovery Channel, 1998.
Trisha: Provides an overview of the work of scientist Kerry Finley and his fourteen years of studying the 50-80 bowhead whales who visit Isabella Bay of Baffin Island each Arctic summer. Discusses the bowhead's unique adaptations to the harsh environment of the Arctic, and their benefit for short-term survival but their negative implications for long-term recovery, especially in combination with predation by killer whales. Also discussed are several bowhead behaviors and their sounds and song, as well as early Inuit whaling and the Inuit's later cooperation with European whalers, who decimated the bowhead population.It is stated that the bowhead is the only whale Charles Darwin mentions in The Origin of Species, and about it he says, "It is one of the most wonderful animals in the world."
Near the conclusion of the program Finley recounts, and footage is shown of, a brief underwater encounter he had with "Autlauluk" [spelling based on hearing only, so is likely not correct], one of the elder bowheads who visits Isabella Bay and who is distinguished by an almost all white tail, "Out of the gloom you could see his face moving towards me, and I was quite nervous and my heart was pounding. I'm sure he could hear it. And he passed by. It was the most incredible moment to see that huge face, and the staring of that eye . . . "
The Building of CONNY. Filmed, edited, and narrated by Dr. Robbins Barstow. 1996. 56 minutes. Barstow Documentary Films and Videos, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA. Voice: (860) 563-2565, fax: (860) 257-4194, email: RobbinsB@aol.com.
The following information is from the April 1996 and July 1996 issues of Whales Alive!, the newsletter of Cetacean Society International.CONNY, built by volunteers in 1976, is a life-size, 60-foot, ferro-cement model of an adult male Sperm whale, the only model of its kind anywhere in the world, and is located outside the Science Center of Connecticut, 950 Trout Brook Drive, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA, (860) 231-2824.
The model is nicknamed CONNY after an abbreviation for Connecticut, whose official state animal is the Sperm whale. CONNY was recently refurbished and a rededication celebration took place on June 15, 1996. CONNY was rededicated to the continuing mission of raising consciousness about whales and their need for permanent global protection. Two new features include a fifteen-foot spout which will periodically shoot out from the top of CONNY's forehead, replicating as closely as possible the actual spouting of Sperm whales. Inside the whale, an interactive loudspeaker system will enable visitors to hear recordings of the loud, sonar-like clicking sounds made underwater by Sperm whales when communicating with each other and searching for squid and other food prey.
By Way of Cape Horn. Mystic Seaport Museum, Film & Video Division, Route 27, Mystic, Connecticut 06355, USA, (203) 572-0711. 45 minutes.
Contains blue whale footage.
California Gray Whale. Pyramid Films. 16mm. 21 minutes.
Scott: Black-and-white footage of gray whales, many close-ups.
Campaign to Save the Dolphins. Cruzada por la Vida. [This may no longer be on the Web; I could not find a live link as of June 17, 1998.]
QuickTime movie (8.7 MB) about Peru-based Cruzada por la Vida's work to save dolphins from being illegally killed for muchame (meat extracted from the dorsal fin of a dolphin) and chancho marino (literally "sea pig"; refers to meat from the sides of a dolphin).
Can We Talk to the Animals?. 16mm. Knowzone series. Coronet, 1987. 30 minutes.
"[Examines] the difference between understanding words and learned response. Sophisticated experiments involving chimpanzees and dolphins suggest animals using learned communication patterns are capable of more than rote response, they are capable of communication."
Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
Features actor Christian Bale as a Greek fisherman who swims with dolphins.
Captain Fathom: Cartoon Adventures Beneath the Sea. Tasley Leisure.
Captain Fathom and his loyal crew: Cookie, Scotty, Ronnie, Miss Perkins, Flip the Porpoise.
Captain Hook and Captain Hook 2. By Melissa Berryman, International Wildlife Coalition. May 2000. This footage of Pacific Northwest humpback whale Captain Hook is available online at iwc.org.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers: Deadly Waters. Includes The Dead Seas and Rain of Terror. TBS Productions, Inc., and DIC Enterprises Inc., 1991. Turner Home Entertainment, 1991. 45 minutes.
The Dead Seas: "Spreading out like a web of death beneath Hoggish Greedly's (Ed Asner) fishing boats are his miles of drift nets that trap not only . . . fish, but innocent dolphins, whales, and sea turtles as well. And when the Planeteers zoom into action to save them, Greedly succeeds in stealing their rings. Now, more than ever, the Planeteers must work together to save the oceans and sink Greedly's perilous plan.
Captive Dolphins & Whales: North America/Europe. Narrated by Lary Lewman. Produced by Mark Jacobs. A BBC/Discovery Channel production. Discovery Communications, Inc., 1992.
Provides arguments for the captive industry by captive industry employees (e.g., the supposed educational and biological research benefits, etc.) and refutation by former captive industry employees and others. Examines problems of feeding, water quality, petting pools, and trainer deaths and injuries. Captive orcas at Sea World of Florida are contrasted with free orcas in Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island, Canada. Captive belugas are shown, as well as the trauma of a beluga capture. The birth of a captive orca is shown, as well as brief footage of the release of Rocky, Missy, and Silver.Individuals featured include Ric O'Barry; Doug Cartlidge; Paul Spong; Karen Steuer, Center for Coastal Studies; Margaret Klinowska; Steve Walton, Windsor Safari Park, U.K.; Brad Andrews and Daniel Odell, Sea World of Florida; Jeremy Fitz-Gibbon, Vancouver Aquarium. Oceanariums featured include Sea World of Florida, Vancouver Aquarium, and Sea Life Centre, Brighton, England.
Capture of a Smile. EMC. 16 mm. 13 minutes.
Scott: Shows capture of a bottlenose dolphin, physical details, echolocation demo, working.
Cast Away. Starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt. Written by William Broyles, Jr. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. 20th Century Fox/Dreamworks, 2000.
Dolphinus (iamdolphinus@aol.com) writes: "The story implies that a humpback whale first acknowledges and then actually guides (or perhaps pushes) the Cast Away character, played by Tom Hanks, to a shipping lane for his rescue. It wakes him up with a spouting stream of water and makes eye contact. In all, about 10 minutes of film time are devoted to this special relationship between the human survivor and the humpback."
Cephalorhyncae documentary. John J. Hart, Liz Slooten, and Steve Dawson, New Zealand. In the planning and funding stages. For more information, contact John Hart, bmjjh@twp.ac.nz.
John Hart: "The series I seek to produce/direct/write is a comprehensive exploration of the Cephalorhyncae as the smallest, heavily endangered dolphin family. Ph.D.s Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson are the cornerstone talent. We will use High Definition TV as the recording medium and some cutting edge technology for filming underwater (a 360-degree lens., for example, and a high-speed and high-turning-rate remotely operated vehicle to 'swim' with the dolphins -- funding permitting! ). In addition we hope to make the high-quality longitudinal footage (long takes, which tape permits, vs. film's short takes) a resource for cetalogical studies by anyone interested in study of the Cephalorhyncae dolphins."I'm proposing we all go to South America for the Commerson's and Black dolphins, Namibia for the Heaviside's dolphin, and locally in New Zealand for Hectors dolphins. In South America I suspect that we'll have some expose shooting due to the way the locals chop up the dolphins for snow crab bait. And off Namibia we need to be a bit circumspect due to the locals there killing a lot of dolphins in nets. The task is both interesting and hopefully effective in revealing the dilemma of the Cephalorhyncae, and I also hope to explore their value as an indicator species and more . . ."
Cetaceans and the Spiritual Hierarchy. Sheldon Nidle. From the First Lecture Series (1993-1994): Extraterrestrial Contact and Human Evolution. Operation Victory, 1450 4th Street, Suite 6, Berkeley, California 94710, (510) 559-8102, fax: (510) 559-9493. (New Age)
Contains "an update on cetacean contact, preparing for human guardianship, interaction of the cetaceans and spiritual hierarchy, defining human guardianship, cetaceans as teachers of galactic wisdom, and the spiritual hierarchy's role in planetary guardianship."
Challenge of the Seas: The Sea of Whales; The Whales That Came Back. Produced, directed, and written by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Narrated by Ted Danson. Hardy Jones/Julia Whitty Productions. A Devillier Donegan Enterprises Release. Available from International Film & Video, 151 Kalmus Drive, Suite D-230, Costa Mesa, California 92626, USA, (714) 241-5902. 60 minutes.
"The Sea of Whales: Whales [were] nearly hunted to extinction off the coast of California during the 1960s. Under protection they began a comeback and by the mid-1980s several hundred were swimming off San Francisco. Researches search waters by sea and air to find and tally whale populations. Species include blues and humpbacks. We'll see how the old threat to whales of harpoons is being replaced by the new menace of pollution.""The Whales That Came Back: Once hunted nearly to extinction, Gray Whales have returned to their pre-hunting population. Each year they conduct the longest mammalian migration on earth, ending up in the lagoons of Baja, California. Now that they are no longer hunted, they exhibit extraordinary friendliness for humans, even sticking their heads into small boats for a rub."
Chelovek-Amfibiya (The Amphibian Man). Screenplay by Aleksandr Belyayev (author of the novel The Amphibian [see Cetacean Fiction Bibliography]) and Aleksei Kapler. Directed by Vladimir Chebotaryov and Gennadi Kazansky. Soviet Union, 1962. [In Russian.]
From IMDb: " People living at the seashore town are frightened by reports about the unknown creature called 'the sea devil.' Nobody knows what it is, but it's really a son of a doctor Salvator. The doctor performed a surgery on his son and now young Ihtiandre can live under water. This gives him certain advantages, but creates a lot of problems."From Rod Crawford (tiso@u.washington.edu): "Revolves around a sort of superhero who has been genetically engineered with dolphin genes to do undersea research and ends up rescuing a fair lady from modern day pirates."
Christian Riese Lassen - Master Artist of the Sea CD. Mac/Win hybrid. Screensaver capability. SynForest.
From the publisher: " . . . a mesmerizing and colorful array of 87 collections of vibrant sunsets, sea creatures and tropical oceans. The friendly menu has specific options that allow you to personalize your Galerie Lassen tour. Christian Riese Lassen credits his total involvement with the ocean for his creative inspiration. The composer Keita Miyahara, whose music achievements have included tours with Kitaro, provides the wonderful music for Lassen's works of seascape and underwater life."
City Dolphins. Directed by Tony Agars. Back from the Brink series. A Banksia Production JC Media (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jcmedia/). 1996. 30 minutes.
From the website: "Only kilometres from a major Australian city a population of dolphins is surviving, even thriving. This fascinating documentary follows in detail the lives of a population of more than 160 common dolphins who have made the inlets and rivers of a busy port their home. City Dolphins captures the drama as rescuers come to the aid of a young animal, hopelessly caught up in a tangle of rope and fishing floats. You'll also meet an incredible dolphin called Jock. A victim of polluted waters, he prefers the company of people and he changes the live of those he comes into contact with. You'll see the joys as baby dolphins beat the odds and take their place in this unique population. City Dolphins is a magical story of survival and hope, despite the threats of pollution, encroaching industry and the suburban sprawl."
Close Encounters: Kayaks and Orcas in the Inside Passage. Produced by CBS-affiliate KOIN TV in Portland, Oregon. 1996. Available from Northern Lights Expeditions, P. O. Box 4289, Bellingham, Washington 98227, USA, (800) 754-7402, e-mail: slim@seakayaking.com.
Trisha: This footage from two Northern Lights Expeditions kayaking trips shows orcas, Pacific white-sided dolphins, bald eagles, deer, and the pristine landscape of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and includes comments by participants about the experience of viewing orcas in the wild vs. in captivity.Also featured is Corinne Goyetche, a young teenager who was inspired by the movie Free Willy to establish the Bras D'or Marine Mammal Sanctuary in West Bay, Nova Scotia, as a kind of halfway house for orcas being rehabilitated for release to the wild, especially Icelandic orcas. She has had plans drawn up for labs and consulted with marine biologists and veterinarians. Because of her efforts, Corinne was invited to Mexico to meet Keiko in person before he was transferred to Oregon, where she got to play ball with him and swim with him, but this contact only made her more determined to see him freed. The Bras D'or is a 450-square-mile saltwater inlet of the North Atlantic that is landlocked, pristine, and nearly unpopulated and could serve as an ideal location for Icelandic orcas to get additional exercise and begin rehabituating to their natural environment before being finally freed.
Corinne hopes that if Keiko can be returned to his home waters off Iceland, it will open the door for other captive orcas to be freed as well. Commenting upon the difference between meeting Keiko in captivity and seeing orcas in the wild, she says, "It's waaay better seeing them in the wild."
As part of their devotion to the whales and of their respect for the ecosystem, Northern Lights supports all efforts to oppose the capture of marine mammals for public display and also supports efforts to return captives to the wild.
I've not yet taken a kayaking trip with Northern Lights Expeditions, but they've been highly recommended to me by someone who has.
Close Encounters of the Deep Kind. Producers by Charles Green and Stephen W. Dewar. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Green & Dewar New Wilderness Productions/Los Angeles: Prism Entertainment, 1982, 1987.
A Closer Encounter. Horace Dobbs with film director Peter Gillbe for British Channel 4. Available from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, voice: 01 482 632358, fax: 01 482 844468.
A film about the solitary female dolphin in Brittany called Jean-Louis. According to the book Dolphins and Their Power to Heal, by Amanda Cochrane and Karena Callen, this film "was seen by 900,000 people and aroused a lot of interest in swimming with friendly wild dolphins." This story also is recounted in Horace Dobbs' book Tale of Two Dolphins, London: Jonathan Cape, 1988.
Cocoon. Directed by Ron Howard.
Scott: A fun film about aliens who have returned to retrieve some of their own left behind long ago in an area guarded by dolphins. The dolphins appear throughout the film.
Cold Water, Warm Blood. Television New Zealand Enterprises. Available from Wild South Video, P.O. Box 100, Golden Bay, New Zealand. 60 minutes.
"In this international award-winning film, Wild South takes you on an incredible adventure with some of the amazing sea mammals just off New Zealands' beautiful Kaikoura Coast."You will see spectacular footage of mighty Sperm Whales, dancing dolphins in mass displays, and a rare look at the engaging little Hector's Dolphin . . . The smallest dolphin in the world--found only in these waters . . .
" . . . you can follow their playful antics throughout the day and get to know these intelligent and wonderfully friendly creatures, then go back in time to discover fossilized proof of their huge carnivorous ancestors."
The Company of Killers. Fangs! series. The Discovery Channel, USA.
Examines nonhuman social hunters and includes footage of orcas preying on sea lions.
Commune with the Dolphins. Filmed by Robert Riger and scored by Carlos Alomar. Available from Wishing Well Distributing (USA), catalogue item number 910652, (800) 888-9355. 25 minutes. Distributed by New Era Media under the title Dolphins.
"This film takes you into the deep and up in the air with Nature's most lyrical and magnificent creatures, showing the power, compassion, energy, and serenity of dolphins." Features the dolphins Annessa, Delphi, Misty, and Natua at the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Florida, USA.Trisha: I've only seen part of this video once, quite some time ago, but I recall not being strongly impressed by it. It primarily contains footage of captive dolphins doing performance leaps, and I prefer footage of the spontaneous activity of wild dolphins. If I'm going to watch a video of cetaceans set to music, I'll choose Bob Talbot's Dolphins & Orcas over any other I've ever seen.
A counter view from Scott: Commune With the Dolphins does take place at Dolphin Research Center. They took all the fences down, and were careful to not shoot toward shore, so the Dolphins are shown for who they are. You might call what they do "performance leaps" but I prefer to see them as exemplifying the grace and beauty of their inner spirit, encouraged by the loving attention of a woman I met several years ago. It is awesome, no matter the background, and the Dolphins were obviously aware of what they were doing and give an indelible impression (to my eyes and heart). It's worth seeking out. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a slow-motion exploration of just how beautiful they are . . .
Cromarty Dolphins: It's a Family Affair. Dolphin Ecosse, Bank House, Cromarty, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland IV11 8UZ. 30 minutes.
This film is set in the picturesque eighteenth-century town of Cromarty on the Black Isle, known for its friendly locals. In addition to segments on Scotland's people, architecture, wildlife, and scenery, it contains exclusive footage of the Cromarty dolphins, the largest and most northerly bottlenose dolphins in the world.
A Cry from the Deep. A series of five news segments on A Week of Whales. Hosted by Lloyd Sowers. South Florida Channel 5, 1995.
Five short segments on the humpback whales who migrate each winter to the Silver Bank Sanctuary (Banco de la Plata), Dominican Republic. Provides a brief, but reasonably good, overview of the humpbacks and human-humpback (including in-water) interaction at the Silver Bank.Trisha: I've taken this trip and would be glad to provide more information to anyone interested.
Cry of the Orcas. Co-produced by Project SeaWolf's Michael Kundu, Bob McLaughlin, and Robert Wood in August 2000, with KOMO's Elaine Purchase. Orca footage collected by SeaWolf Adventure Media Productions under special permit. Documentary aired by KOMO/ABC TV in Seattle, Washington, October 2000.
Howard Garrett: "The most comprehensive treatment yet produced of the true natural history of the orcas that make up Lolita's family. It will emphasize recent scientific discoveries such as the lifetime bonds between all members of the Southern resident orca community, the social events, and greeting ceremonies. Reviews say that Lolita will be mentioned in depth as a member in good standing of her family, regardless of 30 years of separation. Her importance as a potentially reproductive female to help replenish her family after the recent mortalities will also be discussed."
The Dangerous Sea. Wild Discovery. The Discovery Channel.
"From corals and anemones to moray eels and killer whales, the sea swarms with predators."
The Darkest Fathoms. Jonny Quest: The Real adventures series. Hanna Barbera Cartoons, Inc., 1996. 60 minutes. (Contains two episodes: "The Darkets Fathoms" and "Besieged in Paradise," plus two bonus cartoons.)
From the cover: "A crooked scientist who cracks the code of the whale's language finds out how to command the leviathans to do just about anything he tells them to do. One thing leads to another and soon whales are dispatched to attack the Quest team. Jessie is lost. The Quest team has to save both the whales and Jessie."
The Day of the Dolphin. Starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. Directed by Mike Nichols. Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Merle. Avco Embassy Films, 1973. 104 minutes.
"Dr. Jake Terrell, who has been training a pair of dolphins for many years, has had a breakthrough. He has taught his dolphins to speak and understand English, although they do have a limited vocabulary. When the dolphins are stolen, he discovers they're to be used in an assassination attempt. Now he is in a race to discover who is the target, and where the dolphins are, before the attempt is carried out."Trisha: Partly truth and mostly fiction, but one of the movies (and books) I'm sure contributed to the general public's current idealized perception of dolphins.
Day with Whales. By Real Animals. Weaver-Finch Publications, 1995. 30 minutes.
"Deadly Dolphin". Episode no. 45 of The New Adventures of Wonder Woman television series. Starring Linda Carter. Written by Jackson Gillis. Directed by Sigmund Neufeld, Jr. Produced by Charles R. Fitzsimmons. Warner Bros. Television, 1976. Air date: December 1, 1978.
From the video cover: "In 'Deadly Dolphin,' Diana Prince has a mystery to solve: a dolphin named 'Bluebeard' -- which spent four years as an "agent" for the government -- has gone missing. Initially everyone believes that Bluebeard was lost at sea, but then [he] arrived in Los Angeles from the Caribbean, arriving just two weeks after it had vanished. The time span, Diana realizes, is too short, indicating that someone must have kidnapped the dolphin. As Wonder Woman, Diana uncovers the truth behind Bluebeard's disappearance: real estate magnate Silar Lockhart is planning on strapping explosives to Bluebeard's back, then sending him out to sea to detonate a tanker carrying 500,000 tons of crude oil. The resulting spill, Lockhart reasons, will allow him to snap up nearby real estate he feels is vital to his empire. . . . The plotline for 'Deadly Dolphin' apparently serves as an homage to Mike Nichols' feature film Day of the Dolphin, which starred George C. Scott. In that film, super intelligent dolphins -- who have acquired the ability to speak a few words -- are being used in an assassination attempt."
Deaf Whale, Dead Whale. Narrated by Cheryl Campbell. Produced by Martin Freeth. BBC Horizon, 1994. Horizon, P.O. Box 7, London W3 6XJ, Great Britain. (The text of this program has also been published as Deaf Whale, Dead Whale: Text Adapted from the [Horizon] Programme Transmitted 7th November 1994, edited by Peter Millson and Martin Freeth. London: BBC Broadcasting Support Services, 1994.)
Explores the acoustic sense and its primacy in cetaceans, as well as humanmade threats to it, including ATOC, underwater explosions, and ship noise.Trisha: Informative, nicely done film.
Death of a Whale: Investigating a Stranding. Produced by Marine Grafics in association with the University of North Carolina, Sea Grant College Program. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Environmental Media, 1995. 17 minutes.
Declassified: U.S. Navy Dolphins. From The New Explorers Series on U.S. public television. Hosted by Bill Kurtis. A co-production with WTT/Chicago and Kurtis Productions, Ltd. Public Media Education, 1994. A 40-page Teacher's Guide for grades 4-6 (strong emphasis on captive dolphins and training) is available upon request. Available from Public Media Education, 5547 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60640-1199, USA, (800) 343-4312, fax: (312) 878-3654. 60 minutes.
Taking viewers behind the scenes of the Navy's Marine Mammal Program, this video is a documentary first. The Marine Mammal Program, which has amassed valuable information about dolphin intelligence, has been classified since the '60s. Filmed in San Diego and Hawaii, this program uncovers three decades of scientific exploration and discovery. Underwater footage shows how Navy dolphins use their sonar abilities to sweep for mines and to locate lost divers. In addition to animal trainers, you will meet Navy scientists who have studied dolphins' athletic prowess and swimming speed. Other dolphin experts spark a controversial debate about the use of dolphins and other marine mammals for military purposes. [Good video--Trisha]
Deep Sea Dive. Really Wild Animals series. Washington, D.C., USA: P.O. Box 1640, Washington, D.C. 20013-1640, (800) 343-6610. Ages 4-10.
Dive into the world's oceans with Spin (an animated globe-on-the-go) and learn about dolphins, whales, and sharks. The videos in this series are "full of fascinating animal facts, exciting music videos, intriguing places, and spectacular cinematography."
Das Delphinwunder. Regie vn Christoph Schrewe. 1999. [In German.]
On dolphin therapy in Florida.
The Desert Whales. From Jacques Cousteau's 1986 Undersea World series. 16 mm. 22 minutes.
"Cousteau's cameras record California gray whales on their southern migration, a journey unsurpassed by any other mammal, 5,000 miles to their breeding ground. During the migration, the crew attempts to aid a young injured whale stranded on a sandbar."
Discover: The World of Science. Segment featuring Louis Herman's research. U.S. Public Broadcasting System, 1987.
The Discoverers. OMNIMAX film. Shown at Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, San Diego, California, USA, 1993.
From dolphins to space. Swim with nature's most sensitive creatures. Soar over the surface of the mysterious planet Venus. Do this and more in the film inspired by Daniel J. Boorstin's best-selling book The Discoverers. [Beautiful photography--Trisha]
Discovering the Amazon and the Andes. Produced by Bo Boudart. Available from WonderVisions, Box 1372, Palo Alto, CA 94301, (415) 322-4340. 55 minutes.
"Paddle the Amazon's serpentine waterways in Ecuador and Peru, see the rare pink dolphin, . . . rainbow of tropical birds, butterflies, and look at the rainforest from the floor to high in the canopy. Then climb high in the Andes to see traditional Indian villages and explore Machu Picchu."
Discovery Journal: Whale Fever. Hosted by John Palmer. Directed by Joseph Beven. Produced by Dinah Lord and Stacey Dilorenzo. BBC News & Current Affairs, 1993. The Discovery Channel.
About Norway's resumption of whaling, killing minke whales, and the environmental movement's opposition to it.
Diving with the Great Whales. Whale Conservation Institute. Shown on NHK in Japan and Turner Broadcasting Station in the United States. 1997.
Do Animals Reason? National Geographic. 16mm or video. 14 minutes.
Scott: Explores intelligence of dolphins and other animals.
Dolly and Daniel Whale. Animated U.S. television series, early 1960s.
Dolphin Activision computer game for the Atari 2600 (Link points to an archived version).
From a fan's website: "Dolphin, another less-popular game, is a gem as well. Programmer Matthew Hubbard described how the game came to be: 'When I was a kid, I loved studying the animal kingdom, and whales and dolphins especially. When I started at Activision, the first thing I did was animate a dolphin and ask if they could recognize it. Obviously, they could, and I went forward from there...I tried to include the coolest aspect of dolphin behavior - sonar. I wanted to give sound clues that would help the player know where the next entrance was. It seems primitive now - heck, it was primitive then! - but it is one of the first important audio clues in the history of video games. In some ways, this is the great-grandfather of computer games like Myst.'"Dolphin is unique because you have to rely on your sense of hearing to determine where the hole is in the seahorse wall for the dolphin to swim through. For example, a low-pitched tone means that the hole is at the bottom of the wall and a high-pitched tone means that the hole is at the top of the wall, etc. A unique 'cheating' tip was discovered by Russ Perry Jr.: have the dolphin jump over the wall at the surface of the water and ignore the tones altogether. (See issue 2.) It's fun racking up the points with this trick, but it sort of takes the charm out of the game. Half the fun and challenge is the audio tones in the game.
"Like many games of the Atari era, Dolphin had its own particular innovation that set it apart from other games of the time - object size. Generally, objects that represented the players and targets were small blocky shapes. However, Hubbard did not want to be restricted by such conventions. The Dolphin and the Monster are among the biggest free-ranging objects ever put in a 2600 game. He had some problems getting the 'kernal' - or central module - to work properly, and credits Bob Whitehead for finding a better way to do what he was trying to do. This use of a large player and foe gives Dolphin a unique look among the other 2600 games. The graphics are bright and vibrant. As for omissions, it is too bad Hubbard left out two-player action. It would be neat if one player could control the dolphin and one could control the squid monster. Perhaps there was not enough memory available for an such a feature. But it is strange that this two-player feature is available in Oink (by Activision) but not in Dolphin.
"Back in the 1980s, Activision used to give out embroidered game club patches if you got a high score, took a picture of your TV screen, and mailed it to them. Here are the high scores to shoot for:
"Friends of Dolphins: 80,000 Secret Society of Dolphins: 300,000"
The Dolphin. Starring Carlos Alberto Riccelli, Cassia Kiss, and Ney Latorraca. Directed by Walter Lima, Jr. A Cannes Film Festival selection. Cinematograficas L.C. Barreto LTDA, 1987. Marketed in the United States by New Video Group, 419 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016. In Portuguese with English subtitles. 95 minutes.
From the video notes: A tale of power, fantasy, and sensuous desire set on the beautiful beaches of northern Brazil. It is an enchanting story surrounding the seductive legend of a dolphin-man called Boto. On moonlit nights women become helpless victims to their desire for him. The hidden sensuality that Boto exposes in his women and the permanent danger that surrounds the town where they live create a climactic ending where a man, a woman, and Boto face off.Trisha: A dark, brooding, choppily edited film with some marvelous segments. An interesting rendition of the Boto legend.
A Dolphin - A Gift from Allah. By Robert Fox. Plot House, Tagensvej 85C, Dk-2200 Copenhagen K., Denmark, voice: (+45) 35 85 68 20, fax: (+45) 35 85 68 20, mobile: (+45) 20 9183 06, e-mail: FoxMedia@dk-online.dk. (See also in this videography Ahmed, Abdhallah and the Dolphin.)
The following is based on information provided by Robert Fox: This is a documentary on a solitary dolphin in Sinai and its unique relationship with one of the bedouins, a deaf young fisherman who everybody mocks so much that he spent much of his youth in the water. He speaks in sign language to the dolphin, who just recently gave birth. The other bedouins think that the relationship between the young fisherman and the dolphin is the will of Allah, and they pray to the dolphin.Unfortunately, tourists have begun to come to see the dolphin, and they bring money and wrong attitudes. The dolphin thus feels she needs to protect herself and her calf, and is about to leave. The young bedouin says that he will commit suicide if this should happen. The film contains footage of the young man with the dolphins, and the bedouin scenery is very beautiful.
In addition to the full film, select footage from the film and of dolphins in the Red Sea is also available.
Dolphin: A Magical Musical Journey. Music by Julian Lennon, Van Morrison, Clannad, Enigma, Eddi Reader, Raf Ravenscroft, and Howard Blake. Introduction by Kiefer Sutherland. Poetry read by John Hurt. Directed by Kim Kindersley. 30 minutes.
"Take a magical musical journey into the warm, turquoise waters of an idyllic underwater coral garden near Costa Rica to meet a wild hermit dolphin named Peto and her human friend, Karin. Through some of the most intimate wild dolphin footage ever filmed, experience the innocence, playfulness and wisdom of the sea's most wondrous creatures . . . The beautiful images and the music of world-class artists who were part of this project weave a tapestry of sights and sounds that will sweep you away."
Dolphin Adventure (aka Dolphin). Directed by Michael Wiese and Hardy Jones. Produced by Michael Wiese. Written by Hardy Jones. Featuring an appearance by Buckminster Fuller. 1979. 60 minutes. Michael Wiese Productions, 4354 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Suite 234, Studio City, California, USA, (800) 379-8808. Reviewed and background on filming provided by Malcolm Brenner in an article entitled "Dolphin" in the November 1979 issue of Future Life.
"A fascinating exploration . . . of the incredible undersea world of the dolphin."Join Buckminster Fuller and a team of scientists traveling to the tropics to attempt to communicate with dolphins--a species that may be as intelligent as our own. Witness the first contact with these amazing creatures and decide for yourself if we share our world with something more than animals."
Scott: An interesting film with interviews of Buckminster Fuller, Mandy Rodriquez, and others. Ric O'Barry appears when he was still known as Ric O'Feldman. Footage of the first interaction brought about intentionally through playing music underwater by Steven Gagne [former roadie for such rock groups as Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead] on an underwater, air-powered ["aquasonic"] piano he designed and built. [Also features NOAA footage of dolphins drowning in tuna nets and the Iki Island slaughter of 1,000 dolphins by Japanese fishermen.]
The Dolphin Alliance Welcome Home Project, Dolphins: Back to the Wild. The Humane Society of the United States. Communication Concepts, Inc. CCI, 7980 N. Atlantic Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920-3611,(407) 783-5232. Approximately 5 minutes.
A brief overview of Bogie and Bacall's release into a holding pen at the Indian River Lagoon, just a few hundred yards from where they were originally captured.
The Dolphin & Whale Adventure. Kid's World of Wonder series. Cinar Productions Inc. in association with The Reader's Digest Association Inc., 1999. 30 minutes.
From the cover: "The amazing adventures of Sarah and Alex continue as their magic balloon takes them over the world's beautiful oceans, swimming with dolphins, sailing with whales as they search for a shipwrecked girl's lost father."Along the way, discover many marvelous and fascinating facts about dolphins and whales, answering the questions kids ask most--why do whales sing? How do dolphin mothers punish their babies when they're bad? Which whale is the biggest? Do all whales and dolphins have teeth? Why do they migrate thousands of miles? Join this thrilling voyage and find out!"
Dolphin Blue. SynForest. Available only in Japan.
Dolphin Campaign Video. Earth Island Institute Dolphin Project, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, California 94133, USA, (415) 788-3666. 40 minutes.
This video includes a 20-minute narrated version of the footage of dolphins being killed in the course of tuna fishing [presumably Sam LaBudde's footage], media coverage, and a list of what you can do to help.
The Dolphin Children. Ron and Valerie Taylor. Blue Wilderness series. An Orana Films Production. JC Media (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jcmedia/). 1990s. 30 minutes.
Examines "the plight of dolphins who have been taken into captivity."
Dolphin Connection: Open to the Sea with Joan Ocean and the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. Produced by Ocean/Bozzoli. Filmed by Jean-Luc Bozzoli, 1991. Dolphin Connection, P.O. Box 102, Kealakekua, Hawaii 96704, USA, (808) 323-9605, fax: same.
This video is about the process of befriending dolphins in their natural habitat in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. Includes footage of the dolphins playing with Joan Ocean and others with leaves and pieces of plastic they find in the ocean, mating, ventral propulsion, dolphins riding in each other's water-flow field, beautiful spiraling movements they do together, interaction with a dog, baby dolphins with their mothers, and three Pacific bottlenose dolphins who sometimes join the pod. Instead of voice, this video contains vocalizations of the dolphins as they interact with humans. Also included is footage of the total solar eclipse in Hawaii on July 11, 1991.Trisha: Not the best quality soundwise, but extremely interesting footage of human-dolphin interaction.
Dolphin Cove television series (U.S.).
The Dolphin Diaries. From the British Broadcasting Corporation series Natural World. Narrated by David Attenborough. Produced by Mark Jacobs. Aired on public television in the United States.
David Attenborough briefly swims with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins and spotlights Denise Herzing's Wild Dolphin Project, which has studied Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas for the past ten years. Over 150 individuals have been identified and named. Topics covered include: communication, child rearing and reprimanding, touching and bonding, sexuality, aggression, and nighttime feeding. Pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins are also featured.Especially interesting are Herzing's observations of male aggression, both in spotted and bottlenose dolphins. Young spotted males (3-4 years old) form coalitions and engage in mock fighting, and the male friendships established during this time last for life. Older males (approx. 30 years old in the film) only intervene in actual disputes when they escalate beyond a certain level.
Herzing has observed that the spotted and bottlenose dolphins seems to understand each other's social, sexual, and aggressive signals, and that they sometimes travel and feed together. The bottlenose dolphins tend to be more quarrelsome than the spotteds, however, and the bottlenose males will sometimes bully the spotted males, including sexually mounting them. Groups of young male spotteds form into their coalitions to fend off the bottlenose males, and Herzing has even observed these coalitions seeking out the offending bottlenose individual the following day and retaliating.
Also includes footage of bottlenose dolphins intensively scanning the sandy bottom for food.
Dolphin Dreaming. Program 6 of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) series Natural Neighbors. Narrated by Griff Rhys Jones. Produced and directed by Mark Jacobs. Music by Chris Michell and Ken Shapley. Not available on video.
"Scientists, mystics, and dolphin pilgrims explain their rapport with these magical creatures."Includes footage of dolphin-swim trips in the Bahamas with Rebecca Fitzgerald and Horace Dobbs, of a woman named Ruth swimming with the lone wild dolphins Freddie and Fungi, of Denise Herzing's Wild Dolphin Project, and of each commenting on the human-dolphin relationship.
Horace Dobbs: "I think that dolphins make every person feel special, regardless of their background, their nationality, their religious belief, the color of their skin, and that is part of the magic. I think another aspect is the brightness of eye of a dolphin. If you've looked into the eye of a dolphin, then you are changed."
Denise Herzing: "There's another intelligence here; there's something behind that eye. They're exploring us as much as we're exploring them. I mean, that's a powerful experience. It's a wild animal that's come up to you, and it's not just swimming by you and saying, 'Hi, bye'; they are checking you out because they're curious. I mean, I think intelligence seeks intelligence. It's part of being intelligent to explore and be curious."
Trisha: A very nicely done film that captures the extraordinary joy many humans have experienced while swimming with wild dolphins, as well as provides Denise Herzing's insights on dolphin social structure and surface behaviors, gained in her decade of research.
Dolphin Dreams & Meditation. By Terry Pinney. Music by Ariel. Waianae, Hawaii: Lei Aloha Center. Email: Dolphins4U@aol.com. 20 minutes. (New Age)
" A . . . 20 minute dolphin meditation blended with amazing footage of spinner dolphins in the turquoise blue Pacific that surrounds their island home."
Dolphin Encounters CD-ROM. PC only. Created by and available from Dolphin Research Center, P.O. Box 522875, Marathon Shores, Florida 33052-2875, (305) 289-1121, ext. 233, fax: (305) 743-7627. 12 minutes.
Includes trained behaviors, signature whistles, and references.
"Dolphin Healing" segment on first program of Mysteries series. United Kingdom: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1997. Broadcast on BBC1.
Dolphin Hunting in Japan. Ibaraki, Japan: Elsa Nature Conservancy, 2000. English and Japanese versions. The Japanese version may be ordered from Elsa Nature Conservancy, P.O. Box 2, Tsukuba-gakuen, Ibaraki 305-8691, Japan, voice/fax: +81-298-51-1637. To order the English version, contact Mary Corbett, President of CRESNER, voice: +81-3-3423-1442, fax: +81-3-3423-6043, email: kyr02713@nifty.ne.jp.
"The video records the dolphin capture and slaughter that occurred at Futo Port on October 14, 1999. [It] was produced to stop the slaughter and captivity of dolphins, and also to educate the public [about] how aquariums in Japan supply their dolphins."
The Dolphin in Bonin Island. Sea TV, Japan.
Dolphin Intelligence. In development by National Wildlife Federation.
Dolphin Island. Dolphin Meditation: For Clean Oceans and Their Creatures. Dietrich Von Oppelm.
The Dolphin of Dingle Bay. Narrated by John Hurt. Zari Productions Limited, 1991. Distributed by Creation Entertainments Limited, 1 Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 5AF, United Kingdom. 60 minutes.
Jan Kersschot: "This video gives an interesting view on the interaction between Fungi, a wild bottlenose dolphin living near the coast of Ireland for more than 10 years, and the local community. Some interviews with the locals may be hard to understand for the non-Irish, and some parts of the video about the local people in an Irish pub stand in sharp contrast with the beautiful images of the bay of Dingle and the slow-motion images of the dolphin swimming by."Those familiar with dolphin swims will be amazed by how big this dolphin is; one could really say that he is a jumbo version. The scars on his body and the gentle knowing in his eyes show us his age and wisdom. Still, he is known as a lively dolphin, demanding to play with humans.
"This one-hour documentary can lift your heart, as you will have several moments of intense eye contact with Fungi. Narrated beautifully by John Hurt, with the inspiring music of Michael Kamen."
Dolphin Planet. Starring Mikako Kotani, Matt Biondi, Stubby (a wild Atlantic spotted dolphin), and other dolphins. Directed by Toshiro Inomata. Sony Music Entertainment, Inc., Japan.
In segments entitled: In the Sea, Dolphin Dance, Close to You, Encounters with Stubby, To Homo-Dolphines, Calling . . . , and Feel the Cosmos, this beautiful footage shows expert swimmers Kotani and Biondi swimming and spiraling with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins and captive bottlenose dolphins (at Anthony's Key Resort), as well as with other marine life. There are also segments of the dolphins swimming on their own, riding bow waves, and leaping, both alone and in tandem (the latter shots are of captive dolphins jumping on cue). Many of the leaping shots are shown in slow motion (in similar fashion to the video Commune with the Dolphins), some against a sunset backdrop.
The Dolphin Project. Produced and directed by Diana Thater. Music by Fred Neil. Narrated by Ric O'Barry. Available online (click on the title).
Footage of wild dolphins in the Bahamas.
Dolphins IMAX film. Macgillivray Freeman Films, 2000. Visit the website for show dates and locations.
Marine scientists whose work is featured in the film: Kathleen Dudzinski, Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez, and Bernd Wursig. Also features Dean Bernal and the solitary bottlenosed dolphin JoJo of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Dolphins. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. For grades K-6. 1983. 14 minutes.
quot;Meet several species of dolphins, including the bottlenose and the killer whale. Observe how these mammals use echolocation to locate objects. Watch in wonder as a dolphin is born."
Dolphins. Carlos Alomar.
Dolphins. Directed by Toshiro Inomata. Sea TV, Japan. In Japanese.
Dolphins. Creator unknown. Short film shown at the 2000 Santiago Short Film Fest. Available on the Film-Fest DVD. Santa Monica, Calif.: BroadcastDVD, 2000.
"Dolphins." Undersea Explorers television program. 1999.
"Travel to the Bahamas to witness the mating and migration of spotted dolphins and then see a unique facility where trained dolphins interact with humans in the open ocean."
Dolphins: Born to Be Wild. Planet Safari, the Animal Planet channel. Narrated by Hubert Helden. Directed and written by Harold Arsenault. Produced by Paul Cadieux. Produced with Telefilm of Canada and SODEC (Society de development des enterprises culturelle). Produced by Greenspace Productions with TVS Quebec, Canada, and participation of Discovery Channel. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Date unknown.
Trisha: One of the most beautifully and creatively photographed and informative films on the bottlenose dolphin I have seen (and I have seen a few :-)).The film provides information on the evolutionary adaptation of dolphins to an aquatic environment and then follows the lives of a small population of about 100 coastal bottlenose dolphins in the waters off Great Abacco Island in the Bahamas. Diane Claridge is the principal researcher featured, whose work observing and identifying this population will be used to help the Bahamanian government regulate whale- and dolphin-watching.
Group size and social behavior are discussed, including the unusual babysitting of young dolphins by two adult males. Distinctive feeding behaviors are also discussed, as well as what chuffing, tail-slapping, and other behaviors may mean (there are many possibilities and no certain conclusions).
Dolphins: A Cry for Help. Wildlife Images International, 1989. Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA, (800) 554-9862. 26 minutes.
"Dolphins are marine mammals whose intelligence and sociability have long intrigued and bemused humans. Yet every year, thousands of these amiable and friendly creatures are wantonly killed through human carelessness and disregard. Perhaps most often, they are hapless victims of the fisherman's net. [This video] takes viewers to the waters off the coast of Brazil in South America and to the Indian Ocean to study dolphin behavior in its natural habitat. The different locations also offer examples of the different types of interactions that humans have with these unique and endearing deep-sea creatures."The written text included with the video also includes viewing objectives, key words and terms, and discussion topics for pre- and post-viewing.
Dolphins: Close Encounters. From the Nature series on U.S. public television (PBS). Hosted by George Page. Produced and directed by Wolfgang Bayer. Written by Barry Clark. A Wolfgang Bayer Production in association with Thirteen/WNET and Granada Television, Ltd., 1992. Available from WNET, (800) 336-1917.
Examines humankind's relationship with dolphins and the controversy over holding them captive. Includes footage of the following dolphins and researchers: spinner dolphins; Monkey Mia bottlenose dolphins and Rachel Smolker's research on the latter; bottlenose dolphins cooperating with fishermen in southeastern Brazil; JoJo (a lone bottlenose dolphin in the southern Bahamas) and his human friend Dean Bernal; Ken Norris and his research with Pacific white-sided dolphins at Long Marine Lab, Santa Cruz, California; Louis Herman and his research with bottlenose dolphins at Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lab, Honolulu, Hawaii; Ken Marten and Project Delphis at Sea Life Park, Hawaii; Diana Reiss and her research with bottlenose dolphins at Marine World Africa USA, Vallejo, California; Denise Herzing and her research with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins in the Bahamas; Randy Wells and his research with wild bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Brad Andrews, spokesperson for Sea World, speaks in favor of captivity, and Ric O'Barry speaks against captivity. Captive swim-with programs are also explored.Trisha: Excellent overview.
Dolphins: Home to the Sea. Discovery Channel in Europe. 1993.
About the Into the Blue dolphin rehabilitation-and-release project, in which dolphins Rocky, Missie, and Silver were released off West Caicos Island on September 7, 1991.
Dolphins: Minds in the Water. Christopher Carson. (Won Oscar.)
Dolphins: Our Friends from the Sea. Nature Series. AIMS Media, Inc., 1986. Distributed by Diamond Entertainment Corporation, Anaheim, California, USA. Ages 6-12. 13 minutes. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com.
"What separates dolphins from fish? How are they trained? How are they caught and brought to oceanariums? Live-action footage and animation [shows the anatomy, physiology, and activities of dolphins] answer these questions and more. Live action shows dolphins being trained with whistles, hand signals, and rewards. The great care taken in capturing dolphins and bringing them to an oceanarium is documented." [Trisha: If you are interested in the whole picture, not just the oceanarium-industry version, see the video A Fall from Freedom, which documents the kinds of trauma sustained by cetaceans during capture attempts.]
Dolphins--The Ride. Directed and filmed by Bob Talbot. Imax Corporation and New Wave International. Forthcoming late 1997.
"Imax Corporation and New Wave International, the world's largest producer of ride simulation films, have begun principal photography on location in Roatan, Honduras of a new cutting-edge, live-action immersive experience, Dolphins--The Ride. To be produced by NWI, the film will be distributed by Imax for exclusive exhibition worldwide . . . on the IMAX(R) Ridefilm(TM) motion simulation system."Directed and filmed by world-renowned marine cinematographer Bob Talbot, the film will explore the splendor of dolphins, their environment, intelligence and playfulness in a spectacular ride through coral reefs and a shipwreck-setting in the majestic Caribbean waters. Talbot says the film will enable the viewer to feel as if they are a dolphin, both visually and through motion. 'This is a wonderful way to use technology to put people in the animal's world,' he says. 'It is a tremendous opportunity for the audience to actually become the animal and experience other animals in a way which has never been done before.'
"The four minute simulator ride will provide a natural, immersive, underwater experience for people of all ages at a broad spectrum of educational and entertainment locations.
. . .
"The 18-passenger IMAX Ridefilm motion simulator, with its patented orthogonal motion base, has a 180-degree wrap-around screen that totally immerses riders in the film action and gives them the sensation of being in the movie . . . "
Dolphins: The Wild Side. Narrated by Stacy Keach. Directed by Paul Atkins. Produced by Grace Niska Atkins. Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1999.
"Supremely adapted to their water world, the dolphin family is comprised of a variety of warm-blooded, intelligent animals that have managed to exploit virtually every aquatic habitat. This [film] reveals the most up-to-date understanding of dolphins and shows us behavior that is often astonishing and even shocking. For most people, thoughts of dolphins bring to mind the beloved bottlenose--the friendly 'Flipper' of television. But the popular image obscures the fascinating and complex truth about dolphins. Far from cute, cuddly playthings, they are truly wild animals. Intelligent and sometimes friendly, yes--but they are also devious, aggressive and even brutal. They are social hunters that have had to develop a complex balance of cooperation and conflict to survive in an often harsh, alien world."
Dolphins and How They Live. Animals and How They Live series. Grade level: Intermediate to adult. 20 minutes. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com.
"Dolphins and How They Live takes the viewer on a voyage to meet a group of wild Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas to learn how they conduct their daily lives. People have always identified dolphins as intelligent and friendly. Research has shown that dolphins are social animals, living together in groups called pods, and communicating through their own language. Viewers will see how the dolphins hunt and play (their activity for most of the day), as well as learn about their mating rituals and their sophisticated form of sonar. The program also introduces a man who works and plays with wild dolphins almost every day, and has come to know individual dolphins by sight . . . "
Dolphins & Orcas. By Bob Talbot. P.O. Box 3126, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90274, USA, 1992. 30 minutes.
Using no narration, this masterful work synchronizes breathtaking film sequences to the ethereal music of Mannheim Steamroller and Ray Lynch. Powerful and moving, Talbot's film artistry is a beautiful tribute to the most enchanting creatures in the sea. Featured are Pacific and Atlantic spotted dolphins, Pacific pilot whales, British Columbian orcas, and a medley of all four.Trisha: I *highly* recommend this tape; it contains some of the most exquisite footage of wild cetaceans I've ever seen.
Dolphins and Sea Lions. Lakeland, Florida: Imperial Film Co., 1965.
Dolphins and Whales (title may not be correct). Assignment Discovery series, episode 204. The Discovery Channel, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3579, USA, (800) 762-2189, (317) 579-0400.
The Assignment Discovery series on The Discovery Channel provides excerpts from films accompanied by questions, answers, suggested research projects, and suggested reading. The programs in the series may be freely copied and distributed for classroom use.Dolphins and Whales explores the "intelligent hunting behavior of killer whales, dolphins' ability to see using sonar, and how other species of whales use sound to hunt and communicate."
Dolphins and Whales. Produced by Video Vacation, Inc. Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA: MNTEX Entertainment, Inc., 1991.
Dolphins and Whales. Pasadena, California, USA: Barr Films, 1989.
Dolphins, Angels and Mermaids. Ashleea Nielsen. Forthcoming from Dancing Dolphin Institute. (New Age)
Dolphins/Frogs. Nature Series. Baker & Taylor Video, 1995.
The Dolphin's Gift. Written and directed by Kim Kindersley. Narrated by John Hurt. Produced by Victoria Zr Cotton. Music by Michael Kamen. Filmed in 1990. Zari Productions, 1996. Available from Lightworks, catalogue number SV2466, P. O. Box 661593, Los Angeles, California 90066, USA, (800) 795-8273, e-mail: lightworks@gnn.com. 58 minutes.
"This is the true story of Fungi [also known as Dorad, Tarquin, or the Dingle Dolphin], a lone bottlenose dolphin who chooses to frequent the waters of a remote fishing village on the idyllic west coast of Ireland. For reasons known only to himself, Fungi has playfully sought the companionship of human beings ever since he first visited Dingle Bay."Experience Fungi's many magical encounters with people--both spectacular and moving. Through some of the most beautiful underwater photography of human/ dolphin interactions ever presented on video [Trisha: this is true], feel Fungi's unconditional loving as it touches the hearts and minds of the people of this little village . . . and see how it changed them forever.
"Through the reminiscing of longtime village residents, share their appreciation for the intelligence, transformational power and uplifting spirit of this amazing being."
Kim Kindersley says, "I swam with him for the first time in 1990. He just stared at me with this 'all-knowing' eye. That was it. Six weeks later I returned to Ireland and made my first film."
Trisha: This is a wonderful film, which contains some of the only footage I've seen that can movingly recreate in the viewer the overwhelming joy a human can experience when swimming with a wild dolphin--it will make your heart smile. It also contains some of the best close-up footage of the penetrating eye of a dolphin I've ever seen.
Dolphins in Danger. From the series Wild!Life Adventures. Hosted by Bridget Fonda. Directed by Stan Minasian. National Wildlife Federation, 1996. 48 minutes. Premiered September 1, 1996, on TBS Superstation.
Examines current threats to dolphins, including net entanglement, toxics, and food shortages caused by commercial-fishing depletion of many fish species." . . . Fonda travels to British Columbia's Vancouver Island, where she learns how food shortages are affecting survival of the killer whale, or Orca, largest of the dolphin species. She also visits South America to observe the little-known pink river dolphins of the Amazon and swims with wild spotted dolphins off the coast of the Bahamas. The film concludes at the Marine Mammal Stranding Network in Galveston, Texas, where Fonda meets Cole, a young bottlenose dolphin that beached along the Gulf of Mexico in 1995.
"Fonda also participates in the release from captivity of Nemo, a 25-year-old male dolphin found on a Texas beach suffering from respiratory illness. Though biologists initially thought Nemo too old to survive, he was treated at the stranding center and recovered his health. Fonda swam in gulf waters with stranding-center personnel when they released Nemo. As the film shows, the experts were surprised when Nemo, prior to rushing off to his home waters, swam to each of the people releasing him, as if in farewell."
Dolphins in Distress. Astro Boy, Vol. 5. Right Brain Publications, 1994. 50 minutes. Animated.
Dolphins in the Wild with Ilona Selke. Produced by Don Paris. Music by John Mazzei, Don Paris, and Ilona Selke. Stanwood, Washington: Living from Vision, 1997. Available free from Living from Vision with the purchase of Ilona Selke's book Journey to the Center of Creation (See the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography.) Living from Vision, P.O. Box 1530, Stanwood, Washington 98292, USA, (360) 387-5713. 30 minutes. (New Age)
Trisha: Nicely produced footage of Florida bottlenose dolphins (shot in slightly murky water), Hawaiian spinner dolphins, and human-dolphin interaction accompanied by Ilona Selke's New Age narration. Ilona's voice and the music are very pleasant, and thus this video can be watched for relaxation beyond content.
"Dolphin's Lessons" segment on Super TV. Tokyo, Japan: Kyodo Television Co., Ltds, 1984.
On Louis Herman's dolphin research.
The Dolphin's Message. Claude Traks. Shown at the I.C.E.R.C. conference in Australia in August 1997.
The Dolphin's Pearl. Flyghts of Fancie. Atari 48K disk.
Dolphin Spirit. By Lynne Winner. Original music by Russell J. Hendrickson. Produced by and available in NTSC and PAL formats from Seaview Productions, 3254 Virginia Street, Miami, Florida 33133, USA. Copyright Lynn Winner and Dolphin Expeditions, 1994. 25 minutes.
From the Web site: "Dolphin Spirit [provides] stunning close-up video of the wild spotted dolphins in the Bahamas. The viewer will feel as though he[/she] can actually touch the animals and feel the warm water all around. Accompanied by a relaxing soundtrack of original music, the dolphins will give you the unbelievable experience of actually being in the water, hearing the clicks and whistles as the dolphins swim with you."Trisha: Very nice, slow-motion underwater footage of Atlantic spotted dolphins taken in extremely clear water, accompanied by a New Age instrumental music score and occasional dolphin vocalizations. The footage is taken from all angles and ranges from extreme close ups to group shots incorporating several pod members. This allows the viewer to fully appreciate the lovely form and exquisite movements of the dolphins.
For more information about Lynn Winner, who is a licensed charter boat captain and has been a professional videographer for eighteen years, and how the video was made, click on the title above.
Dolphins that Joined the Navy. Narrated by Glenn Ford. U.S. Navy Film MN 10199, Title 277695. National Audio-Visual Center (General Services Administration). 16mm. 27 minutes.
Scott: Discusses extensive research with dolphins and the application of this research to people.
Dolphin Stories. Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Co-produced by Greenpeace. 1997.
This series of videos revisits the legendary friendship between humans and dolphins. The beauty, grace, and intelligence of these extraordinary creatures is given extensive coverage in these three videos.
The Dolphin Story. Written, directed, and produced by Kim Kindersley in association with RTE. Narrated by Keifer Sutherland. Music by Clannad. Wrencrown Ltd., 1993. Zari Productions, 1996. Available from Lightworks, catalogue number SV2464, P. O. Box 661593, Los Angeles, California 90066, USA, (800) 795-8273, e-mail: lightworks@gnn.com. 58 minutes.
"Follow Karin Ecker on her personal and deeply spiritual quest to meet and befriend a dolphin in the wild."Share Karin's first contacts with dolphins at a dolphinarium in Florida--an introduction that only intensifies her resolve to have a relationship with a dolphin in its own natural habitat.
"Journey with Karin to a beautiful, secluded island in the warm waters off the coast of Central America, where you'll share Karin's extraordinary encounters with a hermit dolphin named 'Peto.'"
Includes footage of humans interacting with captive dolphins in Florida at Theatre of the Sea and Dolphin Research Center, including Dr. David Nathanson's work at the latter with physically and mentally challenged children.
Trisha: The footage of Karin and Peto, and of the relationship between Peto and the fisherman who originally befriended her, is beautiful and lyrical.
The Dolphin's Touch. By Horace Dobbs. Directed by Garfield Kennedy. Produced by John Levy. Pentagon Television for TVS. Available from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, voice: 01 482 632358, fax: 01 482 844468.
Three people suffering from clinical depression find they are helped toward recovery by a friendly wild dolphin in the beautiful surroundings off the coast of Dingle, Ireland. Story also told in Horace Dobbs' book Dance to a Dolphin's Song: The Story of a Quest for the Magic Healing Power of the Dolphin, London: Jonathan Cape, 1990.
Dolphins, Whales and Men.
On the same dolphins as those filmed in In the Kingdom of the Dolphins.
Dolphins, Whales and Us. Hosted by Peter Horton. Produced and directed by Pierre de Lespinois and Robert A. Fishman. Written by Peter Kaminsky. Marine biologist Stephen Leatherwood appears in the dolphin segment. Crest Films, Ltd., in association with R.A.F. Productions, Ltd., 1989. From the Discovery Sunday series. The Discovery Channel, 6902 Hawthorne Park Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220, USA, (317) 579-0400. 48 minutes.
This program contains beautifully photographed footage of Peter Horton (American actor), Elle Macpherson (Australian model), and Matt Biondi (American Olympic Gold Medal swimmer) swimming with Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas, kayaking with orcas in British Columbia, and swimming with right whales in Patagonia.Trisha: This is an extremely beautiful video, with one of the most exquisite encounters between a human and a whale I've ever seen, but it also contains footage of what seem to me to be inappropriate approaches to Patagonian elephant seals, and the same might be said for some of the cetacean footage.
Dolphinswim 1997. Dolphinswim, P.O. Box 8653, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, USA, (505) 466-0579, e-mail: seaswim@roadrunner.com.
Footage taken on trips Rebecca Fitzgerald facilitates to swim with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas.Trisha: I've seen excerpts of an earlier video from Dolphinswim, and the footage was beautiful.
Dolphins with Robin Williams. From the U.S. public television series In the Wild. Hosted by Robin Williams. Available from PBS, (800) 329-PBS1.
In the Wild is a series of natural history specials featuring celebrities fulfilling life-long dreams of encountering animals in the wild and promoting their survival.Comedian Robin Williams fulfills his life-long dream of meeting a dolphin and interacts with dolphins both in captivity and in the wild. Included are visits to the labs of Ken Marten and Louis Herman, to a captive swim program in the Bahamas, and to Dean Bernal and JoJo in the Turks and Caicos. Williams is accompanied by Denise Herzing on his swim with wild dolphins in the Bahamas.
Trisha: I found Robin Williams's ordinarily very funny mugging about humans not to work too well for the most part in relation to his experiences with dolphins. It is interesting to see him in this context, and I wish they had included more footage where he is not in comic mode.
"Dolphin Talk" segment on National Geographic Explorer. National Geographic Television, 1998. Available in English and Spanish. 14 minutes.
On Louis Herman's dolphin research.
The Dolphin Touch. Narrated by Bob Hughes. Directed by Tristram Miall. Produced by Robert Loader. A Public Media Incorporated Release. Golden Dolphin Films, 1982. Films Incorporated, 5547 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640-1199, USA, (312) 878-2600, ext. 43. 49 minutes.
A potpourri of footage about the human-dolphin connection, including discussion of the Australian aborigines' relationship with the dolphins; Kathy Troutt's relationship with captive dolphins; South Pacific Islanders' requirement that a spotted dolphin must die when a marriage takes place (the dowry is a necklace made of dolphin teeth); cooperation of orcas and humans in shore-based whaling in Eden, which was begun by an orca, Old Tom, who was nursed back to health by the lighthouse keeper; dolphins swimming with a marathon relay swimmer and moving a basking shark out of the area; dolphins' preference for children at the unfortunate "petting pool"; story of Opo, the solitary wild dolphin of Opononi, and Horace of Hawke's Bay; Frank Robson interacting with the dolphins of Monkey Mia; and a brief discussion of waterbirth of humans and footage of infant and child human swimmers. Some excellent close-up footage of dolphin eyes.
The Dolphin Trail. Edward I. Ellsworth.
"Dolphin Training." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
Aquanauts travel to Hawaii to visit a dolphin training school . . ."
Dolphin Warriors. Directed by Louis Saul. Produced by Thomas Hohenacker. A Telcast International Production. JC Media (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jcmedia/). 1996. 52 minutes.
"The life of dolphins in captivity is ultimately a sad one. They live in small enclosed environments. They depend on their caretakers for food and activities -- boredom becomes a problem. And they are much less self-sufficient than they are in the wild. But at the same time, dolphins thrill audiences around the world with their lovable, peaceful nature, with their intelligence and with the relationship they develop with the human population. Dolphin Warriors examines the complex issue of dolphins in captivity, and its effects on their health and well being. It also looks at the moral question -- do humans have the right to control such intelligent creatures, away from their natural environment? The most frightening example of dolphins in captivity is the use and training of dolphins to kill divers, to search for mines and to attack enemy ships as live 'kamikaze' torpedos for the Navies of countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The film contains excellent footage of this. It also traces in detail the release of three of the US Navy's 100 dolphins -- Buck, Luther and Jake. After months of specialised training for re-introduction into the wild, the US Government stalled when it was time to grant them their freedom. Their trainers, led by dolphin expert Richard O'Barry, believed it was cruel to keep them locked up any longer and released Buck and Luther into their natural habitat, the sea. (Jake was too traumatised by his training in the US Navy to be a candidate for release). But for political reasons, the National Marine Fisheries Service, along with other government departments, manufactured an emergency to engineer a recapture of the dolphins. Now once again Buck and Luther are in captivity. And Jake, who was left in retirement with his female companion in the Dolphin Sanctuary in Florida (the largest body of natural seawater of any facility in America) has been placed in a 30 foot by 30 foot pen, owned by the US Navy. Dolphin Warriors takes you into the world of dolphins and those humans who truly care for them. It's a poignant film, leaving questions about the fate of these dolphins in captivity unanswered."
Dot and the Whale. Animation on live action background. Directed and produced by Yoram Gross. Australia: Yoram Gross Filmstudio, 1986. Distributed by Family Home Entertainment. 75 minutes. (Children's video, ages 4 and up)
From the video jacket: "Poor Tonga has beached herself, choosing to die on the sand rather than face whale hunters' harpoons at sea! But Dot won't let her big blue friend die--what can she do? Her search for an answer takes her into a wonderful underwater world filled with friendly (and helpful!) seahorses, unfriendly (and hungry!) sharks, prickly (and poisonous!) coral . . . "
Double Mirrors CD. By Dylan Tauber.
This multimedia project "begins in the unlikely setting of a New York City Times Square strip club with flashbacks to Rabbis of Milwaukee. The work soon evolves to spiritual discovery of Dolphins, Ethiopian Women, and vision quests in Jerusalem and beyond."
Down to the Sea in Ships. Starring Marguerite Courtot, William Walcott, Raymond McKee, and Clara Bow. Directed by Elmer Clifton. 1922.
According to some the best film about whaling ever made.
"Down Under". Segment of ABC Evening News, May 25, 1998.
Trisha: A brief look at the U.S. Navy's use of dolphins for military purposes, including the statement that they were employed in both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. Dr. Sam Ridgway states that there is "no hardware" than can be as "efficiently and economically" employed as dolphins for locating and marking mines and guarding harbors (dolphins are shown doing basic training and open-ocean trials for each of the latter, and the claim is made that during 300,000 trials, only six of the seventy-four dolphins presently held captive by the Navy have made their break for the wild). Another Navy representative supplied the usual justifications: The dolphins live safe and protected lives, have three square meals a day, receive good medical care, etc., etc. A counterstatement was provided by Dr. Naomi Rose, a marine-mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States. She raised concerns about the ethics of using dolphins for military purposes and about captivity in general. The segment ends with Forrest Sawyer (the ABC newscaster) mentioning that the former Soviet military dolphin program became too expensive to run and that the dolphins languished in appalling conditions. Those that did not die were sold to amusement parks.
Dreamtime: The Dolphin Babies Movie. (Link points to an archived version) By Cheeah and Fairoh Carolingian. Email: thebota@aloha.net, tel: 1-800-938-0649. (New Age)
From the Web site: "We had a dream that, with the help of the dolphins, it's not too late to reverse things in the world. How? Through The Dolphin Babies Movie."The story of Dreamtime: The Dolphin Babies Movies is that the human race got separated from the dolphin soul a long time ago, and that the problems arising from this split have brought our planet to the brink of annihilation. The urgency of our movie is the race to reconcile the soul of the dolphin back into the world of the humans. If this is not done, both species will die out.
"The Aborigines (the last of the human race still connected with the Dolphins), in the Dreamtime, send out the urgent message via the dijerido. Eight people 'hear' it in their dreams and respond. Together, they set out to achieve the Dolphin-Human reunion. Our guys try every way, then learn there is only one way remaining to get the dolphins and human races back together: by breeding dolphins and humans!
"Since this inspiration came to us through our Dream Muses, we have been amazed at the number of women who have had similar dreams, of breeding with dolphins. In our movie, it is these dolphin-human babies (human bodies with dolphin souls) who will rebuild the world. If anyone has input for this, particularly from dreams involving either aborigines or breeding with dolphins, please let us know. You may be a conduit for the reunion of the dolphin and human species.
"We are accepting apprentices in both writing and research to participate . . . in the conception, growing, and birth of Dreamtime: The Dolphin Babies Movie. If dolphins, babies or movies call you, contact us. As we say in Hawaii, we'll 'talk story.'"
Dying to Please: The Dolphin Dilemma. Narrated by Michael Landon. Produced and directed by Julie Sperling and Douglas Freilich. Biosphere Films, 1990. Biosphere Films, 151 Fields Lane, Peekskill, New York 10566, USA, (914) 739-4983. 60 minutes.
Takes a hard look at the issues involved with captive-dolphin swim programs. Is swimming with dolphins educational as the proponents claim, or are the programs actually a dangerous form of miseducation?
Earth Journeys. "Dolphin/Whale Encounter" segment. Hosted by Ali MacGraw. The Travel Channel.
Earth Journeys is a 29-part ecotourism series, which begins airing on The Travel Channel on August 1, 1996.The segment "Dolphin/Whale Encounter" explores a variety of places around the world where humans interact with cetaceans and the proper way to do so.
The Earthtrust Driftnet Expedition. Produced by Earthtrust. 25 minutes.
Shows entanglement of marine mammals and birds in driftnets.
Ecco The Dolphin. Also available in a simplified form as Ecco-Junior. Sega of America. Ages 7-12. For an everything-you-want-to-know-about-Ecco Web site, click here (Link points to an archived version). For a detailed guide to Ecco, see Ryan Lockhart, Ecco The Dolphin: Versus Books Official Perfect Guide (Versus Books, 2000) (for a description of contents, see the entry for this book in the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography).
From the publisher: "Sega Entertainment takes you on a deep-sea quest with Ecco the Dolphin, an enhanced version of the original title. Ecco has lost his pod family and his friends to an evil vortex. He must search the oceans for them using his sonar to get clues from dolphins and killer whales. Amidst the beauty of the oceans, Ecco must be careful of dangerous sharks and stinging jellyfish."Explore over 30 dangerous levels, with higher resolution graphics, and three levels of difficulty. Ecco uncovers hidden routes and travels back in time to battle prehistoric sea creatures. Helpful messages are held in crystal glyphs and a hidden library of treasures reveals the secret to the vortex."
Doug Cuvein (cuvein@aol.com): Ecco is a series of games in which you play a dolphin trying to save the world. They involve a lot of puzzle solving (not the blood and guts that seem to be the basic ingredient of games today). The first game has your pod abducted by an alien force (possibly the same force/entity that destroyed Atlantis). You try to rescue your pod before they are consumed by this alien force. It's really good. You journey through time and make friends with an entity that has the power to help (unfortunately you must go through time to retrieve something that the being lost; he doesn't remember that you took it).
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. Developed by Apaloosa. Sega. Forthcoming 2000. For an everything-you-want-to-know-about-Ecco Web site, click here (Link points to an archived version). For a detailed guide to Ecco, see Ryan Lockhart, Ecco The Dolphin: Versus Books Official Perfect Guide (Versus Books, 2000)(for a description of contents, see the entry for this book in the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography).
From a preview by Greg Orlando of Daily Radar (www.dailyradar.com/previews/game_preview_437.html): " Oh to be under the sea . . . The lovable dolphin Ecco makes his triumphant return to Sega's shores -- and his greatest adventure to date will play out on the Dreamcast."Sega and Apaloosa are keeping the plot of Ecco The Dolphin: The Defender of the Future a closely guarded secret but have let on that science fiction author David Brin . . . will somehow be involved in the game's scripting. As in his previous adventures, Ecco will be able to explore various lush underwater environments such as caves, reefs and lakes. Time and space travel have also been mentioned as integral parts of play, but specifics on this portion of the game have yet to be announced. As per the drill, the game will feature various puzzle-solving elements as well.
"Initial screenshots for Ecco look wonderful, and an extremely early demo of the game was shown at Sega's "Gamer's Day" press event before the September 9 release of the Dreamcast in America. From what we saw, Sega is deadly serious about making Ecco look (and move) as a real bottle-nosed dolphin would; National Geographic magazine has been supplying the game's creators with detailed information about dolphin behavior, oceanic flora and fauna, and the tooth and claw world of undersea existence.
"Three-dimensional graphics and the Dreamcast's penchant for stunning lighting effects will ensure that Ecco, at least visually, will not sink into mediocrity. Though this game has been a long time in development, it's expected to be shown off at this year's E3 -- and a release date somewhere in summer 2000 doesn't seem all that farfetched."
From a review by Brandon Justice, IGNDC (for more text, as well as screenshots, click here (Link points to an archived version)): " From the second we sat down with the game, we were hooked. Maybe it was the fact that we were finally in this virtual ocean, or maybe it was the way the whole screen seemed to ooze with life. Or maybe it was the fact that we couldn't help but think of that damned theme song from Flipper . . . ARGH!
"Regardless, one thing is for sure, this game is for real. In the pre-beta build, you begin in a fairly simple ocean area, where you're greeted by a huge whale and her baby. Just as in previous titles, you can talk to other sea creatures by using sonar, and it looks as if the game will have a high level of NPC interaction. In our first moments, we managed to get comfortable with the game's ultra-smooth control, and then began our adventure with a cool sequence where we had to rally a few other dolphins to help rescue the baby whale after an undersea quake. We then followed the game's subtle clues as to our next logical step, and before long were swimming and solving with the best of 'em. The game already incorporates a ton of in-game cut scenes, and promises to be driven heavily by plot.
"But it will also feature a fuel of a much more powerful variety: imagination. Says Csaszar, 'The Dreamcast hardware and software allow our designers and developers to create incredible richness of the natural underwater environment and nearly realistic smoothness of animation and behavior for the dolphins and other creatures who populate this game. Instead of struggling with the technical limitations of the hardware platform (which was a typical way of life while developing for earlier video game platforms) this time the creative team is trying to do its best to fully use the strong features built in this super capable machine.'
"And the fruits of this enhanced labor are already paying off nicely. Classic elements such as charging, songs, and making your way to the surface have returned, as well as Ecco's morphing abilities. We're told that you will actually be able to change forms into just about any creature found underwater if you're clever, which almost gives this game a limitless value as an exploration title. The environments are both expansive and creative and, as you can see from some of these new screens, rival even BioWare's freakish landscapes found in the upcoming MDK2.
"You'll really be hard-pressed to avoid getting lost in the scenery at least once or twice per area, but don't get too caught up - these waters are full of untold evils. No, no, I'm not talking about tuna nets or Old Navy commericals. I'm talking sharks, jelly fish, and other dolphins. The game's early action sequences can be anything from hit-and-run nose ramming action to a more Metal Gear Solid-style encounter, such as one we were treated to where you have to sound an alarm to distract a compound's guards, then open a near-by door and rush your way to the door before it closes. And from what we're told, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Once Appaloosa manages to fully incorporate cut-scenes with in-game action, this game will have some serious flow.
"One thing Ecco already has going for it are its impressive visuals. As you can see from the high-resolution shots we posted recently, Defender of the Future will be one of the best looking games to ever grace a console, and seeing it in motion was a clear testimony to that fact. Even though he is swimming along at 30 FPS, the frame-rate is now constant and smooth, and you really get the sense of being in this underwater fantasy world. I often found myself rushing up to the surface and doing mid-air tricks just for kicks, and the level of detail in some of the levels is mind-blowing. It's like someone put the discovery channel in my Dreamcast, but I actually wanna watch it. Nutty. But perhaps the best visual surprise was the inclusion of a little bit of classic 2D gameplay in the Dreamcast version of Ecco. That's right. Some segments, such as an early maze level we got to wiggle around in, will be shown form the classic side perspective using the game's versatile engine. Though we only got to see a quick glimpse of this area, it certainly has us excited about the possibilities."
Ecco: The Tides of Time. Sega of America. For a detailed guide to Ecco, see Ryan Lockhart, Ecco The Dolphin: Versus Books Official Perfect Guide (Versus Books, 2000) (for a description of contents, see the entry for this book in the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography).
Cajolx@aol.com writes: "With real dolphin sounds and actions, dive into the deep waters of the sea and try to save the world and all animalkind from the evil Queen Vortex. 3-D scenery and wonderful underwater graphics."
Ecoquest 1: The Search for Cetus computer game.
Electric lance footage. Interview with Mark Votier, who describes the footage on the radio program One World: An Environmental Awareness Program for the Pacific, Radio Australia.
Transcription of an interview with Mark Votier, a British freelance filmmaker who was permitted by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research to video the Japanese whaling fleet in operation during the 1992/93 Antarctic season. Mark subsequently released his graphic footage of the suffering endured by minke whales speared by electric lance and was sued by the Institute for breach of contract. When asked why he took this action, he said "The moral obligation to release the pictures, so that authorities around the world could see them and judge for themselves, I felt was much greater than any contractual obligation to the Japanese authorities not to release the information. Indeed if I'd been complicit in such an ugly secret, I don't think I could have lived with that decision."
EcoWatch: Keiko Makes Contact with Other Whales. Reported by Jeff Burnside. NBC channel 6, Miramar, Florida, June 7, 2001.
From the website: "Keiko, the whale, marks a major milestone this week as he continues a long, steady return to the wild. For the first time, the star of the movie Free Willy has made contact with other wild whales. And, it's adding fuel to the debate over a South Florida captive whale."Keiko's reintroduction to the wild was seen by doubters as preposterous. Absurd. It would never happen. But, the resilient whale and his handlers just keep getting closer and closer to their goal: training Keiko to be wild again and go free in his home waters near Iceland.
"Keiko's contact with other whales came just as the winter storms passed. That made it possible again to take Keiko out of his enclosed bay in the open ocean. A chase boat took Keiko to areas where other pods were feeding. With the boat's engines shut off, the crew on the boat let nature take its course. That's when Keiko spotted the other whales. They came closer to check out the newcomer. There were no signs of aggression whatsoever.
"A juvenile whale swam right up to Keiko. Then, they appeared to make contact and swim around playfully. It was brief. But it was monumental. As the pod swam away, the whales paused, faced Keiko, and hydrophones recorded whale squeals. It was clear to the experts onboard the boat that they were communicating. Although, the recordings are being analyzed to determine whether Keiko was also making sounds. Each pod has a unique language among Orcas. And, while this location is Keiko's home, there's no way to know right now whether this is Keiko's actual pod.
"As for the big question, when will Keiko go free? His handlers say that's not up to them. It's up to Keiko. Free Willy, they say, decides when to go free."
Emerging Love between Humans and Dolphins. Available from Barbara Clarke-Lilly, Box 6733, Malibu, California 90265 USA, or from Sound Photosynthesis, P.O. Box 2111, Mill Valley, California 94942, USA, (415) 383-6712, fax: (415) 381-3127. 30 minutes. (See also the Potentials video below for an interview with John and Tony Lilly.)
Info from Sound Photosynthesis Archives: Describes the work of John Lilly with dolphins over a twenty-five-year period. The first third of the video contains historical footage, shot by Dr. Lilly, of his laboratory in the Virgin Islands and dolphin swims by visitors to the lab. The remainder of the tape provides details on the work of the Human/Dolphin Foundation. The Janus Experiment, which used computers to create a third language comprehendable by both humans and dolphins, is also described in detail. Actual computer readouts are filmed in order to make the experiment understandable to the lay[person].
"Encounter" with Dolphins. By Larry Vertefay. Friends of the Sea, P.O. Box 2190, Enfield, Connecticut 06082, USA.
Sights and sounds of a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins in their natural habitat as they are studied over a period of several years. The dolphins can be seen playing, feeding, communicating, mating, jumping, bow riding, breaching, and interacting with each other, humans, fish, rays, and seaweed.Trisha: This is a beautiful and informative video.
Encounters with the Whales of the St. Lawrence. Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada: The Group for Education and Research on Marine Mammals (GREMM). Available in English or French via the Web site or from GREMM, C.P. 223, 108, de la cale sèche, Tadoussac, Quebec G0T 2A0, Canada, voice: (418) 235-4701, fax: (418) 235-4325, e-mail: info@gremm.org. 52 minutes.
From the Web site: "Dive in and discover 10 different species of whales, including the beluga. Prize-winning documentary, spectacular scenes!"
Encounters with Whales. Hosted by naturalist Tina Dalton. Directed by Chris Strewe. Produced by Ross Isaacs. The Whales of Platypus Bay Pty Ltd. in association with Oceania Planet Images, 1992. JC Media (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jcmedia/). Public Broadcasting System Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1698, USA, (703) 739-5380. 49 minutes.
Scientific expedition studying the behavior of the southern humpback whales of Australia in Platypus Bay. Also includes footage of the moving multiple-day rescue of a stranded juvenile male humpback, dolphins, discussions of inappropriately behaved whale-watch boats and noise pollution, old whaling ships that were sunk and now serve as artificial reefs, and tail-fluke photo identification and DNA fingerprinting. The latter eliminates any justification for so-called "scientific" whaling, and the replacement of whaling by whale-watching is discussed.From the website: "This highly charged, emotional film captures rare and never before seen images of the southern population of Humpback Whales. Australian wildlife specialist, Tina Dalton, takes us on an adventure onboard the 100 year old tall ship the 'Anna Kristina.' She embarks on a journey together with a team of scientist and underwater specialists to observe and interact with the curious whales of Platypus Bay, off Australia's coast. You'll witness the enormous rescue efforts by locals to free a young humpback whale stranded helplessly on a nearby beach. In another spectacular display, males battle for supremacy with nearly disastrous consequences for human onlookers. Tina goes underwater with these gentle giants and watches an inquisitive whale approach her from out of the depths. In a beautiful finale, the whale extends his enormous pectoral fin to touch her so gently, like an underwater handshake, that it can only be seen as an act of trust."
Trisha: Very nice film with good surface and underwater footage.
"End of an Era: Farewell to Bjossa." Segments broadcast the week of April 9, 2001, on CBC News Canada Now (http://cbc.ca/canadanow/).
From the CBC News website: "Vancouver was the first city in the world to capture and display a live killer whale, forever changing people¹s perceptions of the creatures. Watch the new series on Canada Now -- the end of the display of live killer whales in Vancouver."
Erazema: The Dolphin Princess. Legends of the New World Series. Miami, Florida: Spin Television International. Voice: 305-444-3341, fax: 305-444-3312, email: spintv@aol.com, URL: www.spintv.com.
From the website: "Filmed in breathtaking measures at the actual indigenous location sites where the 'legends' originate.""Erazema: The Dolphin Princess, one of the most enduring legends, tells of a beautiful young maiden who would serenade the dolphins under the moonlight, and is soon confronted by a dolphin that changes into a handsome young man who would enchant the Indian maiden and become her lover."
Exotic Islands television program. Special Edition: "Asia & Australia." 1999
"Return to Asia and Australia to . . . feed the dolphins on Moreton Island."Exotic Islands television program. Episode: "Azores." 1999.
"Host Hunter Reno . . . goes whale watching on Faial during her stay in the Azores."Exotic Islands television program. Episode: "Honduran Bay Islands." 1999.
"Off the coast of Central America, discover a relaxing way of life in the Honduran Bay Islands . . . Go underwater for an unforgettable time with a couple of frisky dolphins."Exotic Islands television program. Episode: "Moreton Island." 1999
"Take off for a laid back Australian-style adventure with Hunter Reno. Scuba dive amidst the Tangalooma wrecks and then stop off to feed the dolphins . . ."
Eye of a Dolphin. By Horace Dobbs. Directed by Laurie Emberson for BBC TV Plymouth, England. Produced by David Pritchard.
A film, which set out to show a dolphin's eye-view of the world, about the friendly solitary dolphin in Cornwall named Percy.
Eyes of the Soul. Directed by Kim Kindersley. Produced by Napier Marten. From an original treatment by Kim Kindersley, Tania Kindersley, and Julian Lennon. Music by Julian Lennon. In production.
"This film is a celebration of humanity's ultimate responsibility to Nature. It combines a series of dramatic images with a unique musical score and tribal mythology narrated by international actors."To the indigenous peoples of the world, the coming together of humanity with dolphins and whales is the fulfillment of prophecy, the opening of a new dimension of spiritual evolution.
"As ancient and modern tribes come together, it is these creatures who symbolize the bridge across time, space, and culture."
This docu-drama about humanity's relationship with the Earth and nature as a whole is seen through the eyes of various dolphin and whale "dreamers" throughout the world, including Chumash, Maori, Dogon, Native American, Mayan, Achuara, Zulu, Imragen, Inuit, and Australian Aboriginal peoples.
A Fall from Freedom. Narrated by George C. Scott. San Francisco: Marine Mammal Fund, 1998. Available from Whale Rescue Team, 415 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, California 90290, USA, 310-455-2727, email: pw@whalerescueteam.org.
"A Fall from Freedom exposes the dark side of the captive display industry headed by Sea World and its owner Anheuser-Busch. This powerful documentary has video that has never been seen by the public before this release . . . [and it] shows the true violence of capturing marine mammals and exposes some of the extreme measures [to which] the captive display industry goes to obtain dolphins and whales."
Fantasia/2000. Disney, 2000.
This new version of Fantasia has seven new segments, including "stunning images of . . . whales [flying among the clouds] set to Respighi's 'Pines of Rome.'"
Fascinated by Whales. SynForest. Available only in Japan.
Fathom. Imagic for Colecovision, 1984. Intellivision cartridge.
"Free Neptune's daughter by finding the missing pieces of his Trident. Change forms [into] a seagull, a dolphin. Touch clouds and they disappear. Make magic stars appear. Avoid blackbirds, seaweed, ominous sharks, octopuses, scorching volcanoes, and deadly fireballs. Seahorses give you special help. Find the pieces of the Trident, free the mermaid, and reach the next sea for an even greater challenge."
Fin-Fin on Teo, the Magic Planet. Fujitsu Interactive Inc., (415) 538-2900.
From a review by Dave Thau in Wired: "On morning break, a blue dolphin-bird named Fin-Fin sleeps on his favorite branch in the Tsubu woods. His eyes and ears--a combination motion detector and microphone perched atop my computer--perk up as footsteps approach, and Fin-Fin wakes onscreen to direct his watery blue eyes my way."More than other computer 'pets' [quotation marks added] on the market, Fin-Fin is an independent entity. You can entice him to do tricks by offering berries or talking sweetly to him. You can also drive him to tears by yelling at or ignoring him. He reacts not only to the sounds and movements of the people around him, but also to his environment on the Magic Planet. He wanders off when hungry and sulks a little when it starts to rain. Over time, he exhibits new behaviors, like singing songs and performing acrobatics.
"Fin-Fin . . . is designed to teach children 4 through 12 a sense of concern for the environment and the challenges of building relationships . . ."
Firewalking, Dolphins and UFOs. Magic Mysteries. Madison Art Center, 1997.
The First Move. Directed by Jason Olivier. New Zealand, 1978. 30 minutes.
Documentary about Wade Doak's human-dolphin interaction project, Project Interlock.
"Fish Face and Turtle Lou Work Things Out." Pappyland television program, The Learning Channel. 1999.
"Turtle Lou is upset at Fish Face. He thinks Fish Face is teasing him by calling him a name he's never heard before. In this episode, Turtle Lou learns the importance of talking things through. A drawing of two whales illustrates this lesson."
Flipper CD. For Windows 3.1/95 with 8MB of RAM and for Macintosh (68040+ processor, including PowerMac, OS 7.1 or higher, 8MB of RAM). Brainstorm division of Interplay, 1998. Ages 4-9.
From the publisher: "Join Flipper and his pal Sandy in this . . . educational adventure for kids aged 4-9. Watch their friendship develop and then help to save Flipper and other ocean animals from danger."Enjoy actual footage from the movie Flipper as you and your child experience this . . . heart warming story. Story pages lead to exciting discoveries about the environment and how it works. Create your . . . own Flipper coloring book by printing out character pages. Participate in skill-building activities including games of concentration, matching games, and picture puzzles. Skills addressed include reading comprehension, vocabuary, listening, classification skills, spatial awareness, memory skills, and matching skills."
Flipper movie. Starring Luke Halpin, Kathleen Maguire, and Chuck Connors. Directed by James B. Clark. Produced by Ivan Tors. Screenplay by Arthur Weiss. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Ivan Tors Films, Inc. 1963. Available from MGM/UA Home Video Inc., 10000 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California 90232, USA. 1 hour, 31 minutes.
"Here is the film that first brought world awareness to the amazing humanlike intelligence of dolphins--and the film that familiarized all children with the friendly [dolphin] known as Flipper. Chuck Connors . . . stars as fisherman Porter Ricks, whose son Sandy [Luke Halpin] develops a unique friendship with a wounded dolphin . . ."Shot on location in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, and featuring spectacular underwater photography by pioneer Lamar Boren . . . , the film was later spun off into a popular TV series."
From the video jacket: "When young Sandy Ricks adopts a wounded dolphin, he gains a new best friend. As the mammal--nicknamed 'Flipper'--slowly recovers, the two become inseparable. Sandy teaches his companion amazing acrobatic tricks and Flipper, in turn, demonstrates extraordinary intelligence and intuition by 'talking' to Sandy and protecting him from harm. But the boy's father--a fisherman who considers dolphins a threat to his livelihood--can neither comprehend nor accept their bond. Forbidding the relationship, he prepares to take drastic measures to keep the two apart. Until, that is, Flipper performs a feat so astounding that even Dad proclaims him a hero--and an invaluable member of the family.
"Full of breathtaking scenery, adventure and wonderful messages about loyalty, love and friendship, this exceptional drama is a delightful film you and your family won't want to miss."
Extra ran a segment on May 27, 1996 on Luke Halpin, who makes a cameo appearance in the new Flipper movie.
Flipper's New Adventure movie. Starring Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, and Tom Helmore. Directed by Leon Benson. Music by Henry Vars. Screenplay by Art Arthur. An Ivan Tors Production. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 1964. Available from MGM/UA Home Video Inc., 10000 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California 90232, USA. 1 hour, 35 minutes.
"Luke Halpin, as Sandy, returns with his gifted mammal in this film sequel to the original motion picture . . ."Sandy and Flipper are threatened by the impending construction of a freeway that will be built on their property. To avoid losing Flipper to the local aquarium, Sandy retreats to the sea with his friend. But the runaways soon find themselves in hot water when they land on a deserted island--and encounter a family endangered by a group of modern-day pirates.
". . . co-stars British teen star Pamela Franklin . . . as the daughter for whom Sandy develops a crush . . ."
Flipper movie. Starring Elijah Wood and Paul Hogan. Directed by Alan Shapiro. 1996.
From Premier magazine, May 1996: In this version, "Flipper is hunted, orphaned, attacked by sharks, and poisoned by toxic waste. Fortunately, he manages to befriend an equally displaced fourteen-year-old boy named Sandy, played by Elijah Wood. Sandy has been sent from his broken Chicago home to spend a summer with his uncle Porter Ricks (Paul Hogan), a beach bum who is living a carefree existence on a remote island."Three Atlantic bottlenosed dolphins, Jake, MacGyver, and Fatman, ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen years, play Flipper, along with an animatronic dolphin created by Walt Conti and known on the set as Robo Dolphin. Robo Dolphin "swims in the open ocean, turns in either direction, nods its head, winks, and performs the hardest trick of all: holding still for the camera."
Elijah Wood on his experience of making the movie with live dolphins: "It's more exciting than I could even explain."
Siskel and Ebert: "Silly . . . stupid . . . out of date . . . uses the same old gimmicks."
Dateline NBC in their "State of the Art" segment on May 26, 1996, ran an interesting piece on the design and functioning of the robots used to play Flipper and the hammerhead shark.
Extra ran a segment on May 27, 1996, on Luke Halpin, who played Sandy in the original Flipper movie and makes a cameo appearance in this film.
Flipper television series 1964-1968. Starring Luke Halpin, Brian Kelly, and Tommy Norden. Created by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden. Executive produced by Ivan Tors. Produced in cooperation with Miami Seaquarium, Florida. quot;Flipper" theme by Dunham and Henry Vars. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Presentation. Produced by Ivan Tors Films, Inc. Samuel Goldwyn Television. USA.
Several of the episodes are available on video, some two to three episodes per tape, as follows:S.O.S. Dolphin. The original pilot episode of the series. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1996.
Synopsis: "When a deadly scorpion fish harms a marine scientist in Coral Key, Flipper uses his extraordinary intelligence to stage a daring rescue. Will Porter Ricks, Bud & Sandy heed Flipper's call for help? . . ."
Aunt Martha & Gift Dolphin. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1967. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1998. 52 minutes.
Aunt Martha synopsis: "Flipper's love and kindness wins everyone over! Can three bachelors and a dolphin deal with a surprise visit from Aunt Martha? Watch the fun unfold as the boys' rich uptight aunt tries to turn them into proper fashionable young men -- minus one dolphin."
Gift Dolphin synopsis: "The Crown Prince of Rugat visits Coral Key and flips out over Flipper. Will Bud be forced to give his [Flipper] away to keep the prince happy? It's up to Flipper to keep his friends out of trouble and keep his home in Coral Key."
Deep Waters & A Whale Ahoy. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1996. 52 minutes.
Deep Waters synopsis: "While exploring colorful underwater life, Ulla and Potter Ricks' submarine is thrown off course and crashes. Stuck 250 feet under the ocean it's up to Flipper to bail them out."
A Whale Ahoy synopsis: "Immersed in the classic book Moby Dick, Bud takes a . . . dream journey into the . . . world of whaling. With his friend Flipper, they explore uncharted territory and find high adventure on the seas."
Dolphin Love, Parts 1 & 2. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1996. 52 minutes.
Dolphin Love, Part 1 synopsis: "Flipper falls in love for the very first time . . . [His] best-friend Bud starts feeling jealous. But when Flipper's girlfriend needs a life-saving operation, only Bud can bring the help that's needed."
Dolphin Love, Part 2 synopsis: "Will Flipper's girlfriend come through? Will the person who harmed her be found?"
Dolphin Patrol & Flipper Spy. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1996. 52 minutes.
Dolphin Patrol synopsis: "Hurricane Betsy carries a storm of sharks into Coral Key Park. Now it's up to Flipper to protect his friends Bud & Sandy in the dangerous waters."
Flipper and the Puppy synopsis: "Watch as America's favorite dolphin navigates the perils of the sea to save a small puppy stranded on a sinking ship. Flipper races the clock as the sea slowly claims the ship."
Flipper and the Seal synopsis: "Martin Sheen guest stars as a drifter accused of stealing from Porter Ricks. Using incredible underwater photography, Flipper and his best-friend Bud set out to find the truth."
Flipper Spy synosis: "When a top secret government package lands in Flipper's backyard, he and his friend Sandy must stop a Russian spy who tries to nab it."
Flipper Fugitive, Parts 1 & 2. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1967. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
Flipper Fugitive, Part 1 synopsis: "A nasty storm blows a bank robber's boat into Coral Key . . . and into the Ricks' life. The family mistakes him for a good guy and ends up in hot water."
Flipper Fugitive, Part 2 synopsis: "Are Sandy, Bud and Porter Ricks all washed up? Will the bank robber harm them? Or will Flipper outsmart everyone and save his friends from disaster?"
Flipper Joins the Navy, Part 1 & 2. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
Flipper Joins the Navy, Part 1 synopsis: "With Flipper at the helm, the Navy mounts an all-out effort to help cure 'Tough Guy,' a very ill Navy dolphin."
Flipper Joins the Navy, Part 2 synopsis: "Just as Flipper's friendship begins to help him, 'Tough Guy' escapes to the open sea. It's and endless outdoor adventure as Flipper leads the perilous air and sea search to recover 'Tough Guy,'"
Flipper's New Friends, Parts 1 & 2. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1967. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
Flipper's New Friends, Part 1 synopsis: "The very special bond that Bud and Sandy have forged with Flipper will always exist, but they're going away to school, leaving Flipper feeling lonely and sad. Luckily, a new family with two young children moves into Coral Key and makes fast friends with the world's smartest dolphin."
Flipper's New Friends, Part 2 synopsis: "In this . . . second half, the kids unwittingly travel into the alligator infested Everglades, and are stranded when their boat springs a leak . . . Flipper tries to save the children from disaster."
Flipper's Odyssey, Parts 1, 2 & 3. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
Synopsis of Parts 1, 2 & 3: "When fishermen capture Flipper for their new marine exhibit, he's taken far from his home in Coral Key Park. Sandy, Budy and Porter Ricks form a search party and sail up the coast to find their missing friend. Meanwhile, Flipper escapes and accomplishes astounding rescue missions on his journey home."
A Job for Sandy & Air Power. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
A Job for Sandy synopsis: "When a film company goes on location in Coral Key, Sandy lands a role as a stunt diver. Unexpectedly, trouble floods the production and Sandy counts on Flipper to swim to the rescue."
Air Power synopsis: "Set against the backdrop of the alligator-filled Everglades, Bud & Sandy encounter a big wave of trouble when Flipper gets caught in the dangerous marshy water."
Shark Hunt & Agent Bud. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965. Hallmark Home Entertainment. 52 minutes.
Shark Hunt synopsis: "Part dolphin, part guardian angel, Flipper calmly watches over the usually peaceful waters of Coral Key Park. But when a swarm of sharks go on the attack, Flipper alerts the Ricks family -- becoming one lone diver's only hope for help."
Agent Bud synopsis: "A plane carrying two men crashes into the water, trapping them on the ocean floor. As the survivors rapidly run out of air, Flipper and friends Porter Ricks, Sandy and Bud stage a brave rescue mission."
White Dolphin & Flipper's Monster. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965. Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1997. 52 minutes.
White Dolphin synopsis: "Flipper finds a beautiful and rare white dolphin friend -- but also encounters Jed Harvey, a desperate animal trader who's out to make money. Can Bud save the beautiful white dolphin or will Flipper's friend be taken away?"
Flipper's Monster synopsis: ". . . The Ricks attempt to save Flipper from a film producer who wants him out of his starlet's way."
Flipper television series 1995-1997. USA.
Trisha: Poorly done. (Note: all but one cast member was replaced for the fall 1996 season, and it was still poorly done :-).)
Untitled segment about Flipper, the sociable wild dolphin in Karmoy, Norway. Produced by the NRK (Norwegian public broadcasting).
Jaap van der Toorn: A relatively short feature (about 5-10 minutes) in an informational TV program.
Flipper and the Elephant. Starring Brian Kelly, Luke Halpin, and Tommy Norden. 1968.
"Flipper leads the boys into adventure when he discovers a sinking raft manned by McCoy's Floating Zoo. Porter Ricks offers Sean McCoy and his daughter Bonnie a temporary home . . ."
Flipper in "Dolphin Love." Sawyer's View-Master stereo pictures, no. 21. Ivan Tors Films and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966. (Includes 16-page story booklet.)
From the back cover of View-Master envelope: "Teen-age Sandy Ricks and his younger brother, Bud, help their father, Porter Ricks, in his job as chief ranger of Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in the Florida Keys. Their best friend is Flipper, a dolphin with a winning personality and an amazing repertoire of tricks . . . Suddenly, one day, Flipper begins acting strangely! He stays away for long periods of time, and doesn't come, as he used to, when Bud calls him. Finally they find out the secret--and Bud is jealous and hurt. Flipper has found a dolphin girl friend! An accidental injury to Flipper's girl friend brings matter to a climax."
"Florida Dolphin Therapy." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
"Aquanauts travel to . . . Key Largo, Florida, to visit the Dolphin Research Center . . ."
Following the Blue Whales. SynForest. Available only in Japan.
For the Love of Dolphins. Hosted by Robert Hunter. Produced and directed by Patricia Sims. Executive produced by Moses Znaimer. Music by Paul Horn. A Patricia Sims Production in association with Citytv, 1991. Patricia Sims, Citytv, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, (416) 591-5757 or (416) 972-6842.
Explores the human-dolphin relationship. Good close-up eye footage.
"Freeway Dolphin." Wild Rescues television program, Animal Planet channel. 1999.
The Florida Highway Patrol rescues Freeway, an injured stranded dolphin.
Free Willy. Starring Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Jane Atkinson, August Schellenberg, and Michael Madsen. Film by Warner Brothers in association with Le Studio Canalt, Regency Enterprises and Alcor Films. Produced by Jennie Lew Tugend and Lauren Schuler-Donner. Directed by Simon Wincer. Burbank, California, USA: Warner Home Video, 1993. (See also "Keiko documentary" below.) (orca)
Story of Willy, an orca captured by fisherman and sent to live in a small enclosure at a marina, and a twelve-year-old boy, Jesse (played by Jason James Richter), who's been abandoned by his mother, runs afoul of the law, and gets caught vandalizing the marina. "At night, Willy cries out to his family that frolics in the nearby bay. No one understands his cries and moods--no one except a 12-year-old boy who knows what it's like to be without a family." Jesse's social worker gets him off the hook provided he cleans up the mess at the marina, and he is sent to live with compassionate foster parents. While working at the marina, Jesse befriends Willy (played by Keiko and a mechanical replica) and teaches him tricks, which the trainer hasn't been able to do. When Willy refuses to perform in front of the audience, the marina owner plans some bad consequences for him, and Jesse and his friends, racing against time, devise a plan to free him.
Free Willy animated television series. ABC television.
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home. Film by Warner Brothers, 1995. USA. Produced by Jennie Lew Tugend. 98 minutes. (See also "Keiko documentary" and Mega Movie Magic below.) (Also available as a book Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, by Nancy Krulik. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995, and Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home: A Novelization, by Todd Strasser, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995.)
As the film opens, it's been two years since Jesse and his orca friend, Willy, have been together. "Fourteen-year-old Jessie is struggling with the whole idea of family. With foster parents and a newly gained half brother, he just doesn't know how to make it work. But when Jesse is reunited [on a family camping trip] with his friend Willy, the whale he freed from captivity, he sees the way the young orca protects his brother and sister and how their mother sticks by them all."So when the whales are threatened by a dangerous oil spill, Jesse is determined to keep them together. He risks his own life to save Willy and Willy's brother and sister from oil company executives who have plans to separate the whales from their mother. And through this fight, he discovers he is part of a family after all."
Free Willy 3: The Rescue. Film by Warner Brothers. Directed by Sam Pillsbury. Produced by Jennie Lew Tugend. Executive produced by Lauren Shuler-Donner, Richard Donner, and Arnon Milchan. Screenplay by John Mattson. 1997. Principal photography shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.)
In this episode, "a ten-year-old boy whose father is running an illegal whaling operation is caught in a dilemma when Willy and his pod are threatened. When he meets Willy's old friend, Jesse, now seventeen and tracking whales on an oceanic research vessel, the two embark on a risky adventure to save the lives of the giant orca and his family. Jason James Richter returns from the first two films as Jesse, as does August Schellenberg as his mentor, Randolph Johnson. Newcomers to the series include Annie Corley, Vincent Berry, Patrick Kilpatrick, and Tasha Sims."Producer Tugend states, "Our story takes us north of our previous locations in the San Juan Islands off America's Pacific Northwest. The Vancouver coast provided us a different and dramatic look for the film. The town of Squamish offers a texture and reality not seen before in a Willy movie."
The Free Willy Story: Keiko's Journey Home. Premiered on the Discovery Channel October 28, 1996. To order, call (800) 349-8282. (See also below the entry for No Really.) Lesson plans for grade levels 6-8 and 9-12 for study of this documentary are available from the Discovery Channel School.
"What will it take to return Keiko to the wild? Can he be taught to hunt? To speak 'Orca?' Can voiceprints identify his family pod? Join Keiko's perilous journey as scientists attempt to free 'Willy.'"Trisha: Nicely done documentary, explores all sides of the issue (except does not include the viewpoint of those who feel the amount of money spent on Keiko's rehab is unjustifiable).
The Friendly Gray Whales. Coproduced by Bo Boudart and Elizabeth O'Connell. WonderVisions, 1988. Available from WonderVisions, Box 1372, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650-233-0540. 30 minutes.
"Take a journey to the turquoise tranquillity of Mexico's lagoons and encounter these friendly whales. Witness and learn about their fascinating behavior through spectacular photography, including rare scenes of underwater behavior . . ."See these behemoths--close up--as they play with whalewatchers and hear of personal experiences with the whales . . .
"Additionally, discover the pristine beauty of the islands off the west coast of Baja, Mexico, and their unique wildlife including elephant seals, seabirds, and sea lions."
Trisha: Nicely filmed introduction to human-gray whale interaction in the San Ignacio Lagoon. Recounts the history of the first approach by a single mother-calf pair in one season, followed by four mother-calf pairs the next season, and growing over time to the approximately 10 percent of the Ignacio population who now approach. The whales spend time beside and under the small skiffs of humans who delight in reaching out to rub their heads and mouths. Several people talk about exceptional encounters they have experienced, and examples of gray whale behaviors, such as feeding and spyhopping, are also discussed and shown.
Winner of the Silver Apple Award, National Educational Film & Video Festival
From "Whaling" Commission to "Whale" Commission: The Story of the 1994 Meeting of the International Whaling Commission. Filmed and narrated by Robbins Barstow. Available from BTA Films, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA, voice: (203) 563-2565, fax: (203) 257-4194, e-mail: robbinsb@aol.com. 58 minutes.
A documentary video offering a comprehensive, personalized, on-the-scene chronicle of the IWC's 46th annual meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, May 23-27, 1994.
Wonderland. Stamford, Connecticut: Vestron Pictures, 1989. 103 minutes.
Trisha: The story of a young gay man named Eddie and the ways in which he feels trapped by his culture's cruelty toward homosexuals juxtaposed with his love for dolphins and his realization about the cruelty of holding them captive at Wonderland dolphinarium. The film opens with a dream sequence in which Eddie dreams of a dolphin who metamorphoses into a man and back into a dolphin. This dolphin-man metamorphosis--signifying liberation--recurs throughout the film.
Fusion: Man and Dolphin. By Isabelle Bondi. E/Z Films at Shelter, Hollywood Center Stage, 1040 N. Las Palmas, Building 11, Los Angeles, California 90038, USA, or E/Z Films, 137 No. Larchmont Blvd., #277, Los Angeles, California 90004, USA, voice: (213) 860-0026/(213) 883-9566 or (213) 856-2980, fax: (213) 860-0074 or (213) 469-0806. Forthcoming. 90 minutes.
"Fusion is a documentary film that creates a multidimensional portrait of the dolphin by immersing the viewer in [the dolphin's] world. The project is dedicated to allowing the global public to see and understand the dolphin as never before . . . building a bridge of interspecies communication."
Gathering of Giants. Produced by Feodor Pitcairn in association with Working Dog. Ocean Wilds series. PBS Home Video, 2001.
From the PBS website: "Whales dominate the sea as humans do the land, inspiring awe with their intelligence and gentle might. But some whales are also fierce predators capable of stunning violence. Pitcairn captures both of these extremes as he trains his lens on very different whales in both the North and South Atlantic. Along the remote Patagonia coastline, he films a savage hunt by orcas, who devour sea lion pups by swiftly racing onto the shore in an instant of deadly surprise. By contrast, along a quiet undersea bank in the Caribbean, he films immense humpback whales gathered to raise their young, giants who could easily harm a human in their midst, but go out of their way to avoid causing injury."
Ghost. By Melissa Berryman, International Wildlife Coalition. May 2000. This footage of Pacific Northwest humpback whale Ghost is available online at iwc.org.
Gentle Giants of the Pacific. Photography by Al Giddings. NBC special. Eastman Kodak, 1977, 1988. Survival Anglia. Distributed by Wood Knapp Video.
Film made during Dr. Sylvia Earle's year of research on humpback whales.
Gift of the Whales. Directed by Kathleen Phelan. Produced by Miramar Productions. Distributed by BMG Video. Miramar Legend Series, Miramar, 200 Second Avenue West, Seattle, Washington 98119, USA. Ages 7-12. 30 minutes. Available from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
"Gift of the Whales is a modern fable that will help younger children develop an appreciation for marine mammals. Dan, an eleven-year-old Native American boy, lives in a small village on the Pacific Coast. Dan's life is transformed when his grandfather and a friendly marine scientist introduce him to the beauty of the whales.Parent's Choice Award Gold Apple, National Educational Film and Video Festival
Gigi's Legacy. Vol. I of The Blue Frontier series. Hosted by Leslie Nielsen. Produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea World U.S.A., Inc. Bennett Marine Video, 1989. Available from Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina Del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. Grade level 6-college. 30 minutes.
"This is the touching story of a young California grey whale who spent the first year of her life in captivity, the first of her species ever to do so! Relive the inspiring first few months of her life and the emotional day when she had to leave her 'human' family for her natural home."
Go for It. Starring Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer. Directed by E. B. Clucher. 1983
The Trinity boys, this time unwitting ace agents, suddenly find themselves dodging everything from booby-trapped Shirley Temples to killer whales in order to save humankind from a sinister new secret weapon.
The Golden Girls. Dolphin episode. A Witt Thomas Harris Production. USA: Buena Vista Television, 1989.
Trisha: In one episode of this sitcom, Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and others get arrested for picketing and starting a fight with tuna fishermen who set their nets on dolphins. Guest star Dick Van Dyke, playing a lawyer who is training to be a clown, argues eloquently on the dolphins' and picketers' behalf, and the judge drops all charges.
The Gray Whale Crossing of Monterey Bay. Forthcoming video.
"Designed to be both a 30 and 60 minute broadcast quality video focusing on the question of how, when, where, and why the Gray Whale population crosses Monterey Bay. The principal investigator for this project is James Harvey of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a consortia of seven California State University campuses. Harvey is a marine mammal specialist who has conducted considerable research on Gray Whales.""The Gray Whale Crossing of Monterey Bay is to be the first in a series of video tapes on the natural history of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. It is hoped that the series will be commercially viable and be the result of an on-going collaboration with the marine laboratories and aquarium in the Monterey Bay area."
Gray Whales with Christopher Reeve. From the U.S. public television series In the Wild. Hosted by Christopher Reeve. Available from PBS, (800) 329-PBS1.
In the Wild is a series of natural history specials featuring celebrities fulfilling life-long dreams of encountering animals in the wild and promoting their survival.Actor Christopher Reeve traces the migration route of the gray whale, following its 10,000-mile journey from the Arctic Circle to Mexico's Baja Peninsula, ultimately encountering the giant animal close up. Its behavior is examined, including breaching.
"The Great Atlantic Crossing." Adventure Bound television program. 1999.
"Start a 12-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean at St. Helena where Napoleon was imprisoned 1180 miles away from Africa's mainland. Across the ocean, learn the language of whales . . ."
Great Barrier Reef; Kakadu. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
"Australia is known for its beautiful wildlife sanctuaries both underwater and on land. From dolphins to sharks, Australia's Great Barrier Reef is full of danger and beauty. Covering over 17,000 square miles, the Kakadu Park is Australia's largest wildlife sanctuary."
Great Country Inns. "The Roche Harbor Resort - Washington" episode. The Learning Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
In this episode, the Roche Harbor Resort, which is located on San Juan Harbor Island, Washington, is featured, along with a visit to the Whale Museum.
The Great Whales. Narrated by Alexander Scourby. Written, produced, and directed by Nicholas Noxon (nnoxon@flash.net). Washington, D.C., USA: National Geographic Society, 1978. P.O. Box 1640, Washington, D.C. 20013-1640, USA, (800) 343-6610.
Emmy-Award-winning film which introduced U.S. public-broadcasting audiences to actual whaling footage and to killer, blue, humpback, and gray whales (the latter allowing themselves to be touched for the first time). Close-up footage of a blue whale eye.
Greenpeace: Voyages to Save the Whales. 53 minutes.
Offers a brief history of modern whaling and the International Whaling Commission, and tells the story of two historic Greenpeace expeditions.Winner of five film festival awards including the American Film Festival and the Canadian Film Awards.
"Grey Nurse Dive Training." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
"Aquanauts travel to Australia to swim with the grey nurse shark [and] to Brazil to communicate with spinner dolphins . . ."
Grey Whale. By Lucerne. 16mm. 22 minutes.
"This program offers a new perspective on our efforts to track and learn more about whales -- mainly through a project that involves attaching radio transmitters to active baby whales."
Harbor Seal and Gray Whale. By First Breath. Acorn Media Publishing, 1998. 50 minutes.
Harmonics of Peace. By Katryn Lavanture. Spirit of the Dolphin Journeys, 81 Wild Cherry Lane, Marietta, PA 17547(temporary address), 800-414-7763, email: dolfun@paonline.com. 45 minutes.
From the cover: "Some of the most common responses people have when swimming with dolphins are feelings of joy, deep peace, wonder, bliss, a sense of well-being. These same responses can be elicited through the video medium. I have seen people enchanted and mesmerized with dolphin images, unable to stop watching their beauty, grace, and playfulness. For these people to then find they are emotionally and physically relaxed and calm when they finished watching is magical."This video allows you the viewer to enter into the realm of the dolphin -- in this case the spotted dolphins of the Bahamas -- to be in their midst, have intimate eye contact, hear their clicks, whistles, and chatter, watch them play underwater, feel like you are swimming with the pod, see their stillness, their affection, and their interaction with the photographer, which appears to be an interaction with you.
"This video is 45 minutes -- too long for most to watch straight through, but perfect for any circumstance where stress runs high and people are spending time. I see this as a perfect offering in medical and dental office waiting rooms, hospital in-house TV channels, labor rooms, schools, corporate break areas, airlines, and any other high stress area where people need [to be] calmed and soothed . . ."
Trisha: Beautiful full- and slow-motion footage of the endlessly fascinating dolphins and their watery realm. Wonderful sound track interlaced with dolphins whistles and echolocation sounds. I agree that this would be an excellent and intriguing tape to play in both conventional and alternative medical settings.
Hawaii's Best. Travel Channel. May 2001.
Segment on the Dolphin Quest captive-dolphin interaction program at the Hilton Waikoloa Village presents the captive industry's standard justifications for captivity.
Hawaii's Humpbacks: Pacific Voyagers. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: Video Rights Corp., 1994. Available from Video Rights Corporation, P.O. Box 88172, Honolulu, Hawaii 96830-8127, USA, (808) 734-7795.
This is the story of the humpback whale, from the icy Arctic to the sub-tropical waters of Hawaii. Experience a marvelous journey--from a baby humpback's vulnerable first few days of life, to the rich feeding grounds of Southeastern Alaska, to mighty males waging courtship battles in Hawaiian waters.
Hawaii's Ocean Angels. By Ray Hollowell. Honolulu, Hawaii: Ocean Energy Productions, 2000. Available by calling 1-800-754-4421. May be purchased with a curriculum guide for teachers.
From the website: "Filmed in the beautiful Hawaiian Island Chain, Hawaii's Ocean Angels is the story of two sisters' accidental encounter with wild spinner dolphins. This experience changes their lives, as well as their perspective on the planet's fragile marine environment. Filled with tips on what we can do to help protect dolphins and the marine environment, the video captures the essence of Hawaii's aquatic wildlife and our role in its protection . . . Also, meet top dolphin scientist, Dr. Ken Marten of Project Delphis (Earthtrust), as he gives a tour of the underwater research lab at Sea Life Park Hawaii."Award: Communicator Award of Excellence 2000
The Healers of the Sea. By Patrice Heraud. Available from Delphines Centre, P.O. Box 87, Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, tel/fax: +6494038163, e-mail: enquiries@dolphinswim.com.
This video was filmed at Dolphin Reef (captive-dolphin swim program) in Eilat, Israel, during a one-week excursion organized by therapist Marie-Helene Roussel. It seeks to answer the questions: What happens in the presence of dolphins? What is dolphin therapy?
Hippo Talk. Wild Discovery Series. Directed by Ugo Adilardi. Produced by Andrea Maggio. Narrated by Edmund Purdon. Produced by Paneikon in association with RAI-Radio Televisione Italiana. The Discovery Channel, 1997.
Trisha: An intriguing look at the lives of hippos, which compares their complex communication system with that of cetaceans. Excellent underwater footage.
Homo Delphinus CD. Written and produced by Jacques Mayol and Patricia Sims in association with Planet PR, Inc., and Sochi-Sha High Tech Writes. 1995. In Japanese.
Based on Jacques Mayol's book Homo Delphinus.
Hope for the Future. Horace Dobbs. 35 minutes.
Include "the story of the Dingle Bay dolphin, the healing power of dolphins, how working with dolphins has helped many people suffering from medical depression regain their normal lives, how the healing dolphin dome works, the new dolphin research facility in Japan, and more."
How'd They Do That?. The Learning Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
A segment of one episode shows a pygmy sperm whale, found stranded and near death on a New Jersey beach, who is released back into the Atlantic six months later in excellent health.
How the Whale Got Its Throat. G.E. Show'N Tell Picturesound Program for use with the G.E. Show'N Tell Phono-Viewer. Includes a small 33 1/3 record with a story that is illustrated by a slide strip. 1970s.
Human Interactions with Florida's Marine Mammals. 15 minutes. Available from Randall Wells, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236.
"[This tape] is meant to serve as an educational tool for anyone who might use Florida waters and come into contact with manatees or dolphins. It describes some of the problems facing these animals as a result of human activities. Views from overhead via a tethered airship video recording system provide a unique perspective that illustrates physical threats as well as harassment. The videotape also provides suggestions for actions that can be taken to minimize human impacts on the animals. Support for initial production of the video was provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission."
The Humpback. Lahaina, Hawaii, USA: Center for Whales Studies, 1993.
The Humpback Whale. Paradise Television Network, 1993. 60 minutes.
Features the work of humpback-whale researchers Mark and Debbie Ferrari in Hawaii.
The Humpback: New England's Spectacular Whale. Cetacean Research Unit, Inc., and Thomas Keegan, 1990. Cetacean Research Unit, P.O. Box 159, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930, USA.
" . . . a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the endangered Humpback whales as they arrive at their summer feeding grounds off the coast of New England."You will be taken aboard whale watch boats and the research vessel Silver 1 for an intimate look at natural whale behavior including some spectacular feeding, dramatic breaches, flipper slapping and close approaches to boats. You will learn to identify individual whales by their distinctive markings and follow them through the stages of their lives.
"This landmark video is the culmination of 10 years of study by the Cetacean Research Unit in Gloucester whose staff share their most recent findings. It documents the behavior of some twenty Humpback whales over the course of seven years and three generations of these magnificent mammals of the sea."
Humpback Whale Screen Saver. By Passage International in association with Jean-Michael Cousteau. Photography by David Brown. (714) 376-2882, fax: (714) 376-2885.
Twenty full-size color images (640x480) for Windows 3.x or Windows 95.
Hump-Free the Wrong Way Whale and Hump-Free Heads for Hawaii. Kids Core Books on Video, 877-861-4126.
Hump-Free the Wrong Way Whale: "A spellbinding video showing Hump-Free's journey in 1985 to San Francisco and up the Sacramento River. This true story shows how Hump-Free and the people interact."Hump-Free Heads for Hawaii: "Follow more of Hump-Free's travels. With a little help from his new love, Henry-Etta, Hump-Free begins a new adventure in Hawaii."
"Help teach your kids to read by watching these books on video. Children see the words to the stories displayed on the television screen, and hear the words read out loud by other children! . . . [The Kids Core] product line encourages children to take control of their learning and provides them with the incentive to read."
Humphrey's Tale. Narrated by Wendy Tokuda. Channel 5 (KPIX), San Francisco, California, USA. Group W Television, 1991. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, California.
"Humphrey, the whale, first swam into our lives in 1985, when he got lost and traveled the wrong way up the Sacramento River from San Francisco Bay. For the next 26 days, hundreds of people pitched in to save the lost whale."In 1990, Humphrey shocked everyone and came back. This time, he got stuck in the mud in San Francisco Bay, right near Candlestick Park. Thousands came to watch, as rescuers worked night and day to save him again.
". . . Using real footage from KPIX News, Humphrey's Tale follows his story from beginning to end. [The viewer is introduced] to some of the people who saved Humphrey and [is taken] whalewatching to find out more about these fascinating animals."
See also Wendy Tokuda's book Humphrey, The Lost Whale in the children's bibliography.
Humphrey the Lost Whale. Produced by Lancit Media Productions. Great Plains National Instructional Television Library and WNED-TV. Lincoln, Nebraska: The Library, 1989.
If Dolphins Could Talk. Hosted and narrated by Michael Douglas. Produced by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Coproduction of the National Audubon Society, Turner Broadcasting System, and WETA-TV, Washington, D.C. NAS and TBS Productions, 1990. Distributed by PBS Video, (800) 424-7963. 58 minutes.
This documentary contrasts sequences of dolphins at play in the wild and in research facilities with graphic undercover footage of dolphins drowning in the nets of tuna fishers and scenes of the Iki Island massacres of a decade ago. When this video first aired in February 1990 on Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), a toll-free "dolphin hot line" was opened for callers to respond and send protest messages to the tuna industry. The volume of calls received in the two-hour period following the show was the largest response concerning an environmental issue in the company's history. It was not long after that U.S. tuna companies began announcing they would no longer purchase tuna that had been caught on dolphins.
Imagination Express: Destination Ocean. Edmark Corporation. Ages 6-12.
From a review by Ginger Crichton posted at Thunderbeam Software: "Kids can dive into the world of dolphins, bat rays, buried treasure and undersea divers with this creative writing title. It offers the same basic format as earlier releases in the Imagination Express series--kids can combine their own text with richly colored backgrounds, hundreds of stickers, music and sound effects into a multi-page electronic book--but also reflects some improvements. For instance, kids can make 'movies' featuring two kinds of animation by dragging stickers across the screen. An electronic Ocean Fact Book has extensive information about marine life and ocean habitats. Finished books can be printed out or played back on the computers."From the publisher: "Learning opportunities: strengthen creativity, build writing and editing skills, explore story development and structure, incorporate multimedia components into storymaking process, develop verbal communication skills, and expand vocabulary."
Immersed in Cuba (may be a working title). The Discovery Channel, USA.
From the December 1997 issue of Discovery Channel Monthly: "Call it an invitation too good to pass up: Fidel Castro, Cuban leader and avid scuba-diver, invited an American expedition, including Discovery Channel producers, to mount a month-long, scientific dive in the long-protected and closed waters off the coast of Cuba. With renowned underwater photographer Al Giddings manning the cameras, the network is filming the unprecedented exploration for a Discovery Channel documentary."The scientific team is led by John McClosker, who headed Discovery's ground-breaking voyage to the Galapagos last year. As the first outsiders since the mid-1950s to dive the massive coral reefs, the scientists hope to find numerous new species (like they did in the Galapagos), even as they hunt the sea bottom for wrecks from the Bay of Pigs. The venture also holds the promise of seeing indigenous whales, sharks, [and] Colonial-era Spanish shipwrecks . . . "
Impact. "Whose Ocean Is It Anyway?" segment. Narrated by David Lewis, with commentary by Jean-Michel Cousteau. CNN (Cable News Network), USA, December 1997. Available from (800) CNN-NEWS.
From press release: "In [this] 20-minute segment, Impact takes viewers to San Ignacio Lagoon on Mexico's rugged Baja California coast, the calving and nursing grounds of the California gray whale. Here, the Mexican government and Mitsubishi Corp. plan to build the world's largest salt factory. Cousteau and other environmentalists foresee grave consequences to the whale's habitat. Earlier this year, the Natural Resources Defense Council invited Cousteau and his film crew on a high-profile trip to the Lagoon, where activist Robert Kennedy, Jr., actors Pierce Brosnan and Glenn Close, and international dignitaries voiced their concerns and met with residents of local communities caught in the middle of the brewing controversy. Footage from this trip [is] featured in the Impact program."To Cousteau, the situation symbolizes the fate of all whales: 'The example of San Ignacio Lagoon represents a preview of what could await whales as we move into a new millennium. While hunting continues to threaten certain species of whales, the ultimate coup de gras may be the accumulated effects of human activities upon their habitat [issues raised include human population increase related to housing development, noise from the salt-plant operation, and the planned 1-1/2-mile-long pier that might block the whales' migration]. Whales, once the target of direct cruelty, are now subject to the indirectly cruel consequences of purely economic considerations.'"
In Care of Nature: Whales. Directed by Antoine Lassaigne. Produced by Olivier Bremond and Pascal Breton. Marathon Productions/TLM, 1993. Produced in association with The Discovery Channel.
Richard Sears' research on the distribution and movements of blue, finback, and humpback whales in the Mingan Island region of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence off eastern Canada, including his use of biopsy darts and methods of photo identification for each species. Good close-up footage of a humpback eye.
Incredible Suckers computer animation. By Vassili Hurmusiadis. 2001.
From the website: "In Incredible Suckers the animation of the sperm whale was achieved using Vassili's organic modeling routine VooDoo. Hand drawn textures were wrapped around the polygonal body of the whale to create colour and normal maps."
The Inland Sea with Jean-Michel Cousteau: Where Have All the Orcas Gone?. By wildlife filmaker Michael Harris. Narrated by Jean-Michel Cousteau. Premiered in Seattle, Washington, April 17, 2001. 60 minutes.
"A visually stunning documentary depicting the beauty and threats facing the resident orcas of British Columbia and Washington State."It is Mr. Cousteau's first-ever special on Pacific Northwest wildlife, and features never-before-seen underwater footage of resident marine life and powerful images from the brutal killer whale captures of the 1960s and '70s, recently restored and broadcast for the first time. The program is also particularly unique in that all new wildlife footage was procured by strictly non-invasive methods, including fixed, unmanned underwater research cameras and extensive land-based photography, in conjunction with OrcaLab, British Columbia's renowned benign research facility. In this era of 'Croc Hunter'-style wildlife TV, this series demonstrates that you don't have to jump on animals to learn about them.
"This hour-long film by seven-time Emmy Award-winning documentarian Michael Harris [also of Orca Conservancy] airs on the heels of a decision by the federal government to review a petition to list our Southern Resident orcas as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and Canadian listing of both the Northern and Southern Resident populations as endangered."
In Memory of Dolphins. Production information unknown.
In Quest of Hope. By New Frontiers Institute. Available from Insight Publishing, 5814 Highway 96, Yreka, California 96097, USA. 58 minutes. (Also available as a 28-minute video without the overview section; this version is entitled Man and Dolphin.)
" . . . a documentary . . . regarding dolphin/human communication utilizing remote viewing and telepathy . . . field experiments in the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of California, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean. Includes an overview of dolphin/human comparative anatomy, physiology and sociology."
In Search of Big Mama. Discovery Channel, USA, 1994.
Features the humpback whale studies of Cynthia D'Vincent and her children, Storm and Eve.
In Search of Faith, Hope and Freedom. Available from Chicago Animal Rights Coalition, P.O. Box 66, Yorkville, Illinois 60650, USA.
About the Shedd Aquarium capture of the three Pacific white-sided dolphins Faith, Hope, and Freedom.
In Search of Moby Dick. By Flip Nicklin. Flip may be contacted via National Geographic Society at (202) 857-7481. Was shown at Sea '96, the 32nd Annual International Underwater Film Festival, May 18, 1996, Oakland, California, USA.
A personally narrated slide presentation on sperm whales by Flip Nicklin.
In Search of the Bowhead Whale. Directed by Bill Mason. Produced by William Brind and Colin Low. National Film Board of Canada. 49 minutes. Available from Karol Video, P.O. Box 7600, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18773-7600, (800) 526-4773, (717) 822-8899, fax: (717) 822-8226, or from University of California, Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, USA, (510) 642-0460.
"An adventure film of a whaling expedition that included Scott McVay, an authority on whales, and filmmaker Bill Mason. The objective was to find and film the bowhead, a magnificent inhabitant of the cold Arctic seas brought to the edge of extinction by excessive commercial whaling. With helicopter and Inuit guide, aqualungs and underwater cameras, the expedition searches out and meets the bowhead and beluga." Winner of six awards.
In Search of the Killer Whale. National Geographic On Assignment series. Produced by Michael Chechik. Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1993.
Trisha: This segment of National Geographic On Assignment profiles the orca research in Johnstone Strait (in the Pacific Northwest) of Robin and Alexandra Morton, both prior and following Robin's death from drowning due to diving-equipment failure. Examined are orca communication and social structure, the captivity industry, and Robin's development of specialized camera equipment to take the first underwater footage of orcas. Alexandra's present research focuses on coordinating surface behaviors with vocalizations, and she believes that orcas probably communicate information along the lines of "Let's turn right here," issued by the leader of a pod, and communication by several orcas in a pod in succession of "I'm doing well."
"Inside Passage." Pathfinders television program. 1999.
"Ron Reagan and two inner-city teenagers sea kayak in Alaska's Inside Passage with humpback whales."
Interactions. By Jiah Miesel. Forthcoming.
In the Company of Whales: Gentle Giants of the Watery Realm. Hosted by Roger Payne. Produced and directed by Robin Brown. Executive produced by Tim Cowling. Discovery Communications, Inc., 1992. The Discovery Channel, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3579, USA, (800) 762-2189, (317) 579-0400. 90 minutes. Lesson plans for grades 6-8 and 9-12 for study of this film are available from the Discovery Channel School.
"Come travel in the company of the largest animals to ever live on earth . . . powerful creatures of extraordinary grace and intelligence . . . masters of a watery realm where they have existed for over 30 million years. In the Company of Whales is a compelling and personal journey with Dr. Roger Payne (host and scientific advisor) into the whale's noble domain. Eighteen months in the making, beautifully photographed in 15 locations around the world, this spectacular motion picture reveals phenomenal whale encounters never before captured on film."
In the Company of Whales: Part I and Part II. Assignment Discovery series. Hosted by Roger Payne. Produced and directed by Robin Brown. The Discovery Channel, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3579, USA, (800) 762-2189, (317) 579-0400.
The Assignment Discovery series on The Discovery Channel provides excerpts from films accompanied by questions, answers, suggested research projects, and suggested reading. The programs in the series may be freely copied and distributed for classroom use.In the Company of Whales includes footage of identifying right whales by their callosities, humpbacks group feeding, dolphins bow-wave riding, sperm whale use of sonar, bottlenose whales, belugas, aspects of cetacean intelligence, effect of marine pollution on cetacean immune system, mass strandings, Fungi (the solitary bottlenose dolphin in Dingle, Ireland), Monkey Mia, the whale-watching industry, and humpback entanglement in fish nets.
In the Company of Whales. CD-ROM for PC and Mac. Narrated by Patrick Stewart. The Discovery Channel, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3579, USA, (800) 762-2189, (317) 579-0400, (301) 986-1999. A five-CD lab pack with teacher's guide is available from the Discovery Channel School.
Uses video, still shots, and narrated text to teach users about whales with topics ranging from What Is A Whale? to Life Cycles. The CD-ROM is broken into four sections: At A Glance, Whales In Motion, The World Of Whales, and Ask The Experts.At A Glance explains all the features of the program; Whales In Motion is a 14- minute narrated feature video; The World Of Whales contains text that users read while looking at still shots of whales; and Ask The Experts allows users to highlight a question and then click on one of four experts, such as Dr. Roger Payne or Dr. Aleta Hohn, to hear the answer. There are eleven questions, including "Why do humpback whales sing?" and "Why do whales beach themselves?" Besides the feature video, there are also six shorter narrated videos that cover such topics as The Migrating Gray Whale and Body Language. Users can read along with the narrator by following the text to the left of the videos.
The PC NOVICE Guide to Selecting Software Annual Buyer's Guide says that the video screen is a little small, making it sometimes hard to see what is being shown, but that otherwise this is a "great program full of educational information." Trisha: You can enlarge the video screen by clicking on the magnifying glass. Overall, I have a slight preference for this CD over Zooguides: Whales and Dolphins (see below), but they both provide good general introductions.
From a review by Matt Lake posted at Thunderbeam Software: "The gorgeous photography, combined with thorough but accessible information and gravelly narration by Patrick Stewart, make this title rise above the run of educational CD-ROM titles. But they are only part of the story. There's also video footage that fits the typical undersized computer-video window without making these massive marine mammals look like a school of anchovies. And the title's interactive portions include video clips of four experts addressing frequently asked questions about whales, and hyperlinks are everywhere.
"Two gripes: The square-grid interface, which was run-of-the-mill in 1993, is starting to show its age now--the disc feels old-fashioned. And the disc's whale songs make wonderful incidental music--there should be more of this and fewer voice-overs.
"This title is definitely the product of a TV company rather than a textbook company: It's more of a documentary than a reference title. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to see in information stations in a good municipal aquarium--full of information, but geared to the browser rather than the researcher."
In the Cradle of the Seas: Dolphins and Manatees. Wild Discovery. The Discovery Channel. Written and produced by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Photographed by Hardy Jones. Narrated by Susan Sullivan. Music by Jeff Ray. First Breath, produced in association with Devillier-Donegan Enterprises. 1996.
Trisha: Wonderful footage of the first year of life of a spotted dolphin and her mother and pod, and of the first year of life of a manatee and his mother and their interactions with other manatees. Includes footage of both the learning process and dangers for both species and the annual migration of the manatee.
In the Cradle of the Seas: Killer Whales and Gray Whales. Wild Discovery. The Discovery Channel. Written and produced by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Photographed by Hardy Jones. Narrated by Susan Sullivan. Music by Jeff Ray. First Breath, produced in association with Devillier-Donegan Enterprises. 1996.
Trisha: Wonderful footage of the first year of life of an orca and his mother and pod and the pod's various strategies for finding food, and of the first year of life of a gray whale and his mother and their minimal interactions with other gray whales. Includes footage of both the learning process and dangers for both species and their annual migration.
In the Kingdom of the Dolphins. Produced by Hardy Jones. Written by Julia Whitty. Home Vision, 5547 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60640, USA. Hardy Jones Productions, 1984. Available from Ocean Stock Footage, 24 Dolphin Drive St. Augustine, Fl 32080, USA, e-mail: info@oceanstockfootage.com. 50 minutes. Available in streaming video at the website (click above).
This film looks beneath the clear waters of a remote corner of the Caribbean at the dolphin. Journalist Hardy Jones and marine biologist Julia Whitty spent seven summers filming these magical creatures in their natural habitat. The film focuses on Didi as the research team learns to identify and determine the age of dolphins, explores their sophisticated social relationships, and observes the many ways dolphins use sound to perceive and negotiate their environment. It also gently raises a question that must have occurred to anyone sensitive to animals: If animals, too, can think, where does that place humans?Since it first aired on PBS in 1985, this film has been viewed by tens of millions of people.
In the Path of Giants. Executive produced by Gordon Freeman. Forthcoming film, video, and CD-ROM.
Will provide "an in-depth look at California gray whales, tracking them by sea kayak, mothership and radio transmitter over their migratory cycle which stretches from the Bering Sea to Baja California and back. This unique operation will attempt to answer some enduring questions about whales and provide a set of documented encounters which will allow viewers to know them better."The project is based on scientific research and led by a team of some of the most experienced cetacean experts in the world. The design of the project calls on numerous filming and sound recording platforms--from satellites to underwater photography--and includes the involvement of a world class open water sea kayaker to track and monitor selected whales. It is hoped a specially trained sea lion will attach radio transmitters to the whales and provide some underwater photography."
"Special effects will illustrate the biomechanics and navigation possibilities for Gray Whales. Likewise, computer simulations will model whale behaviors."
" The documentary will be shot on film and tape. It will be assembled to support one hour and two hour television formats and, provided adequate funding is available, to complete a film version for limited theatrical release of this natural history subject . . . Focusing on the birth cycle as seen from the viewpoint of a kayak and mothership over the course of the migratory route from the open waters of the Bering Sea to the inland waters of the Baja lagoons a wide cinematic canvas is presented."
Intimate With Whales. Narrated by Colin Fox. Produced by Lila Hicks. Executive produced by Suzy Geller. A film by Etienne Verhaegen. A Cinema Director Production. For The Discovery Channel.
Bernard Delamont (spelling uncertain), former head diver for Jacques Cousteau, swims, along with his blind friend, with gray whales, including a mother and her calf, off Baja in Matanzitas Lagoon, visits a museum to view a whale skeleton, and meets up with Jacques Mayol in the Caribbean/Bermuda Triangle where they swim with humpback whales.
Into the Blue. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 1992.
About the Into the Blue dolphin rehabilitation-and-release project, in which dolphins Rocky, Missie, and Silver were released off West Caicos Island on September 7, 1991.
Invention. Episode 34. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
Whale rescue.
Island at the Edge. By Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Available in streaming video at the website. 22 minutes.
From the website: ". . . about the complex forces which drive some Japanese fisherman to kill dolphins. (Winner San Francisco International Film Festival)"
Island at the Top of the World. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Disney, 1974.
Synopsis: " The influence of Jules Verne was evident in Disney's The Island at the Top of the World, a fantastic journey into a land that time forgot. In reality, the source was Ian Cameron, whose book The Lost Ones was adapted by John Whedon for the film."The story concerns a group of British explorers taking a Zeppelin expedition to the hidden reaches of the Arctic north around the turn of the century. Nordic specialist Professor John Ivarson leads the trek in search of the legendary whale graveyard, following a whalebone map. Sir Anthony Ross, a wealthy Brit, joins the party as a means of finding his missing son.
" In the midst of this icy wasteland stands a giant, active volcano, providing warmth to a long-hidden valley. The danger level gets cranked up tenfold when the valley turns out to be inhabited by Viking warriors, leading to capture, chase and a memorable explosion . . ."
The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Universal Studios. Forthcoming.
Universal Studios is developing a live-action home video version of this classic children's book. Gigi Gaston has written a treatment and is penning a script for a remake of the movie that Universal first adapted in 1964.
Island of Whales. By Mike Poole. Narrated by Gregory Peck. Vancouver, British Columbia: Island of Whales Productions Ltd. Distributed by National Film Board of Canada, Central Television Enterprises, Rhino Home Video, 1990, 1992. 55 minutes.
"Set sail and discover the largest, most powerful creatures on Earth-- whales!. World renowned experts brave perilous waterways to reach picturesque Vancouver Island, Canada, where gray, humpback and killer whales pass each season on their migratory paths. Exciting underwater photography, magnificent scenery and fascinating facts . . ."
I Witness Video.
Segment on photographer Lee Tepley and his companion Lisa Costello, who Tepley photographed interacting with and being held underwater by a pilot whale in Hawaii. Also includes some surface footage.Lisa: "Lee did some topside video for three, four, five minutes, and then we decided to get in the water." Lee: "When Lisa and I got in the water, I turned my camera on immediately. Right off the bat this whale approached Lisa, and it kind of held still in the water. I thought, 'Gee, this is really unusual.'" Lisa: "This whale approached me and just literally stopped; his curiosity was very strong. And so I got closer and closer, and the next thing I knew I was touching it." Lee: "Lisa started to touch this pilot whale. I had never seen this happen before, and it was really kind of exciting." Lisa: "It's hard to describe; I just felt this love for this whale. The whale was touching and kind of [can't understand this word], so I started like caressing it and massaging it and was really enjoying it, and it was pretty apparent that he was enjoying it. We were just liking each other. Then I stopped. I thought, 'Well, you know, I don't want to overdo my stay.' And so I just kind of pulled away and was looking at him. About twenty or thirty seconds later he went down and came back up, and then we had eye contact again. We were kind of staring at each other. The next thing I know he charged at me." Lee: "I remember this feeling of concern. You know, my god, what's happening. But it was over so fast that I thought to myself, 'Oh, it was no big deal. It was just a quick pass, and it's really nothing to worry about.' But the next thing I know I look down and I see Lisa and a pilot whale fairly deep, but I didn't realize that she was in its mouth." Lisa: "My ankle was in the whale's jaw, and I remember putting my finger inside of his gums and touching his teeth going, 'I'm not getting out of this,' and I looked up and realized that I was very far down and that I was probably going to drown. I was thinking, 'Oh my god, I'm not going to be with my son, I'm not going to live, I'm not going to survive,' and then I kind of surrendered to that, and then I got real angry. I thought, "No, no, this isn't fair; I don't want to die." Lee: "There was kind of a feeling of terror, and I remember thinking to myself, 'She's going to die, and I can't film anything like this.'" Lisa: "I'm jerking my leg back and forth. That's when I was scared that I wasn't going to make it, because my lungs had been deflated, and I don't remember much more. I think at that point I was really slipping. The next thing I remember I was breathing very heavily and thanking God that I was there to breathe heavily and seeing Lee pulling the motor on the boat, and I can remember saying, 'Oh, come on, start, start, start, please start.'" Lee: "I think if this would have happened to me, I don't think I would have survived at all. I don't think very many people would have. I think Lisa's got a great survival instinct."
Lisa: "I don't believe that this whale wanted to hurt me. I think when he bit me that it was probably playful. They bite each other. They bite each other when they play, and they bite each other when they mate. Taking me down, I don't know. Maybe he wanted a closer look at me. Maybe he wanted to taste what my skin tastes like, or take me down and keep me for his own. I think if he wanted to hurt me, he would have taken me down, bit me really hard, and left me. He took me down and brought me back up . . . For those people who may not agree with what I did or approve of what I did, I know that I entered a world that very few people get to, and for the rest of my life I'll remember it as an honor and a wonderful experience."
Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures. 1998.
Segments on Clearwater Marine Aquarium's Full Circle Program (captive dolphin therapy program) for variously challenged children and Busch Garden's Dolphin Cove petting pool and "dolphin enrichment program" (basketball, swimming alongside humans in kayaks, swimming alongside humans with underwater scooters).
Jack the Flipper. Contact Ben Wilson, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Footage taken circa 1994 of the attacks by bottlenose dolphins on harbor porpoises in Moray Firth, Scotland.From a description by Sy Montgomery in her book, Journey of the Pink Dolphins: "Two or three adult dolphins would chase a single porpoise, who was clearly trying to escape; the dolphins relentlessly butted their victim, sometimes sending the poor porpoise flying clear out of the water."
Jaws of Death.
Television movie about is, using footage of both wild and captive whales.Malcolm Brenner writes in his article entitled "Dolphins" in the November 1979 issue of Future Life: ". . . a sorry pseudo-documentary about killer whales that featured some of the most obviously faked footage ever put on a screen."
Jericho Resounding (Link points to an archived version). By Benedick Howard. April 26, 2001. 23 minutes.
Benedick Howard's videotape of the National Marine Fisheries Service public hearings on the U.S. Navy's application for a permit to implement Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS).
Jewels of the Caribbean Sea. A U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) presentation. Narrated by Keith David. Produced by Howard and Michele Hall. Washington, D.C., USA: National Geographic Society. P.O. Box 1640, Washington, D.C. 20013-1640, (800) 343-6610.
This video explores the vast range of life in the Caribbean Sea, including humpback whale adults and calves, sperm whale adults and calves, Atlantic spotted dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. Also includes footage of interspecies mating between spotted and bottlenose dolphins. [Nice video--Trisha]
Johnny Mnemonic. (Novelization by Terry Bisson. New York: Pocket Books, 1995.)
Andrew Jensen, Great Books (GrtBooks@ix.netcom.com): [The book] has a dolphin enhanced with implants by the military for anti-sub warfare, which let it interface with computers, and it now spends most of its time in cyberspace. The dolphin has a small role, but it is one of the ultimate hackers attempting to find a cure for a disease sweeping the world.The movie retains the dolphin, and there is an interesting sequence, albeit short, that shows a cyber-dolphin in virtual reality.
JoJo the Dolphin. Produced by the JoJo Project. Available from The JoJo Project, P.O. Box 153, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies, e-mail: jojo1@tciway.tc.
Trisha: JoJo is a lone friendly wild bottlenose dolphin who voluntarily interacts with humans, but especially with his caretaker Dean Bernal, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Other interaction is restricted.
Jonah and the Whale. Jason Robards. Baker and Taylor Video, 1994. (Children's video)
Jon Lien's humpback whale rescue team [title unknown, as the video footage I reviewed did not include the initial portion of the program]. Narrated by Brian Greene. Music by Roger Bolton. Produced and written by Nancy LeBrun. Executive produced by Dennis B. Kane and Michael C. Rosenberg. ABC/Kane Productions International Inc., 1990. Partridge Television & Video Ltd.
Trisha: This program provides an excellent overview of Jon Lien's work rescuing humpback whales who have become entangled in fishermen's nets off Newfoundland and his studies of the acoustic properties of these nets that make them detectable. Also briefly considers Lien's creation of alarms to attach to the nets to make them more noticeable to the whales.
Journeys: Dolphin Dynamics. Directed by Lauren Millar. Produced by Craig Moffit and Lauren Millar. Indigo Moon Pictures. 40 minutes.
"Journeys is a documentary series about 'people with a passion for science.' Dolphin Dynamics profiles marine biologist Alexandra Morton in her quest to learn the language of dolphins and killer whales. Host Lauren Millar accompanies Morton as she speeds through the bays and inlets of the Broughton Archipelago, on British Columbia's wild coastline, recording dolphin sounds and behaviour. Morton tells the story of the drowning death of her husband during Orca field work, of hair-raising experiences with killer whales, and of her love for this breathtaking, rugged place."
Journey to Steinbeck's Baja. A U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) presentation. Narrated by Jim Fleming. Voice of Steinbeck by Michael Hanson. Written and produced by Ron Meyer. A Barr/Centre Entertainment production. Centre Communications, 1992. Available from Barr Entertainment, P.O. Box 7878, Irwindale, California 91706-7878, USA. 45 minutes.
"Loosely based on John Steinbeck's The Log From The Sea of Cortez and augmented by quotes from the book, this video documents the journey of the ship Searcher as it retraces the Western Flyer's route down the Pacific Baja coast into the Sea of Cortez."During their 12 day trip they are totally isolated from their familiar world. They see 12 species of sea mammals, kiss and hug the giant gray whales, swim with sea lions, sight a rare sperm whale and explore the same islands where the reptiles demonstrated the Galapagos effect that led Darwin to formulate his theory of evolution. They are able to see firsthand how 50 years of change have affected one of the world's great water wilderness."
Includes footage of gray whales breaching, blue whales, Bryde's whales, dwarf sperm whales, and common and bottlenose dolphins. [Nice video--Trisha]
Journey with the Whales. Brooks Barton and Alison Greene-Barton. 72 minutes. (New Age)
"In this video, Brooks and Alison facilitate a . . re-birthing process of the soul and explain how they have both experienced past lives as whales, why dolphins and whales have the ability to embody as much of their being that they are capable of, why dolphins and whales are designed to help beings transform into matter, the significance of the 'muddle tree,' the 3 messages Alison received from the whales, . . . God's significance in experiences with whales."
Jungle de Ikou. Anime Works. English dubbed. 90 minutes.
" Meet Natsumi, an average girl with a very special necklace. Given to her by her archeologist dad, the eerie looking necklace from the ruins in the jungle of Myuginia gives Natsumi a strange dream where an ancient jungle god teachers her a . . . sexy dance of power. He also warns her of a gigantic and dangerous forest devil that has been awakened. Now Natsumi has to deal with small jungle spirits, gigantic whales, and armed fighter pilots while still getting her homework done. But when all chaos breaks loose, and Natsumi has no other choice, she breaks into her sexy dance of power, and transforms into Mie, the most buxom fertility goddess you've ever seen!"
Kanzo Sensei (aka Dr. Akagi). Starring Akira Emoto, Kumiko Aso, Juro Kara, and Masanori Sera. Directed by Shohei Imamura.
"In a remote island village during World War II, the maniacally dedicated Dr. Akagi is known as Dr. Liver because of his tireless efforts to combat hepatitis. However, the Japanese government is reluctant to support his attempts to find a cure because it is busy wasting resources trying to win an unwinnable war. Joined by a Buddhist priest, a morphine-addicted surgeon, a Dutch POW, and a former prostitute who falls in love with him, Akagi comically runs from house call to house call in a race to find a cure on his own. The film is adapted from the novel DOCTOR LIVER by Ango Sakaguchi. Director Shohei Imamura worked on the script with his son Daisuke Imamura, who writes under the name Daisuke Tengan. The film includes several beautiful surrealistic touches, including a battle with a whale that recalls Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick. In the end, hepatitis turns out to be Akagi's own white whale, deforming his personal relationships and making him forget his primary mission as a physician."
Keepers of the Forest. Pink Dolphin segment. ZED Productions. For France 3, LA Cinquieme, Rai and other European broadcast networks. Contact: Olivier Lelievre, lelievre.oli@wanadoo.fr. As of 10/30/01, Mr. Lelievre was requesting recommendations for someone to film for the pink dolphin segment in the Amazon.
General theme of Keepers of the Forest: "As a result of the demographic pressure of a world with six billion inhabitants, wildlife on Earth is being seriously threatened. For the first time in the history of the planet, millions of animals are in danger of extinction, because of just one species: man."As they become more and more conscious of the danger this situation represents for them, men are looking for ways of peacefully coexisting with other living beings. People are trying to limit the harmful effects of modern life, and at the same time, create natural wildlife reserves to protect endangered species. In spite of all these efforts, the last wide open spaces are quickly shrinking.
"Nevertheless, at the very bottom, on the lowest rung of this new wildlife protection ladder, there are men and women, often natives of the region, who struggle with the limited means at their disposal, but with great dedication, so that their patch of forest, their gorillas or their tigers do not disappear immediately.
"From Trinidad to Terre Adelie, Keepers of the Forest paints the portraits of these truly human beings, in their struggle to make certain that our children will actually see a rhinoceros in nature, and not behind bars or in an old photograph lost on the Net."
Keepers of the Wild. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. 57 minutes.
"This . . . documentary introduces men and women who share a common mission: caring for animals not only in captivity but also in the wild. Travel to Kenya and see how some of its rhinos are protected from poachers. Visit a woman in Atlanta who champions one of the most maligned creatures--bats. Swim with killer whales and share in the thrill of the birth of a calf. See how the Primarily Primates facility provides sanctuary for unwanted apes."
Keiko: Born to Be Wild. By Jean-Michel Cousteau. Producer/Director: Chuck Davis. Ocean Futures Society, premiered November 1999.
The following information was gathered from an article by Sarah Ettman-Sterner, Environmental News Network, November 4, 1999.Recounts Keiko's journey from the Oregon Coast Aquarium to his native waters off Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.
A combination of cinéma vérité and direct cinema techniques were used, and the work of directing was given to renowned cinematographer Chuck Davis, who has many years' experience photo-documenting wild killer whales in the Pacific Northwest.
According to Cousteau, "Chuck had the expertise we needed to be 'invisible' while filming . . . He was skilled at quietly observing and shooting as the story unfolded without affecting Keiko and his husbandry team . . . [He] was in tune with all the drama and human emotion surrounding Keiko. I knew he would film with his heart and that would be conveyed to the audience."
Davis says about making the film, "I see Keiko not only as a symbol of what good can be accomplished collectively by people in restoring a life back to its native ocean realm, but also as an object of beauty and art. While diving and preparing to film in the tank in Oregon, and later in Iceland, I'd stop and look at my reflection on Keiko's glistening skin. It was like an incredible black mirror. It reflected a human image, superimposed on a killer whale. For me it represented how the lives of humans and marine mammals are intertwined and dependent on the ocean environment . . . As I filmed on the evening of the Newport, Ore., Fourth of July celebration, I experienced for a second time Keiko's power to communicate. I could see the fireworks reflecting off his shiny ebony body. It was amazing to see a celebration of human 'independence' projected on the body of an animal on his own journey towards freedom. At that moment I felt humbled by memories of Keiko's unhappy past. I felt a strong sense of responsibility for telling the next chapter in Keiko's life story in an honest, natural way."
Keiko documentary. Shown on British children's magazine Newsround Extra on BBC channel 1 on February 2, 1997.
About Keiko's move from Mexico to Oregon.
Keiko documentary: Efforts to Save Keiko. Assignment Discovery--H20 Ocean series, episode 205. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
Keiko's Story. The Discovery Channel. Forthcoming 1997.
A documentary on Keiko's rehabilitation. Discovery's senior vice president of programming, Clark Bunting, has announced, "We're going to document this story every step of the way. Audiences the world over were touched by the fictional elements in Free Willy. We're confident audiences will find fact just as compelling as fiction in the true-to-life story of Keiko.".
Killers I Have Known. Ingrid Visser, The Orca Project, "Aorangi" Matapouri Road, R.D. 3, Whangarei, New Zealand.
Trisha: From both the whales' and the human point of view, this documentary is beautifully presented, capturing Ingrid Visser's devotion to her work and its always-on-call nature, as well as the magnificence of Alpha, Beta, and Rocky's pods and their individual members. It also covers the range of emotions -- from joy at meeting up again with the orcas in the south at the beginning of a new season and the return of a stranded orca to his family to the heart-rending footage of a gentle and curious orphaned baby who is starving to death.The underwater, surface, and aerial shots of the orcas, as well as the footage of the common, Hector's, dusky, and bottlenose dolphins all combine to make a very rich and informative film.
Killer Whale. Narrated by Brian Redhead. 60 minutes.
Filmed mainly at Sea World, Florida, and off the coast of the northwest United States.
Killer Whale and Manatee. By First Breath. Acorn Media Publishing, 1998. 50 minutes.
Killer Whales: Wolves of the Sea. Filmed by David Parer and Elizabeth The National Geographic Society, 1993. National Geographic Video, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-4688, USA, (800) 627-5162. Columbia TriStar Home Video, 1993. Available in hearing-impaired format. 60 minutes.
"Assume the vantage point of a killer whale, and find out what it's like to live in a pod. See these intelligent and highly social animals in action worldwide as they beach themselves to catch seal pups, ram each other in play, and vocalize in dialects unique to their pods . . . In incredible underwater scenes, you'll witness their extraordinary hunting techniques in action . . . Watch as a killer whale toys with a seal pup, presumably about to devour it. Then, when it seems the seal is surely doomed, the whale pushes the pup to shore, nudging it onto the beach."
The Killer Whales of British Columbia. Narrated by Kimberly Wright. Directed by John Dee. A film by John Dee and Joe Dee. The Florida State University, Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Arts Conservatory, 1991. Orca Star Productions.
Graeme Ellis speaks about the photo identification program; Ken and Kelly Balcomb speak about their study of the southern resident pod in U.S. waters; John Forbes speaks about the discovery of pod social structure as extended kin groups and the different dialects of each pod; Richard Osborne speaks about transient pods; Robin Baird speaks about his studies of transient pods; a fisherman and a whale-watch tour operator speak about observing transients attacking harbor seals; Pam Stacey and Anne Pabst speak about necropsy of stranded killer whales; industrial threats to their existence
Killing the Last Whale, YoungHeart Productions, 2002. (Link points to an archived version)
This film is a planned update of YoungHeart's 1994 The Last Whale, a graphic documentary of the modern killing of whales, which includes a plea for U.S. viewers to ask Congress to vote in favor of declaring Antarctica an international wildlife sanctuary.Killing the Last Whale will "expose how the Japanese continue to spend millions of dollars in bribes to procure votes from small countries to allow the whale carnage to continue . . . The film will make a strong case for a global ban on commercial and scientific whale, for establishing a Global Whale Sanctuary, and will call on the world to united in protecting the whale."
King of the Sea. From The Blue Frontier series. Hosted by Leslie Nielsen. Produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea World U.S.A. Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina Del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. Grade level 6-college. 30 minutes.
About the killer whale and the misperceptions surrounding this species.
Kondole. By Psychic TV. San Francisco, California: Silent Records, 1993. 69 minutes. (The name "Kondole" is taken from a Australian Aboriginal tale about Kondole, the whale.)
Tracks: Deadcat -- Sountrack to a film that, while it has nothing to do with whales or dolphins per se, the musicians "feel that a certain thematic synchronicity pervades all three [tracks]. Further, thee invitation to score this film came as a direct result ov thee film maker listening to 'Thee Whale.'"Thee Whale -- "thee soundtrack to a film in progress by David Lewis and Andrew Crabb. Thee music was in fact written first as one side ov a rare, free, limited, edition, yellow picture disc called 'Psychic Violence.'"
Thee Shadow Creatures -- "Kondole was always intended to be a trilogy, but part three remained untransmitted until our discovery ov two imprisoned Dolphins in thee aquarium in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. As hunted and displaced beings ourselves, we were all deeply affected, and appalled that such an apparently enlightened city could in any way condone such a cruel incarceration. A video resulting from this disheartening discovery will be produced by Transmedia with Hyperdelic Video."
"Lakes of Palau." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
"Aquanauts travel to Palau to research inland lakes, to the Sinai coral reef to research small coral fish and the Harris dolphin."
Land of the Whales. Secrets of the Deep Vol. 1, Series 1. Narrated by Corey Burton. Directed by John E. McKenney. Produced by Barry Clark and John E. McKenney. The Discovery Channel. Barry Clark Productions, 1992.
About Patagonia with extensive footage of the southern right whale, and footage of bowriding and wave-surfing dusky dolphins, sea lions, other marine and terrestrial life, and the growth of ecotourism along Peninsula Valdes. Good underwater footage of the right whale.
Last Days of the Dolphin. Narrated by Dick Cavett. Environmental Defense Fund. 16mm. 21 minutes.
Scott: Addresses the tuna/dolphin problem with footage of the fleet in action.
The Last of the Right Whales. Produced and narrated by Stan Waterman. East/West Film Productions, 1991. Available from Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington St., Marina del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. 28 minutes.
"To find one of the last pods of right whales, Stan Waterman traveled to the remote Patagonian coast of Argentina. With his wife and young son he dove and consorted with these great forty ton animals in an enchanting series of encounters. Elephant seals, Magelanic penguins, and sea lions also joined the action. The narration is both environmentally poignant and humorous."
The Last Whale. Youngheart Productions, 1994. Broadcast on Turner Superstation (TBS), USA. Youngheart plans to "re-make the film, update it, shoot new segments, and release it for 2002 as Killing the Last Whale." (Link points to an archived version)
A graphic documentary of the current killing of whales, which includes a plea for U.S. viewers to ask Congress to vote in favor of declaring Antarctica an international wildlife sanctuary.
The Last Whale. Directed by David Bradbury. Narrated by Jack Thompson. Available from Youngheart Productions, 187A Whale Beach Road, Whale Beach, Sydney 2107, phone (02) 974 1102, fax (02) 974 1064.
Reviewed by Francesca Davidson, Green Left Weekly: "The Last Whale is a moving documentary focusing on a crucial turning point in the survival of whales, the International Whaling Commission meeting in late May in Mexico [1994?]."Tracing the history of commercial whaling and the extermination of whales, the documentary strongly argues that the only possibility of survival is the creation of a whale sanctuary around Antarctica.
"This is opposed most strongly by Japan. Despite a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling, Japan has continued killing whales to sell their meat in the sushi bars and exclusive restaurants of Tokyo. It has done this through a loophole in the moratorium allowing culling of whales for scientific purposes.
"In order to ensure it wins the vote in Mexico, Japan has promised aid to four Caribbean nations in exchange for their votes and has already begun constructing fisheries on these islands in preparation for the reopening of commercial whaling.
"Interviews with young Japanese showed support for protection of whales and debunked the myth that whale meat is traditional food that all Japanese eat. Japan's fishing industries however, are fighting hard for the right to continue commercial whaling because they fear that once whales are protected, so also will tuna and shark. They are supported by the Scandinavian countries.
"Narrated by Jack Thompson, the film mounts a convincing case that should commercial whaling be allowed, whales will be extinct in 10 to 15 years. As the International Whaling Commission represents mostly fishing ministers, not environmental ministers, and requires a 75% majority to maintain the moratorium, unless a huge campaign is organised internationally, the vote could go against whales.
"Backed by music by Yothu Yindi, Olivia Newton John, Midnight Oil and others, the video conveys the urgency of the situation with graphic shots of whale killing and a comprehensive array of interviews with environmentalists from Greenpeace, the United Nations and elsewhere.
"Although the film conveys the information and the urgency of the situation, it left me feeling powerless against Japanese corporate interests rather than empowered to fight on, especially given that there remain less than four weeks until the meeting in Mexico. The focus on this meeting made me feel faced with a fait accompli. There should perhaps have been more of a focus on the campaign to save whales. Nevertheless, the video makes a huge impact and makes it clear we must act now."
"Leave It to Beaver". Dateline NBC segment 9/17/97 and 6/5/98. A National Geographic Explorer exclusive. Produced by Jon Dann. Transcript and/or videotape available from (800) 420-2626.
Marine biology professor Jim Harvey and sea lion trainer Jenifer Hurley speak about their work on the Sea Lion Whale Filming Project, training the California male sea lion Beaver and female sea lion Saki to videotape and attach radio transmitters to humpback, gray, and blue whales. Footage of one of Beaver's first ocean trials is shown.Whales are described as having "huge complex brains" and "ancient languages and customs," with "so much about them remaining a mystery."
The Legacy: Building of the Gray Whale Exhibit. Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. 1996. 15 minutes.
Trisha: Recounts the construction of the spectacular sculpture at Birch Aquarium of a breaching gray whale mother and her calf.
The Legend of the North Wind. Story by Gregorio Muro. Directed by Carlos Varlea and Maite Ruiz de Austri. Produced by Inigo Silva. A production of Episa and Euskal Pictures International, S.A. 1992. Released in the United States in 1997. Distributed by Plaza Entertainment, Los Angeles, California, www.fun-co.com. Animated. 69 minutes.
From the video jacket: "Their secret was guarded . . . their location, protected . . . and their power, unstoppable! For centuries, the Great Bay of Whales was protected by a solemn Indian pact. But when the evil North Wind sets out to destroy the bay, it seems that everyone is powerless to save the planet. That is, everyone except young Elliot, his sister Anne and their Indian friend Watuna!Life in the Sea: Life Near the Shore/Life in the Open Sea. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. For grades 1-5. 1978. 13 minutes. Two filmstrips with cassettes."Armed with only their persistence and wit, our three youngsters embark on a dangerous and action-packed journey to the magical sea home of the lovable and friendly whales. The fate of all Earth relies on their success!"
Life in the Open Sea features plankton, sharks, and whales.
The Life of Mammals series. Marine Mammals episode. Hosted by Sir David Attenborough. BBC Natural History Unit, forthcoming. Contact: Dan Tapster, Life of Mammals, BBC Natural History Unit, Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR, U.K., voice: 0117 9742255, fax: 0117 9467384, e-mail: dan.tapster@bbc.co.uk.
John Lilly. Numerous Lilly videotapes are available from Sound Photosynthesis, P.O. Box 2111, Mill Valley, California 94942, USA, (415) 383-6712, fax: (415) 381-3127. (See also the Potentials video below for an interview with John and Tony Lilly.)
Liquid Light: The Spiritual Wisdom of the Ocean. By Sergi Ayno, c/o San Tarsicio, 45o 3a, 08027 Barcelona, 343-352-3090, email: oceanjoy@diandel.com.
Liquid Light is "a beautifully filmed and interactive video, with meditation and spiritual exercises utilizing the cetacean energies. It is designed to empower you, expand your awareness of the cetacean world, and shows you how to effectively work with and integrate the cetacean consciousness . . . "
Literature for Children Series 3: Enjoying Illustration, Historical Fiction, Myths, Adventure. Available from AIMS Multimedia, 9710 DeSoto Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311-4409, USA, (800) 367-2467, (818) 773-4300, fax: (818) 341-6700, e-mail: info@AIMS-Multimedia.com. 48 minutes.
The historical fiction portion of this video includes a segment on Island of the Blue Dolphin. It is used to convey the importance of factual research.
The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersons's). Eatontown, New Jersey: Starmaker Entertainment, 1989. G. G. Communications, 1978. Animated. 71 minutes.
From the cover: "Maria, the most beautiful mermaid in the royal Merman family, is curious about the human world. So much, in fact, she asks her friends Fritz the Dolphin and Duke the Whale to tell her about the ways of men."
The Little Mermaid--Ariel's Undersea Adventures: Whale of A Tale. The Walt Disney Company. Distributed by Buena Vista Video. 44 minutes.
"Ariel adopts Spot, a lost baby whale, as a "pet" and hides Spot in the palace."Trisha: Opens with typical Disney violence--whalers launch a harpoon into a happy, frolicking pod of orcas, leaving a baby orphaned, not "lost."
Lolita: Slave to Entertainment. A Disturbing Look into the Dark Secrets of the Multi-Billion Aquarium Industry. Written and produced by Tim Gorski. Narrated by Valerie Silidker. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Rattle the Cage Productions, 2002. 60 minutes.
An documentary on orca Lolita's over 30 years in captivity and sad fate at Miami Seaquarium.Features ". . . Ric O'Barry, Center for Whale Research director Ken Balcomb, activist Russ Rector and his video of the underside of Lolita's tank and stadium, Ocean Drive Magazine's Jerry Powers, and Howard Garrett of Orca Network . . . includes some of the best wild orca footage available."
Lolita: Spirit in the Water. Hosted by KOMO News 4's Kathi Goertzen. From Fisher Broadcasting's Look at Life series. Aired on January 20, 8:00-9:00 p.m., KOMO TV channel 4, Seattle, Washington, USA. Fisher Broadcasting, 1996. Available from Wehman Video, 2366 Eastlake Avenue East, Suite 312, Seattle, Washington 98102, USA, (800) 659-1553, (206) 726-0220, fax: (206) 726-0273. 60 minutes.
Trisha: Presents a well-informed look at the origins of orca capture by Ted Griffin (beginning with Namu), Lolita's present captive circumstance at Miami Seaquarium, the life of orcas in the wild, and Lolita's proposed rehabilitation and release, or, if Lolita does not choose release, her retirement in a protected cove. (At least 30 members of the orca population from which Lolita was taken are known to be living.)Individuals interviewed who favor Lolita's release are Ken Balcomb, Dr. John Hall, Ralph Munro (Secretary of State, Washington), Jerry Powers (publisher of Ocean Drive magazine in Florida), Ric O'Barry, and Jesse White (Lolita's veterinarian for 16 years, now retired). Those opposed are Lolita's current trainer, Marcia Hinton, her current veterinarian, Michael Renner, and Ted Griffin. The owner of Miami Seaquarium, Arthur Hertz, declined to be interviewed.
Looking for Gaia in the Belly of the Whale. By Patricia Sims and Michael Clark. 1999. (The first of a tentative thirteen-part series entitled "Searching for Gaia.")
Patricia Sims writes in her article "Alaska Film" in the Autumn 1998 issue of The Interspecies Communication Newsletter about this "experimental anti-nature-documentary nature documentary": "In an attempt to push the boundaries of the tired nature documentary format--and also explore new stories--a group of animal-oriented non-profits recently joined together with a film production company to create [this] film project . . . Phase one took place this July [1998], in Frederick Sound, Southeast Alaska."The film's premise focuses on two protagonists: Jim Nollman of Interspecies Communication Inc. and Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation who meet in the Alaska wilderness to debate the merits and shortcomings of science as a means of understanding and experiencing animals and nature. Amidst the sublime beauty of the natural world they discuss how we perceive and explain nature through science versus the ephemeral and often mystical experience of wilderness that can lend a sense of truth not always measurable. Their dialogue meets at the place where art and science cross over with the mystery of the whales' behavior as their focus."
Trisha: Keep an eye out for the release of this film (venue unknown at this time); it promises to be extraordinary. For an earlier video by Patricia Sims, see For the Love of Dolphins.
Looking for the Real Potato [Whale] online animation. David Opp. Hearts Crossbone Production, 1998.
Bas Wassink (hjwassink.almere.nl@freeler.nl): "This film tells the story about Cees Schrage, how he became religious. He had been attacked by an orca when he was a trainer at Sea World of California. From that moment on he became a very religious person, together with his wife."The film is partially about Miracle, a female orca who had became hurt somewhere in 1975/1976 and is found and rescued by Cees. He brought her to Sealand and took care of her until she died in 1980. I donŽt know for sure whether the movie tells more about Miracle, but I think it does. It is called Love Never Fails due to the fact that Cees took very good care of Miracle and that she survived a critical period before he took her to Sealand."
Luno Terrytoon. "A Whale of A Tale" episode.
Macross Dynamite 7 series, 4 episodes. Studio Nue and Big West, 1997. [In Japanese, with subtitles.]
From the video cover: "The Battle with Protodevlin having come to an end, the Macross 7 fleet is free to continue its voyage. By now Fire Bomber is one of the hottest bands and performs regularly in venues packed with adoring fans, But that is not enough to keep Basara contented for long, and so he wanders off all by himself with only his guitar as a companion. Stopping at the planet Zola where Galactic Whales are said to come round once a year, he meets a young girl naemd Elma and her father Graham, who is single-minded in his pursual of a Great White White Galactic Whale. The season of the whales is just beginning.Trisha: The whales prevail :-).
Madison's Adventures. "Spouts Ahoy" episode. The Learning Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
"Explore the depths with the giants of the sea--follow the blue whale as he makes his annual migration, listen to the song of the beluga whale, and frolic with the dolphins."
The Magic Adventures of Mumfie--The Movie. 1996. 110 minutes. Ages 2-7.
"The adventurous little elephant Mumfie is joined by his friends Pinky the flying pig, Scarecrow, and Whale the self-made ocean liner on a song-filled mission to find the Cloak of Dreams."
The Magic of Dolphins. By Horace Dobbs. ITV, England.
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep. Narrated by Orson Welles. Sierra Club Series. Survival Anglia. Eastman Kodak Company, 1988. 60 minutes.
"You will travel to the Bay of Valdez in South America where scientist Dr. Roger Payne and his family make some amazing discoveries about the rare southern right whale.You will actually come face to face with a great right whale, listen to whales as they communicate with strange soul wrenching sounds and watch as a whale sails over the deep blue sea.
The film also ventures into the lives of the Payne family. They Payne children spend approximately four months a year in the remote magical land by the Bay of Valdez where they receive an education far different from the conventional education they would receive at home. You will meet each of the children and see how they grow through their exciting encounters with nature."
The Magnificent Whales and Other Marine Mammals of North America. Produced and directed by Stanley M. Minasian. A production of Smithsonian Books and the Marine Mammal Fund, 1988. USA. 60 minutes.
In this video, you will Joanne deep under the ocean's surface to join the world of whales and dolphins. You will follow the gray whale on a 10,000-mile migration, arc across white caps with a herd of a hundred bottlenose dolphins, spot the 20-foot blow of the fin whale, dive a mile down with the 60-foot sperm whale, and view a mother nursing her calf."Species shown include: gray whale, fin whale, pilot whale, humpback whale, sperm whale, killer whale, false killer whale, melon-headed whale, right whale, blue whale, Pacific white-sided dolphin, spinner dolphin, Risso's dolphin, spotted dolphin, common dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, and rough-toothed dolphin.
Mammals. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. For grades K-4. 1979. 12 minutes.
"Using both common and uncommon examples, this film identifies characteristics that set mammals apart and helps sharpen students' classifying skills."Young students will learn that they themselves are mammals, as are whales and bats, and that about one-half of all mammals are rodents. They will also learn about mammal diets and observe mother mammals caring for their young."
Mammals: Whales. From Oceanus: The Marine Environment series. Produced by Peter Buffa. Grade level 10-college. 30 minutes.
The Oceanus series is a carefully researched and produced course in introductory oceanography. Includes interviews with researchers from major marine institutions, technical film footage, and on-location shooting.
Mammals of the Ocean. Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA, (800) 554-9862.
Man and Dolphin. By Horace Dobbs. NTV, England.
Man and Dolphin. By New Frontiers Institute. Available from Insight Publishing, 5814 Highway 96, Yreka, California 96097, USA, (530) 475-3212. 28 minutes. (See In Quest of Hope for an extended version of this video.)
" . . . a documentary . . . regarding dolphin/human communication utilizing remote viewing and telepathy . . . field experiments in the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of California, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean."
"Manuel Antonia, Costa Rica." Passport to Adventure television program. 1999.
"Join the Passport to Adventure team as they surf, sail and kayak the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The highlight of this adventure is a deep sea-fishing trip that turns into a dolphin discovery!"
Marine Boy. Television cartoon series. Japanese animation. Voiced by Corinne Orr and Jack Grimes. Late 1970s-early 1980s. Produced by Minoru Adachi. Written and directed by Haruo Osanai. All 78 episodes available from Stefan Richard, stefangel3@hotmail.com; video quality is fair.
Trisha: In this dated cartoon series, Marine Boy, accompanied by sidekicks Splasher the dolphin and Neptina the mermaid, triumphs over bad humans and sea monsters.Marine Boy is your stereotypical male who says to Neptina, after she rescues him in one episode by throwing her "magic pearl" at a sea monster attacking him: "Here, Neptina, here's your magic pearl back. Without it, I was done for." Neptina replies, "I'm glad I could help you, Marine Boy." Marine Boy responds, "Well, I am too, naturally, but you shouldn't be here. It's very dangerous." In 2000, hopefully he would have said, "Well, I am too, naturally; thank you for being here :-)." Splasher squeaks/chirps and helps/rescues Marine Boy as needed.
Episodes: Danger at 300 Fathoms, Monsters of the Deep, The Green Monster, Dangerous Starfish, Deepest of The Deep, The Ghost Ship, The Super Mystery Boat, Disaster on the High Seas, Secret of the Time Capsule, Danger in the Depths, The Gigantic Sea Farm, The Astounding Shellfish, The Mysterious Paradise, The Monstrous Seaweed, Menace of the Missing Bomb, Mystery of the Missing Vessels, The Greatest Power on Earth, Terror of the Fireball, Empire of the Sea, Battle to Save the World, The Terrifying Icebergs, The Whales of Destruction, The Power of Power, 5 Billion in Diamonds, Mission at Corkscrew Strait, Lighthouse of Terror, The Invincible Force, Riddle of the Vanishing Frogmen, Panic in the Pacific, 24 Hours to Doom, Attack of the Robot, Spiders, The Great Bomb Robbery, Operation Deep Deep, The Stolen Island, Underwater Underworld, Rustlers of the Deep, Raid of the Robot Robbers, Attack of the Robot Sharks, The Monster Search, The Well Hidden Plan, Flimflam on the High Seas, The Dragon of the Sea, Piracy under the Sea, The Super Brain Capers, Great Underwater Train Robbery, The Genius Dolphin, The Nuclear Pirates, The Phoney Patrolmen, Saga Of The Undersea Lion, The Mini Microwave, The Ultra Freezer Freeze, The Tubsub Tanker Sub, The Tremendous Tremendo, The Ghost of Spook Island, The Ghost of Destruction, The Whale That Blows Rainbows, The Great Plankton Menace, Showdown At Sea, The Precious Robot, Fight For The Rocket, Red Menace, Invincible Robots, Island Of Treasure, Thieves of the Deep, The Wild Monster Plants, The Vanishing Vessel, Challenges of the Pirates, Land of the Strange Vikings, Attack of the Icebergs, The Deadly Tank, Avenger of the Sea, The Desperate Search, The Secret of the Golden Seaweed, The Fantastic Flash, The Stormy Brainstorm, The Gillmen, The Great Sea Escape
Marine Mammals CD-ROM. Ocean World series.
Marine Mammals Ashore: A Field Guide for Strandings. By Geraci, J. R., and V. J. Lounsbury. Galveston, Texas: Texas A&M Sea Grant Publications, 1993. Presently available in book form, and CD-ROM will be released in late 1998.
Marine Mammals of the World (click on "CD-ROM Catalogue") CD-ROM. By T. A. Jefferson, S. Leatherwood, and M. A. Webber. World Biodiversity Database. Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification, Amsterdam. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 1996. Available from Springer-Verlag Electronic Media, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010 or Tiergartenstrasse 17, D-69121 Heidelberg, Germany. For PC and Mac.
FAO identification guide to all species of marine mammals, with color photos, keys, and film and sound clips.Jaap van der Toorn (jaap@compuserve.com): "This is a CD-ROM with basic biological data on marine mammals, including abundance, distribution (includes maps), and natural history. The program also includes a step-by-step identification guide and a quiz section to test your knowledge by asking you to identify species based on appearance, skull features, or distribution. Quite challenging (at the advanced level at least)."
Marine Mammals of the Gulf. Written and produced by Tom Fernald. Allied Whale, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, (207) 288-5644. 24 minutes.
"This field guide on film tells the story of Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic's marine mammal research laboratory, and presents information learned during twenty years of marine mammal research in the Gulf of Maine. It features exciting and exclusive color footage of the commonly seen species of whales and seals, photographed from whale watching boats and on Allied Whale research expeditions. Many teachers are already using [this film] and Finback Adoption Packets to personally involve their students in marine mammal conservation."
Marine TV. Produced by David Beezer. Discover Productions, 1999. 52 minutes. This video and additional cetacean and other marine footage (see below) available from David Beezer, Discover Productions, P.O. Box 1291, Summerland, California 93067, voice: (805) 969-4073, fax: (805) 565-5524, email: beezerd@gte.net.
Contents of Marine TV: Marine mammal rescues, including whales, dolphins, sea lions, and more. Volunteers save animals in trouble and release them back to the wild.David Beezer: "I produced Marine TV for television in Europe in October of 1999. I am a freelance cameraman and producer specializing in the ocean environment as well as a volunteer for the Marine Mammal Center here in California. I recorded (and participated in) all the rescues in the video and have previously aired some of the footage on NBC Dateline, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Extra, Real TV, World's Most Incredible Videos, and other television programs. Some of my work is currently (April 2000) airing on Animal Planet's Wild Rescues and Extreme Contact.
Trisha: Cetacean species rescued include: common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, gray whale, and sperm whale, plus additional footage of herds of common dolphins, orcas(one with a manta ray in its mouth), gray whales, and a blue whale. Other marine life shown: rescued California sea lions, manta rays, and a whale shark.
I enjoyed the clarity and thoroughness of this footage--especially nice is the way some of the rescues are tracked from beach rescue through the multiple stages of transport and, in the Risso's case, reintroduction to the water.
Additional cetacean footage available for licensing from David Beezer:
Blue Whales: Recorded in California and Mexico. Aerial footage, whale-watching, logging, feeding, cow-calf pairs, fluking/sounding, etc.
Dolphins: Common and Pacific white-sided bow and wake riding and additional scenes shot in California.
Dall's Porpoise: Recorded in California. Bow and wake riding.
Dwarf Sperm Whale: Coast of California. Found sick and stranding; dies during transport rescue effort.
Gray Whales: Recorded in California and Mexico's lagoons. Tourists touching and kissing, underwater scenes. Grays entangled in fishing nets dead (including cow and calf together) and trapped in California piers. Gray calf rescued from California beach that dies at Sea World. Whale-watching in California.
Humpback Whales: Underwater recorded in the Socorro Islands, Mexico. Topside recorded in California. Lobtailing, flipper-slapping, logging, fluking/sounding, and feeding. Whale-watching in California.
Orcas: Recorded in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. Females passing dead manta ray. Young male chasing a small motorboat inches from the propeller and seemingly fascinated with it (recorded underwater). Orcas attacking and killing a whale shark (very rare). Additional underwater scenes.
Pilot Whales: Underwater and topside scenes from the Sea of Cortez, Mexico.
Sperm Whales: Underwater scenes from the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. Includes an underwater encounter with a cow and calf passing close by a group of divers, with a still photographer who swims too close to the pair. The female whale reacts and dives deep quickly and the calf in confusion turns and swims at the cameraman (David). The camera view goes over the head and down the back of the calf, then turns to see the calf swim away. Many additional underwater and topside scenes from the Sea of Cortez, Mexico.
In addition to the above, David has hundreds more hours of marine life footage ranging from invertebrates to marine mammals.
Marty Stouffer's Dangerous Encounters.
Includes killer whale footage.
Maui Whalewatch Experience. Written and produced by Michael R. Weber. Creative Media Recording, 1988.
Humpback whales.
"Mayan Underground." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
"Aquanauts travel to . . . Honduras to investigate how wild dolphin[s] differ from captive dolphin[s]."
Meet the Minkes. Produced by Russell Kelley. Natural History New Zealand (owned by Fox Television Studios). 2002. 60 minutes.
In this film, "Natural History New Zealand [tackles] the controversial issue of whale hunting . . . The film presents new evidence of minke whales' curiosity towards people. It will . . . include images from Antarctica, Japan and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Dramatic campaign footage from the international conservation group Greenpeace will also be included."'The problem is that whales have always been aloof and distant and people have found it hard to get close to them. However, in this film we tell the story of how a group of scientists started looking for a whale only to find that the whale came looking for them,' Mr. Kelley said . . .
"The discovery [that] minke whales were interested in people occurred with the beginning of dive tourism on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1990s. Tour operators reported being sought out by the creatures while diving.
"'Scientists realized this presented a unique opportunity to study in detail the natural history of a minke whale species without having to kill it,' Mr. Kelley said.
"'In contrast, Japanese whaling research involves killing the whales to study them and the controversial practice of creating and supplying the demand for whale meat in the restaurant trade,' he said.
Mega Movie Magic. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
One episode of Mega Movie Magic examines the special effects for Free Willy 2.
Men and Dolphins. Filmed at Kara-Dag biological station. Scientific advisor Vsevolod Belkovich. Circa 1982 to 1984. In four parts (length of each): 1:20, 1:00, 1:10, and 1:10.
Thank you to Dolphin (dolphy@tursiops.org) for providing all the information about this film.Dolphins featured: Persej, Nika, and Malish.
Dolphin: "In this sci-fi movie, a group of scientists try to find a way to communicate with dolphins. They try to use a bio-telepathy tool with a dolphin who lives in an isolated room with one woman. Using a videotape, they show the dolphin a land-based world, and they wait for a response. But the bio-telepathy tool reveals chaos . . .
"At another place there is an accident in the mountains with two alpinists. One of them falls down and dies, while another one tries to help but runs by mistake to the wrong side of the rock. Not knowing he has made an honest mistake, everyone thinks he is a coward. He visits the dolphin laboratory, trying to talk to the woman there (they know each other), but it is a closed experiment and he does not have permission to be there.
"From this point on, interesting things begin to happen. The woman begins to have strange nightmares. She sees again the accident and then parts of movies she used to show to the dolphin. And the bio-telepathy tool registers the same pictures, at the same time, that the woman sees in her nightmares.
"The dolphin 'sees' the dream the woman has (by telepathy) and understands that the alpinist was not cowardly, but rather was fooled by the mountain's echo, and he tries to explain it to the woman by 'sending' her those dreams.
"There are also several side-stories in the movie.
"Please note that this description is from memory, and other than the dolphins' names I can't guarantee that it is 100% accurate."
Message from the Dolphin Elders. Daniel McCulloch. McCulloch website: www.dolphinsynergy.com.
This video of Bimini spotted dolphins seems to be shown only at presentations McCulloch gives and is not for sale.
Message from the Whales. Japan.
I found a reference to this tentatively titled orca feature-film project in Rex Wyler's book about Paul Spong, Song of the Whales. I don't know if it was ever actually produced. The message was to have been brief: Give us space.
The Mighty River. By Frédéric Back and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Narrated by Donald Sutherland. Grades 6-adult. 24 minutes. Available from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
"Created by the Oscar-winning illustrator of The Man Who Planted Trees, this animated film wondrously recreates the grace, beauty and tragedy of nature, presenting a passionate lesson about human impact on our fragile natural resources. Using the St. Lawrence River as its focus, The Mighty River traces the history of this majestic waterway, from its natural beginnings through its early use by native people and European settlers to the present day. Colors, forms, and images seamlessly flow together, blended with poetic narration and evocative music. The river is portrayed as one of nature's most glorious habitats, a source of beauty and a seemingly unlimited provider of life. But the river's resources are not unlimited. Gradually, the river is surrounded by factories and polluted with waste, its wildlife [including the beluga whale] is decimated and grand forests cut down. Finally, its resources over-exploited, the river calls out for rebirth. This top-selling film is a wonderful tool for stimulating discussion or study about any river--or more generally about our impact on nature itself. It is a clear, inspiring call to environmental responsibility, useful in many settings."Awards: Grand Prize Winner, International Animated Film Festival, France; Gold Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival; Best Animated Film, Los Angeles Critics Award; Academy Award Nomination for Best Animated Short Film
The Miracle Dolphin. Hosted by Bill Kurtis. Shown on The New Explorers 1/29/98 on the Arts and Entertainment Channel, USA. Arts Production Ltd., 1997. Available from (800) 423-1212.
Trisha: Chronicles the interaction of a lone wild bottlenose dolphin, Holly, with a blind fisherman and his brother, Mohamad and Abdellah, in the Gulf of Akaba, Nuweiba, El Muzeina, and the growing crush of tourists trying to interact with her as well. Every morning the two brothers swim with, and sometimes fish with, Holly.Also featured is marine biologist Oz Goffman, who has been observing Holly and her interactions with humans from the beginning (since about 1994). Goffman finds that Holly has basically taught the humans in the village to fulfill the role of her former dolphin family.
In the film, Holly's behavior toward humans changes dramatically after she becomes pregnant, making her more aggressive. She is very protective of her calf, Jimmy, when he is first born, but later Jimmy begins to play with the human kids. Then suddenly he dies, and an autopsy reveals no clue as to the cause. Holly is at first depressed, but four days after Jimmy's death, she begins to encourage the attention of the many people in the water attempting to swim with her, and once again offers her body to be touched and rubbed.
Miracle in the Pacific. By Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Forthcoming.
From the website: ". . . chronicles the work of Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty off the western coast of North America from 1979 through current days. In the early 1980s, no one knew there were humpbacks and blue whales off the Farallons. Now there are some two thousand blue whales and more than 1,000 humpbacks. Gray whales have returned to their prehunting population levels. But something very sinister is developing -- alarming die-offs of whales, sea lions, killer whales and sea otters."
Moby Dick. Starring Patrick Stewart as Capt. Ahab and Gregory Peck as Father Mapple. Produced by Robert Halmi and Francis Ford Coppola for USA Network. 1998. Available from Hallmark Entertainment.
Lynn Elber, for Associated Press, September 9, 1998: "It's a rousing adaptation of the story of a whaling ship captain who puts his crew at risk while obsessively pursuing the white whale that maimed him. Stewart's Ahab is Shakespearean in his wrath, and the animal is a worthy adversary - thanks to computers and Hollywood prop magic [not quite; see my comments below--Trisha]."Besides Stewart, the program boasts other impressive on- and off-screen names. Gregory Peck, who was Ahab in the 1956 John Huston film, has a small role as Father Mapple, the preacher played by Orson Welles in the movie.
"Henry Thomas (E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial) is the novice seaman Ishmael, the story's narrator, and Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs) is First Mate Starbuck.
". . . For Stewart, Moby Dick represented a chance to help tell a compelling story.
" 'I want people to watch this and feel comfortable with what they're seeing. I don't want it to be a piece that will hold them off in any way. I want it to suck them in,' said Stewart, a classically trained actor known to TV audiences as Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
"The character of Ahab must be accessible, he said.
"'With this role, as with other great roles, you have to bring the ambition of the man on the screen. You have to bring the size of his obsession, the intensity of his obsession, but at the same time make him a recognizable human being.
"'It has to be possible for an audience to say 'I think I might know how I would feel if that were me; I might do that, too.''"
Trisha: Reasonable acting (Gregory Peck was terrific), not-so-reasonable production values (the whale was especially poorly done), even with a $20 million budget.
Moby Dick. Assignment Discovery series, episode 211. The Discovery Channel. Also shown in The Learning Channel's Great Books series. Discovery Channel, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3579, USA, (800) 762-2189, (317) 579-0400.
The Assignment Discovery series on The Discovery Channel provides excerpts from films accompanied by questions, answers, suggested research projects, and suggested reading. The programs in the series may be freely copied and distributed for classroom use.Moby Dick explores the themes of good and evil, racial intolerance, and humans' relationship to nature. This episode also explores the journey of Odysseus in The Odyssey.
Moby Dick. Starring Richard Basehart, Orson Welles, and Gregory Peck. Screenplay by Ray Bradbury. Directed by John Huston. Produced by Moulin. Distributed by Warner Bros. 1956. 116 minutes. (See also below The Sea Beast.)
Adheres remarkably well to the basic storyline of the novel. For details about the making of this film, see Richard Ellis's Men and Whales, pages 252-254.
Moby Dick. Animated. Script by Alex Buzo. Directed by Richard Slapczynski. Produced by Walter J. Hucker. API Television Productions, 1977. 52 minutes.
Moby Dick. G.E. Show'N Tell Picturesound Program for use with the G.E. Show'N Tell Phono-Viewer. Includes a small 33 1/3 record with a story that is illustrated by a slide strip. 1970s.
Moments with Olin. 18 minutes.
Monsters of the Deep. TV documentary. Based on Roger and Katharine Payne's research. Late 1970s?.
Explores the lives of the severely endangered southern right whales observed in Patagonian waters.
"Monsters of the Lakes." An episode of Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World on the Discovery Channel, USA.
Trisha: Discusses the early evolution of cetaceans and speculates on whether the often-sighted, but never documented, creature in Lake Champlain may be of cetacean ancestry.
Moonphin. Produced by Orion Abbot-Davies. Fizzy Bean Productions, voice: +44 171 486 8587, fax: +44 171 935 2339, e-mail: orion@fizzybean.demon.co.uk
This is a short computer-animated film about "an ancient and secret dolphin ritual that takes place far away, deep in the silent and vast emptiness of the ocean, out of the reach of humankind." Click on Moonphin above to visit Fizzy Bean's site and view some stills and short animation sequences.
The Moon Warriors. Starring Andy Lau, Anita Mui, and Maggie Cheung. English subtitles.
"Pop idol Andy Lau and his pet killer whale, 'Sea Wayne,' get involved with sultry Anita Mui in this swordplay drama set during the Ming dynasty."
Movie Magic. The Discovery Channel. Executive produced by Gary R. Benz. Produced by Gary R. Benz, Stephen Roca, Lise Romanoff, and Dan Arden. GRB Entertainment/Vision Films, 1994.
Segment on Walt Conti's (Edge Productions) creation of the animatronic humpback whales used in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Conti comments that the models looked so realistic they received a complaint from NMFS for filming humpbacks underwater without permission :-).
Multidimensional Dolphins. Jean-Luc Bozzoli. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Will be shown at the I.C.E.R.C. conference in Australia in August 1997.
Trisha: I've only seen a short excerpt from this film when it was still in production, but if you like Jean-Luc's paintings you will like this film as well. The computer graphics are beautifully and richly imaginative.
The Mysteries of Whales. By Horace Dobbs. ITV, England.
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Nickelodeon.
Trisha: According to an article I read in TV Guide, Shelby has a great interest in dolphins.
The Mystery of the Whale Caves. Wild Discovery. Written and directed by Kevin W. Juergensen. Produced by John E. McKenney and Kevin W. Juergensen. Narrated by Joseph Campanella. The Discovery Channel, USA. Jack McKenney Productions, Inc., 1997.
Trisha: This film about short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhyncus) begins with a brief tour of the reef systems that characterize volcanic islands in the South Pacific and their intricate mazes of underwater caves, and then focuses in on the remote Fijian island of Matangi, owned by Nigel and Carol Douglas. It is in an undisclosed location somewhere near Matangi that the Douglases discovered the remains of four pilot whales deep within the network of submarine caves and then invited the Discovery Channel team to photograph and sample these remains.The viewer is introduced to the whales with the following narration: "There is evidence of intelligence and feeling in the ocean, and one of its most vibrant sources is in the heart and mind of the whale."
Interspersed with the filming of the dive into the caves is extensive footage of short-finned pilot whales, accompanied by a description by Dr. James Boran (who, along with Sarah Heimlich-Boran, has studied the Canary Islands population of pilot whales for years) of their tight family bonds ("a bond that runs as deep as any human family's") and their related tendency to mass strand, as well as his work to help regulate the whale-watching industry in the Canary Islands. Also included is footage of the annual Faroe Islands massacre of these tightly bonded beings, which exploits their social nature, driving them ashore and then "slaughtering them in earnest." "The hapless whales are hacked to death," using any available tool, including hacksaws. Over 1,500 whales, "great and small, mothers and babies," are murdered in this fashion each year, and "the killing goes on for hours."
The whale remains found deep within the cave system are of two adults, each on ledges leading into a narrower part of the cave, and of a juvenile and infant in the deepest part, where a human diver must remove and carry his/her tank in order to fit through the passageway. The bodies of the two young whales were facing toward the entrance to this narrow passage, but it is surmised that they were probably unable to make their way out and thus died entrapped.
Because of pilot whales' social bonding and tendency to strand and die together, the divers thought it likely that the adult whales were related to the young whales and chose to die with them, but carbon dating, which is explained by scientists at the University of California at Riverside and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, of the bones revealed that one of the adults had died circa 3,700 years ago around 1803 BC, another circa 2,700 years ago around 803 BC, and that the infant and juvenile whale had died circa 1975.
Thus we are left with the question, "Are the caves a burial ground for the whales, or simply a maze that entraps them?"
National Geographic Whales CD-ROM. PC and Mac. Discis Knowledge Research, Inc., 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario M2N 3A1, Canada. Ages 4-9.
From a description provide on MARMAM mailing list: ". . . includes photographs, narration (English), music, and sound effects. Describes different kinds of whales, how whales breathe, swim, and communicate (reportedly contains some inaccuracies and out of date information)."From a review by Warren Buckleitner at Thunderbeam Software: "Children explore a narrated book on whales. They can click on any part of a picture to hear items labeled. Contains high quality photographs (no animation), but is limited in content."
Namu the Killer Whale. Starring Robert Lansing, John Anderson, Richard Eerdman, and Lee Meriwether. Produced and directed by Laslo Benedek. Executive produced by Ivan Tors. Ivan Tors Enterprises, Inc., 1966. Available from MGM/UA Home Video Inc., 10000 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California 90232, USA. 89 minutes.
"The incomparable wonder of whales, those magnificent creatures of the deep, highlights this magnificent family adventure of a lonely killer whale and the unlikely new family he finds."Hank Donner, a naturalist, studies whales from his rugged outpost in the Pacific Northwest. When a dying female beaches herself in a remote cove, her heartsick companion refuses to leave her side. Donner realizes this is an unprecedented chance to study the mysterious creatures. The local fishermen are incensed since they fear killer whales and their effect on the important fishing business. They try to shoot the gentle giant, but their efforts are fruitless. Donner gains the trust of the whale--nicknamed Namu--and soon swims with the gentle giant. But danger is never far and Donner may not be able to save his new friend from all the predators that stalk him.quot;
Erik Sletholt, writing in his book Wild and Tame: A View of Animals: "It was decided that the film should be an accurate account of Namu's life from the day he was captured until the day he regained his freedom. The only changes to the plot were in the opening sequence--with the aim of making the whole story more romantic--and in the final scene, where Namu wins his freedom. This had not yet happened, but of course the film had to have a 'happy ending.'" [Note: Namu died after only eleven months in captivity, about six weeks before the film's premiere in Seattle, Washington. The film was shot on location in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound.]
The Narwhal--Unicorn of the Sea. From The Wonderful World of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises series. Produced by Cetacean Society International. Available from BTA Films and Videos, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA. 30 minutes.
"What is a narwhal? Why is it called unicorn of the sea? Where do narwhals live? What do they use their tusks for? Dr. Jay Hyman talks with Dr. Robbins Barstow about narwhals, showing rare footage of wild narwhals in the Arctic Sea."
Nature: Baja Lagoon. Hosted by George Page. Directed by David Heeley. Produced by Bruce Reitherman. U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in association with The Nature Conservancy. Pandion Enterprises, 1986. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 1986. For WNET/Thirteen.
Some footage of gray whales in a Baja California lagoon. Equally featured are various species of terrestrial and other marine life in the lagoon area. Good close-up footage of a gray whale's eye.
The Nature of Sex Series: Episode 5: A Miracle in the Making.
Segment on right whales.
Nature Watch: New Zealand Marine Mammals. Produced and directed by Paul Cleary. Series created and produced by Robin Brown. Central Independent Television, 1992. The Discovery Channel.
Examines the competition between fur seals and the fishing industry, the remains of the last coastal whaling station (closed in 1964) and its target, the humpback whale, whale-watching of sperm whales and dusky dolphins of Kaikoura, and mass and single strandings and rescue (pilot whale rescue shown).
NBC Nightly News. March 2, 2001. Segment on Amy, a rescued and, at the time of airing, thriving infant pygmy sperm whale, with brief footage of Summer, a rescued pygmy sperm whale from the previous year who lived just over 130 days.
Neptune's Holiday with Sea Friends. P & B Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 033271, Indialantic, Florida 32903-0271, USA, (800) 741-5335, (407) 723-9312. 45 minutes.
"This is a musical video . . . The fish life is from the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Baja, and the Caribbean Sea. The names of the fish appear briefly at the bottom of the screen as each fish appears. Also included are some of the marine mammals from the different oceans: dolphins, sea lions, and manatees."
New Winds Prevailing--The Global Fight for Whale Protection. Filmed and narrated by Robbins Barstow. Available from BTA Films, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA, voice (203) 563-2565, fax: (203) 257-4194, e-mail: robbinsb@aol.com. 36 minutes.
A documentary video culminating with the 45th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, Kyoto, Japan, May 10-14, 1993.Endorsement by Leslie Shields, President, Cetacean Society International: "One of the most concise and informative presentations of what's been going on at the IWC of anything I have read or seen lately. Powerful!"
Next Step. Episode 99. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
Whale lab.
A Night on the Water DVD. Starring Sung Hi Lee (Lee Seung-Hee), Yoo Ji-Ha, Yoon Hee-Jeong, Jody Thompson, and Jeff Andersen. Directed by Kang Jeong-Su. Korea, 1998. English subtitles. 100 minutes.
From DVD cover: "After being fired from the company which he helped bankrupt, Baek Seong-Ha roams the streets looking for a way to escape, and finds it in alcohol and gambling. One night, he meets Pheobe (Sung Hi Lee) and the two spend the night together. Pheobe lives on the street and uses drugs, drinking, and sex to escape the pain of her abusive father (and also believes that she is a killer whale)."As they fall slowly in love, Pheobe fears that happiness is a fleeting thing, and splits before Baek has a chance to do the same. Devastated, Baek begins his search to bring her back. Even after finding her, every time things begin to look hopeful, they soon become grim again."
Nomads of the Deep. Photography by Chuck Nicklin.
No Really. One episode of this Discovery Channel program is a "Special Presentation of The Free Willy Story: Keiko's Journey Home." Executive produced by Dennis B. Kane and David R. O'Dell. Produced by Stanley M. Minasian and Raymond Chavez. For Discovery Channel Kids. Produced by Lancet Media Entertainment Inc. Discovery Communications, 1997.
"Northern Right Whales." Wild Rescues television program. 1999
" . . . a right whale is freed from a fishing net."
Nursery of the Giants & The Dolphin Children. Creation Entertainments Limited, 1992. 60 minutes.
"Each year the great Southern Right Whale returns to the same place to breed. Whaling has taken its toll of their numbers and they are barely recovering from the brink of extinction. Eminent marine conservationists, Ron and Valerie Taylor, join with scientists at the breeding ground and discover that filming whales at close quarters can be perilous."An Australian rehabilitation centre attempts to teach captive-bred dolphins the survival skills they need to return safely to the wild. At another sanctuary, these intelligent, sensitive cousins of man interact with handicapped children to the evident enjoyment of all. However, the Taylors question the morality of exploiting dolphins for man's benefit."
Ocean Acrobats: The Spinner Dolphins. Produced by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty for Discovery Channel. Narrated by Ted Danson. Available from Hardy Jones/Julia Whitty Productions, 1252 B Street, Petaluma, California 94952, USA, e-mail: hjwp@aol.com.
From the Web site: "Filmed in Hawaii and French Polynesia Ocean Acrobats is the . . . story of some of the most athletic creatures on earth. Spinner dolphins use their remarkable athletic abilities to energize themselves and to communicate to one another. Breathtakingly photographed, ths award-winning film shows spinner dolphins conducting practice sessions to fight off sharks and includes first-ever footage of dolphins swarming around mating humpback whales." (Trisha: The latter was not shown in the Discovery Channel version I saw.)Trisha: This video provides some excellent footage of spinner dolphins in Hawai'i (Kealakekua Bay, Big Island, and Manele Bay, Lana'i) and French Polynesia (Morea and Rangiroa), addressing their social structure and range of activities over the course of a day.
Ocean Girl. Television program. Directed by Mark De Friest and Judith John-Story. Produced by Jonathan M. Schiff. Jonathan M. Schiff Productions in association with The Disney Channel, Network Ten Australia, Beyond Distribution, Tele Images, and the BBC. Televised in the United States on the Disney Channel. (See also the book by the same name in the Cetacean Children's Bibliography.)
Jason and Brett Bates move with their scientist mother Dr. Diane Bates to a marine research station in the Australian Great Reef. Neri, the ocean girl, and Charley, the humpback whale, are two characters, and Neri communicates with Charley.Two seasons have been completed, the third season is in production, and a fourth and fifth season are planned for 1997-1998. Click on the program name above for a description of existing episodes.
Oceania, the Promise of Tomorrow. Directed and produced by Estelle Myers. Available from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, 0482 632358, fax: 0482 634914, or from Dolphin Within Society, P.O. Box 2052, Clovelly, NSW 2031, Australia, voice: (02) 665 0712, fax: (02) 664 2018, e-mail: 100352.2334@compuserve.com. 48 minutes.
A video exploring the human/dolphin connection from material gathered by Estelle Myers, a pioneer of underwater birthing who spent eight years traveling the world connecting with what she calls "The Human Dolphin Family." Historical material interwoven with original footage reveals how people's lives are profoundly changed by encounters with dolphins. From current research in which dolphins are helping humans with mental illnesses, Estelle Myers makes exciting future projections.Scott: Tells of the Legend of the Golden Dolphin, waterbirthing, and the Rainbow Dolphin Centre. Interviews with John Lilly, Timothy Wyllie, Estelle Myers, etc.
Ocean Oasis. By Avi Klapfer. Voice: (516) 228-6535, fax: (516) 289-7334. Was shown at Sea '96, the 32nd Annual International Underwater Film Festival, May 18, 1996, Oakland, California, USA.
An exciting, European award-winning video on the sharks, rays, dolphins, and reef fish of Cocos Island by Avi Klapfer.
Ocean Quest. An NBC television special, USA. Filmed by Al Giddings.
Features footage of Cynthia D'Vincent's (The Intersea Foundation) humpback whale cooperative feeding studies.
Ocean Spirit. Written and directed by Wes Skiles. Executive produced by Bill Kreutzmann. Produced by Jeffrey Haupt and Wes Skiles. Produced by Ocean Spirit Productions in association with Karst Productions.
Bill Kreutzmann, drummer for the Grateful Dead, put together the Ocean Spirit team to explore the marine environment in the same spirit the Grateful Dead have explored music. As a result of this experience, he hopes to capture and express the ocean spirit in his music and life. Other participants in the Ocean Spirit team are Wes Skiles, filmmaker, Jeffrey Haupt, audio recorder and cameraman, Dan Malone, cameraman, Tabb Vadon, marine naturalist (who died while swimming alone during the making of this film), and Darrell Reno, dive master.The trip encompasses a six-week, 1400-mile journey aboard the Argosy Venture from San Francisco south to Isla Revillagigedos, with stops along the way at the Channel Islands, Ensenada, Islas San Benito, San Benedicto Island, and Islas Socorro (described by team members as a "magical, mystical place," "like a private ecological garden," with crystal-clear water).
Their approach to filming and interacting with marine inhabitants is gentle and peaceful, beginning with their decision to forego scuba equipment in favor of less-obtrusive free diving. Marine life encountered includes dolphins, elephant seals and sea lions, manta rays (some exceptionally exquisite footage), hammerhead sharks, several species of fish, and a large pod of sperm whales, who team members described as having a "powerful sense of awareness" and said their encounter with them was "truly a life-changing experience."
They also show and discuss the negative impact of fisheries on the ecology of the area they explored, including the deaths of mantas, sharks, and dolphins.
They make a plea for us to find harmony with the sea and learn to interact with all the sea's inhabitants in a calm and peaceful manner.
Trisha: I found this a joyful, heart- and soul-nourishing film and recommend it without reservation.
Ocean Symphony: The Ultimate Adventure. By Al Giddings. MCA Video.
Contains footage of whales, sea lions, sharks, coral gardens, and more.
Ocean Warrior: The True Story of Captain Paul Watson of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Directed by John Badham. Produced by Jaguar Films. A Canadian-Dutch co-production to be distributed by Warner Brothers in the United States and Disney Productions internationally. Filming commenced in September 2000.
The Ocean World and Its Creatures. Assignment Discovery--H20 Ocean series, episode 201. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
Olympic Dolphin Adventure. Produced by The Delphys Foundation.
Features Olympians Matt Biondi, David Berkoff, Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, and Karen and Sarah Josephson.
One by One. Center for Coastal Studies, Box 1036, Provincetown, Massachusetts 02657, USA, (508) 487-6115. 20 minutes.
Contains rescue footage of humpback whale Ibis who became entrapped in a gill net and rescue footage of Mallard. Features the Center's Rescue Team led by David Mattila and Stormy Mayo.
On Top of the Whale. Corvina Kiado, 1996. Subtitled. 93 minutes.
Operaatio Delfiini. Produced by YLE (Yleisradio), Finland.
Jaap van der Toorn: A three-part documentary that deals with the capture, adaptation, and training of dolphins for the Delfinaario in Tampere, Finland. Part I deals mainly with the capture and initial training and gives some background on the facility. Part II deals with the transport to Finland and ends with the first public performances. Part III is a recap of parts I and II and gives a follow-up on the progress of the dolphins at the facility.
Orca. Project Apex, USA. 1973. 16mm.
Paul Spong writes about this film in Mind in the Waters: "The most outstanding and interesting whale-watching activity of the summer of 1973 was an expedition called Project Apex, undertaken by Ocean Life Systems of Victoria, British Columbia. Project Apex was a filmmaking expedition and an experiment in interspecies communication. It succeeded marvelously, beyond my, and I suspect just about everyone else's expectations. Using an engineless sailboat, The Four Winds, equipped with electronic systems that permitted listening to the whales and projecting sound at them, and an electronic synthesizer that generated imitations of orca sounds, this group of young adventurers sailed from Victoria to the Johnstone Straits early in July, and immediately made contact with orcas. Their work is detailed in a 16mm film called Orca. The film is a wonderful statement, the closest glimpse we have get gained of these creatures. In it is documented the first ever unquestioned communicative exchange between free orcas and humans."Soon after The Four Winds arrived in the Johnstone Strait, a lone adult male orca approached the vessel and emitted a single clearly audible vocalization which was recorded. Soundman-musician Erich Hoyt practiced imitating the sound on the synthesizer until he managed an imperfect but adequate imitation. The following day, the same whales were sighted. Erich sent out his imitation orca sound. Immediately, with a latency of only about two seconds, three orcas replied with an exact replication of Erich's imperfect imitation of one of their sounds! It was a remarkable moment! Of course, it was just a glimpse, but nonetheless full of promise."
Orca: The Killer Whale. Starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, and Bo Derek. Directed by Michael Anderson. Produced by Luciano Vincenzoni and Dino de Laurentiis. Music by Ennio Morricone. Paramount Pictures, USA. Copyright Famous Films N.V., 1977. 93 minutes. Available from Baker and Taylor Video.
"A greedy whale hunter nets a pod of whales, and while one pregnant female dies and miscarries her fetus, her mate [Orca] escapes. The enraged [whale] returns to seek revenge on the hunter . . . The [hunter] and two others, at the goading of the villagers, then sail after Orca and meet him on his own turf."From the (hyperbolic and factually incorrect) publicity poster for this film: "The killer whale is one of the most intelligent creatures in the universe. Incredibly, he is the only animal other than man who kills for revenge.
"He has one mate, and if she is harmed by man, he will hunt down that person with a relentless, terrible vengeance--across seas, across time, across all obstacles."
From the video cover: "It's the epic tale of one powerful being against another; a strong, determined fisherman versus an equally determined whale. When the giant whale's pregnant mate is maimed and killed by Harris, in a variation on Moby Dick, the whale seeks revenge on the man. Orcas smashes boats, collapses buildings, and even manages to cause enormous destruction by fire . . ."
Orca: Killer Whale or Gentle Giant. Produced by NTV. Ages 8 to adult. 26 minutes. Available from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com. 26 minutes.
"Orca: Killer Whale or Gentle Giant? follows Hiroya Minakuchi as he studies and photographs orca 'pods' in their natural habitat off the coast of Vancouver. He films spectacular scenes of orcas breaching, hunting fish, a birth at sea, a strange 'rubbing ritual,' and a dramatic underwater encounter with several orcas who come within a few feet of him. Orca will help develop a greater appreciation for marine mammals and challenge popular misconceptions about these whales.""Orca is a beautifully shot production, displaying the majesty of these magnificent beings. The underwater video is dazzling."--Stan Minasian, Marine Mammal Fund
Orcananda. Produced for Interspecies Communication, Friday Harbor, Washington, by Jonathan Churcher, Hawkeye Video productions, Chemainus, British Columbia, Canada. Available from Interspecies Communication, 273 Hidden Meadow Lane, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.
"Orcananda is a documentary about communicating musically with wild orcas. It follows a group of naturalists, writers, photographers, and musicians during their stay at a remote campsite on the shores of Johnstone Strait, which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia . . ."Speakers include camp founders Jim and Katy Nollman, musician Gene Groeschel, and ravenologist Linda Campbell. They and others relate the camp's history and share stories about contacts which have been made with various finned, furred, and feathered creatures . . . " Jill Sherman also speaks, "who was attacked by a cougar during the filming of Orcananda. She tells what it was like to be conscious throughout this frightening incident."
Orcas in the Balance. Originally produced in 1998 by Outpost Productions and People for Puget Sound. Available from Tokitae Foundation, 2403 So. Northbluff Rd., Greenbank, Washington 98253, voice: (360) 678-3451, email: tokitae@pugetsound.net.
From the Tokitae Foundation: "The Tokitae Foundation board has decided it is vitally important to provide public education about pollutants in the marine ecosystem, and how to clean them up. Habitat protection and restoration have been fundamental to the mission of the Foundation since it's inception in 1996, together with the Lolita campaign and fostering general orca awareness and education. We are now launching the Orcas in Our Midst Educational Outreach Program, consisting of republishing the 1996 middle-school booklet Orcas in Our Midst, plus a new edition of the award-winning film documentary Orcas in the Balance, first produced in 1998 by Outpost Productions and People for Puget Sound, a poster display for classrooms, and a teachers' activity guide. These materials will accompany speaking engagements to take place in schools and community meetings, as well as business and government entities throughout western Washington.
Orcas in Our Midst CD-ROM. Sunburst. PC and Mac. Grades 4-8.
"This interdisciplinary program focuses on the study of the Orcas of the Pacific Northwest. Students explore topics in depth and apply their learning to interesting challenges."Beginning at the Introduction Screen, students view a brief film about the actual whale pods they will study. They become acquainted with natural and social culture of the maritime Pacific Northwest. Collaborating with their classroom teacher, students design a course of study, selecting from six cross-curricular Investigations that cover such topics as whale identification, whales in legends, or orca population studies. Each investigation encourages students to make scientific observations, take research notes, use math, make cultural connections, develop opinions and write descriptively. For students who want to explore topics on a deeper level, each Investigation is followed by 3 Challenges where they can apply their new learning to interesting situations, such as the physics of echolocation, or the business behind creating a whale-watching adventure.
" Because of its multifaceted construction, Orcas in Our Midst readily lends itself to classrooms with diverse learning styles and ability levels. Students gain valuable insights as they: collect, organize, and categorize authentic data; develop, analyze and interpret graphs; write and test hypotheses; construct and solve multistep problems; use maps effectively; address public policy issues; learn on-line research skills with a direct link to related Web sites."
Orca Whales & Mermaid Tales. From the Discovery Channel Mother Nature: Tales of Discovery series. Produced by Ralph C. Ellis, David H. Smith, and John Anthony. Narrated by Su Ours. The Discovery Channel, 6902 Hawthorne Park Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220, USA, (317) 579-0400. 1992. 25 minutes.
Orcas, manatees, mergansers, sea lions, ospreys, pelicans, and more.
"Orka the Killer Whale!" The Avengers television program, episode no. 149.
The Other Side. NBC television program.
In one segment, a man with a head injury that had given him tunnel vision reports swimming with spinner dolphins off Kauai. While he was in the water, he felt and heard the dolphins' echolocation, and his peripheral vision returned, revealing some 30 dolphins surrounding him.
Our Man Flint. Starring James Coburn. Directed by Daniel Mann. Written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr. 1965.
In this take-off of James Bond movies, Derick Flint is "the world's greatest secret agent, the world's greatest lover, and an expert on electronics and dolphin speech."
Pacific Northwest: Lands of the Living Totems. 48 minutes.
"The Cousteau team embarks on two closely related adventures. They follow humpback whales from Hawaii to their summer breeding grounds in the Pacific Northwest. The divers, en route, explore one of the richest underwater environments on Earth, filming a giant octopus, the wolf eel, killer whales, and spawning salmon. On shore, Cousteau follows the plight of the Haida Indians and their conflict with the fishing and logging industries."
Paradise Blue. Available from Dancing Dolphin Press, Kihei, Hawaii.
This video of Hawaiian waters contains footage of dolphins.
People and Their Pets. The Human Experience series. The Learning Channel, U.S.A.
"Animals can serve as man's best friend, but are also used by man for . . . [other purposes]. Hear the stories of chimpanzees, a killer whale, dogs, and their human hosts."
The Pink Dolphins of the Amazon River. Produced by Roxanne Kremer. The International Society for the Preservation of the Tropical Rainforest and Preservation of the Amazonian River Dolphin (P.A.R.D.). P.A.R.D., 3302 N. Burton Avenue, Rosemead, California 91770, USA, (818) 572-PARD.
Brief introduction to the pink dolphins and current threats to their existence in the Amazon basin.
Pinocchio. Starring Dickie Jones, Cliff Edwards, Charles Judels, and Evelyn Venable. Disney, 1940. (Animated.)
"On a magical starlit night, a blue fairy brings Geppetto's beloved marionette Pinocchio to life, beginning a fantastic adventure that will test the puppet's bravery, loyalty and honesty -- virtues he must learn to become a real boy. Despite the warnings of his wise friend, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio gets entangled in one humorous predicament after another, leading to his valiant quest to save Geppetto, who's trapped inside Monstro the whale."
Pity the Pilot Whale. Narrated by James Coburn. Produced by the Marine Mammal Fund. Ages 14-adult. 50 minutes. Available from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
"This powerful video looks at the nature and fate of the world's pilot whales, and how two countries relate very differently to these marine mammals. Produced by the creators of Where Have All the Dolphins Gone?,this video begins with an excellent introduction to the biology and behavior of pilot whales. The citizens of a remote northern island are shown hunting and killing pilot whales. In contrast, New Zealanders are shown rescuing stranded pilot whales. These cultural contrasts inspire a fundamental discussion about how we should relate to these intelligent creatures."
Planet of the Dolphins. An episode of Kratts' Creatures television program, USA.
"Scuba diving with Chris Martin and dolphins on the Gulf coast of Florida. Looks at communication, how dolphins move through water, and the dangers of net fishing."
Please Don't Kill My Baby. Produced by The Delphys Foundation, California Sun newspaper, The Great Whales Foundations, and Breach Marine Protection. Available from The Delphys Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, delphys@aol.com, or Breach Marine Protection, Great Britain. All proceeds go toward gray whale protection. 7 minutes.
This video was created as a "short but powerful plea for the safety of the California gray whale . . . Some nice shots of gray whales at their breeding grounds in Baja and whale-watching enthusiasts send the unmistakable message to the Makah: these whales are worth more to you alive than dead."
Pop-Sci. "Top F/X/Whale Dialects/Astronaut Waste" episode. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
In episodes of Pop-Sci, "teenage hosts present timely topics in science and technology in an entertaining magazine-style show for kids."
Popular Science, "Bomb Squad" episode. The Learning Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
In this episode, learn how scientists deciphered killer whale dialects.
Portrait of a Whale. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. For grades K-6. In English or French. 1976, 1998. 16 mm. 12 minutes.
"See the gentle right whale, one of the largest and rarest of the great whales. Watch the whales flippering, lobtailing, and breaching, probably all forms of communication."Scott: A short version of Dr. Roger Payne's footage of right whales off Patagonia.
Potentials, Vol. 2. Rancho Palos Verde, California: Potentials Media. Voice: 888-374-7764, 310-782-8400, fax: 310-782-8488, email: potlsmedia@aol.com.
Volume 2 of this series contains interviews with Tony and John Lilly and Alexandra and Robin Morton.Toni Lilly and John Lilly, M.D. "Communication: Humans with Humans, Animals, and Spirit": "This episode features host Barbara Marx Hubbard covering a wide ranging field of ideas with these [well-known] consciousness researchers. In this rare footage John Lilly, an early leader in human-dolphin communication research, explores isolation tanks, the nature and amusements of God, outer and inner realms of human consciousness, and his relationship within a dyadic couple. Toni Lilly explores her work with the Human Dolphin Foundation, her work with children's interaction with dolphins, and her experience of the dyadic couple."
Alexandra and Robin Morton. "Mammals of the Sea and Us": "This episode features host Barbara Marx Hubbard engaging in conversation with leading researchers into communication between humans and killer whales. They explore the nature of these huge-brained mammals of the sea and their place within the larger planetary hierarchy as the 'rulers of the sea.' Robin approaches his work as a cinematographer and behavioral observer. Alexandra approaches hers as an audio observer and behavioralist trained by the . . . dolphin researcher, John Lilly. M.D. Also explored in this wide-ranging episode are ocean ecology, inter-species communication, environmental consciousness and the potential for human families to work together as 'pods.'"
Predators. British television series. Segment on orcas.
Predators, Mammals and Us. By Amos Nachoum, (415) 923-9865. Was shown at Sea '96, the 32nd Annual International Underwater Film Festival, May 18, 1996, Oakland, California, USA.
A narrated slide presentation of orcas, sharks, and humans by undersea adventurer Amos Nachoum.
Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale. Vol. 3 of the series. Written and produced by Malcolm Penny. Filmed by Jeff Foott, Joel Bennett and Luisa Stroughton. Survival Anglia, Ltd., 1992. Available from Time-Life Video, 777 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 2314, USA, (800) 621-7026. 52 minutes.
"Killer Whale . . . ancient mariners called it 'the demon from hell,' no doubt, horrified witnesses to its brutal attacks. Capable of ripping huge chunks of flesh from Earth's largest creatures, filling the seas with blood, their mere presence beckoned death from the deep."Where legend and reality meet, there is only mystery behind the face of an enigmatic killer. Beauty and wild complexity blend in a mammal that inspires sheer wonder. Then the merciless predator lunges from the sea, savaging sea lion pups, and yet, chooses to ignore the easiest prey of all . . . man"
"Prisoners of Love." A segment of 20/20, CBS, U.S.A., August 3, 2001.
On the cruel capture and transport of dolphins for the new captive swim facility, the "Fins Dolphin Learning Center," in La Paz, Mexico. (The transport was captured on film using infrared photography and is painful to watch: "News cameraman Juan Ramirez says he wept while shooting the video of men clumsily carrying a dolphin named Quinta across a highway in La Paz . . . Quinta appeared to be suffering and several times, she was accidentally dropped to the ground. 'It was like they were moving a piano,' says Ramirez. 'They weren't caring about the dolphins.'" One of the dolphins, Luna, has already died). Footage of the inadequate facility is shown, with its overheated shallow water that may kill the remaining seven dolphins. Rick O'Barry speaks at length and Toni Frohoff momentarily regarding the abuse associated with this particular captive facility, and O'Barry regarding captive facilities in general. The Discovery Bay swim-with program in Orlando, Florida, is described by O'Barry as "the best of a bad idea," which has been very badly copied in other locations.
The Private Lives of Dolphins. From the Nova series, U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS). An MDTV Production in association with WGBH Boston. WGBH Educational Foundation, 1992. Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Box 2053, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-2053, USA. 60 minutes.
"This program delves into the deep-sea drama of life among the dolphins at research stations in Florida and Australia. Like humans and chimpanzees, dolphins have evolved a sophisticated social system that provides clues about the origins and purpose of big brains and intelligence."Trisha: Excellent.
Project Delphis. Earthtrust, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, Hawaii 96734-1711, USA, (808) 254-2866, fax: (808) 254-6409.
Enter the world of a dedicated team of Earthtrust scientists and computer technologists seeking to explore the mental abilities of dolphins by using advanced computer and video equipment.
Project Pod studies the bottlenose dolphin population in the waters around Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The video clips are of these dolphins.Clips include Janet and her year-old calf Joleyne; "fish throws"; Tunick peeking above the surface of the water; the speed and agility of a dolphin as it chases down a fish; and a social encounter in which a leaping dolphin lands atop another.
The Promise. Music and lyrics by Cathy Kinsman. Vital Scenes Productions, Swansea Postal Station, P.O. Box 88558, 34 Southport St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6S 4Z8. Vita Scenes Production, 1992. Proceeds from this video support educational programs and the preservation of whales and dolphins in their natural habitats. Approximately 10 minutes.
Cathy Kinsman writes: "Is it appropriate to hold dolphins and whales captive for the duration of their lives for the purpose of amusement? Not long ago I asked myself that question. The Promise is a look at the answer that came through to me 'buzzing and clicking' loud and clear. The answer may be here for you too. I hope that through experiencing this music video with captive dolphins in the United States and Canada and wild dolphins in Key West, Florida, something will 'reach deep to your soul' and touch a very real truth . . . perhaps evoking a deeper understanding that freedom is an inherent right . . . even for dolphins; and that only through seeing them as nature intended can we truly begin to appreciate these wonderful, intelligent, sensitive creatures."
Protect-A-Dolphin Pod Video and Teaching Kit. The Wild Dolphin Project.
28 minutes. Available from The Wild Dolphin Project, P.O. Box 3839, Palos Verdes, California 90274, USA, e-mail: wilddp@ix.netcom.com, or from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
"Here is a complete kit to teach about dolphin behavior, anatomy, and habitat. With a unique emphasis on a pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins, the interrelationships between individual dolphins, their environment, and humans are explored. Beautiful live-action footage, dozens of intimate still shots, and spectacular graphics illustrating concepts such as echolocation and the food pyramid will provide the stimulus for further study of this species. Researcher Dr. Denise Herzing models a respectful scientific approach toward understanding wildlife, while the kit's activities stimulate field research methods. The teaching kit includes fact sheets, suggested activities for various ages, glossary, full-color 20" x 24" poster of dolphins habitats and more."Trisha: This is an excellent resource.
Protecting Our Endangered Species. Fiermantell Productions. Chappaqua, New York: New Castle Communications/Pleasantville, New York: Sunburst Communications, 1996.
Protection of the Amazon River Dolphin. Produced by Suzanne Bauman, Full Circle Entertainment Group. Executive produced by Roxanne Kremer, found of PARD. Rosemead, California: Protection of the Amazon River Dolphin. 15 minutes.
Rare underwater footage of the Amazon river dolphin and additional footage of Roxanne Kremer's efforts to preserve both the dolphin and the rainforest and its other inhabitants.
Psychoaesthetics Dolphin Project. Produced and directed by Barbara Ann levy. 1990. 5 minutes. Available from Barbara Ann Levy, 140 Charles Street, Apt. 16E, New York, NY 10014.
The Psychoaesthetics Dolphin Project is discussed and the video reviewed in volume 9, issue 4 (1992) of Art Therapy and is based on Ms. Levy's unpublished master's thesis Psychoaesthetics and Dolphin Personality. For more information on the latter, see the Cetacean Nonfiction Bibliography.Abstract for the "Psychoaesthetics Dolphin Project" article in Art Therapy: Four Atlantic bottlenose dolphins' artwork and body and brush movement were the primary focus of this pilot study. [Dolphins were taught to paint on t-shirts by holding a brush in their mouths as a trainer held a t-shirt stretched on a piece of cardboard over the dolphins' heads at an accessible angle.] Research was conducted by the author at the Dolphin Research Center, Marathon Shores, Florida, in June 1989. Psychoaesthetics, child art development theory, and Laban movement analysis were used to consider the dolphins' painting behavior. Personality and individual graphic style of the dolphins were also noted."
From the video review in Art Therapy by Linda Gantt: "The entire tape (with the exception of a quick pan of the researchers and trainers and a visual sweep of some completed canvases) consists of scenes in which the dolphins perform according to their trainers' commands. A voice-over narration by Ms. Levy describes the various experiments and the type of data she and others collected. Some of the scenes are played in slow motion when she describes the possible correlation between dolphin and trainer movements. At these points the videotape becomes blurry, a probable result of the slower speed but nonetheless a distracting technical glitch . . .
"Despite my interest in seeing the actual behavior (how many art therapists will ever get the opportunity to work with such a special group of intelligent non-humans?) I cannot recommend this videotape to others. The problems are two-fold: (1) technically, it is unfinished, and (2) it provides no context for understanding the import of such protoart behavior. There is no formal introduction or conclusion, no titles or credits, and no change of pace or view (such as showing the narrator's face or using different camera angles) to set off the central points. The narration seems divorced from the visual materia . . . Granted Ms. Levy does state at the beginning that she was conducting a pilot study. But this small vignette is not anchored to larger concepts so that the videotape will be truly useful except as documentation . . . "
The Quest television program. Animal Planet Channel. 2000.
One segment of this program shows swimming with spinner dolphins and creating a new cetacean marine refuge in Costa Rica.
Quest for the Dolphin Spirit. Produced and directed by Steven Mitchell Weiss. Co-produced by Elizabeth Holland Weiss. Infinity Films, Box 3250, Olympic Valley, California 96146, USA, (916) 581-0525, fax: (916) 581-1213. 46 minutes.
This video goes in search of the special bond between humans and dolphins. Join the producers and their one-year-old daughter as they travel to remote jungle beaches, swim with dolphins, and explore the human-dolphin relationship. Included are interviews with people who have been swimming with dolphins for years. The producers also share their firsthand experience of swimming with several pods of wild Hawaiian spinner dolphins and ask the question: What can we learn from them?
The Quest for the Great Sperm Whale. Videotaped and narrated by Robbins Barstow. Available from BTA Films, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA, voice: (203) 563-2565, fax: (203) 257-4194, e-mail: robbinsb@aol.com. 42 minutes.
"A dramatic tape about Connecticut's state animal (Sperm Whale) and a July 1991 three-day whale watch trip to Georges Bank, 100 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, from Gloucester, Massachusetts, with scenes of seven different species of cetaceans, including the never-before-filmed Sowerby's Beaked Whale."
Race to the Bottom. Produced by Gayle Podrabksy (eponaprod@earthlink.net) for the EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund.
From Gail Podrabsky: "The video was edited with footage from several different sources . . . I was able to use footage from the Human Society, CNN, and ancient forest/logging shots from a local filmmaker."The dolphin footage is of dolphins swimming, a shot of two dolphins and then a pod, with footage of dolphins getting caught in tuna nets and [some] shots of dead dolphins being thrown off a tuna boat (gruesome)."
Real History. "Rescue Squad--Beach Patrol" episode 3. The Learning Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
In this episode, a lifeguard dispatch responds to a beached whale.
Real TV. Segment on stranded humpback whale calf rescue from net entanglement in Queensland, Australia. Televised in February 1998.
Realm of the Killer Whales. Produced by Feodor Pitcairn in association with Working Dog. Ocean Wilds series. PBS Home Video, 2001.
From the PBS website: "Peering into the secret world of killer whales in the Pacific northwest, Pitcairn reveals both these enigmatic marine mammals and the rich habitat in which they live. In spring, the waters off British Columbia greet the arrival of two great hordes from the open sea -- herring and salmon. Predators, including humans, join in a harvesting frenzy, but none are as efficient in their hunts as the regionÂ’s pods of killer whales. Pitcairn also films a side of these powerful creatures few see -- their efforts to maintain a close family life and the moments when they appear to be looking for nothing more than sheer fun."
Releasing Dolphins. Planet Earth Series. Ivy Classics Video, 1996. 30 minutes.
Rescue 101. Produced by Bryan Norton and Karylene Dagg. Hosted by Leslie Kenton. Auckland, New Zealand: Living Pictures Ltd., 1984. 60 minutes.
Rescue 101 examines the October 1997 stranding of 101 pilot whales at Karikari Bay, at the northern tip of Doubtless Bay, and the attempts by large numbers of people to rescue them.The remoteness of the area results in more than half of the 101 stranded mammals dying before their rescuers can reach them, but 48 are successfully refloated the day after the stranding.
Disaster strikes, however, when 39 become stranded again on the next high tide the following day. Twenty are refloated the same day, although one pregnant female has to be euthanized. Conservation workers believe the latter whale was having trouble with her pregnancy, had caused the second stranding, and would have done so again if released with the rest of the pod.
For Norton, one of the most haunting aspects of the stranding was the sound the whales made as they lay trapped on the sand. "Those whales, the sound they made was very bizarre. It sounded like they were trying to communicate with their human rescuers through music," Norton said.
About half of the hour-long $100,000 documentary -- hosted by United States author and conservationist Leslie Kenton -- is footage "gathered from far and wide" of the stranded whales and rescue efforts. However, the documentary also boasts interviews with a scientist, members of the whale rescue group Project Jonah, and Northland conservationist Wendy Sporle, coordinator of the Far North Whale Rescue Group.
The Rescuers. Produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea World U.S.A., Inc. Bennett Marine Video, 1989. Available from Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. Grade level 6-college. 30 minutes.
"Every year, for unknown reasons, hundreds of seals, whales and dolphins beach themselves on the shores of Southern California. With no way to return to the sea under their own power, these creatures cannot survive for very long. Now, a courageous association of 'marine samaritans' has taken matters into their hands and is turning the tides by helping to save these creatures from their senseless destruction."
Rescuing Baby Whales. NOVA Series. U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS). WGBH Publications, 1997.
Return of the Giant. Ron and Valerie Taylor. Blue Wilderness series. An Orana Films Production. JC Media (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jcmedia/). 1990s. 30 minutes.
Examines "the Southern Right Whale that has been on the brink of extinction and their precious breeding grounds in Southern Australia."
Return of the Great Whales. By Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Home Vision, 5547 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60640, USA. Hardy Jones Productions, 1982. Available from Public Media Video, (800) 262-8600. 50 minutes.
Filmed in what one of the filmmakers describes as "a national park of ocean," this program documents an environmental success story--the return of humpback and blue whales to the waters of Northern California, where fishing and whaling industries once hunted these mammals to the brink of extinction.
Revenge of the Whale. NBC News historical documentary. September 2001. 120 minutes.
Blending interviews, archival footage, and historical drawings, Revenge of the Whale recalls the fate of the whaling ship Essex, which sank in 1820 after an attack by a sperm whale . . . Revenge is drawn from the nonfiction best seller In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Throughout the special, historians discuss the history of whaling and events that transpired on the Essex . . . Revenge was shot on location in Nantucket and on a replica of the Essex that was built by historians at the Mystic Seaport and Maritime Museum in Mystic, Connecticut.
Ride a Wild Dolphin. By Horace Dobbs. Directed by Barry Cockroft for Yorkshire Television, England, 1976. Available from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, voice: 01 482 632358, fax: 01 482 844468.
The story of a wild "Ambassador Dolphin" named Donald whose odyssey around Britain was followed by millions via media coverage. Also recounted in Horace Dobbs' book Follow a Wild Dolphin, London: Souvenir Press/New York: Sheridan House, 1990.
The Right Whale: An Endangered Species. The National Geographic Society Educational Services, P.O. Box 98019, Washington, D.C. 20090-8019, (800) 368-2728, fax: (301) 921-1575. For grades 7-12/adult. 1976. 16 mm or video. 23 minutes.
Scott: Dr. Roger Payne's studies of the southern right whale off Valdez Peninsula, Patagonia, Argentina. Covers behavior, physiology, conservation. Excellent photography.
Rolling Down to Old Maui. Don Sineti Sings aboard the Brig Carthaginian. Video available from BTA Films, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109, USA, voice: (203) 563-2565, fax: (203) 257-4194, e-mail: robbinsb@aol.com. 54 minutes.
A sea shanty concert recorded live in Hawaii at the port of Lahaina, Maui, February 22, 1992. Songs include: Weary Whaling Grounds, Blow Ye Winds in the Morning, The Dreadnaught, Go to Sea Once More, Farewell to Tarwathe, Reuben Ranzo, Blow the Candle Out, Santiana, South Australia, Rolling Down to Old Maui, The Diamond, Rolling Home to Old New England.
The Ruta Maya Experience: Belize, Yucatan, Guatemala. Lonely Planet. 47 minutes.
Includes footage of swimming with dolphins (unknown if captive or free).
Salt & Friends. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: The Whale Video Company, 2001. Available from: The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, USA, (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 60 minutes.
From Dan Knaub, The Whale Video Company: "Salt & Friends tells the story of how humpback whales [are] named and treated as individuals. Fifteen different stories are told; over 50 individual humpback whales are seen. We filmed the same humpback whales every day on their feeding grounds for more than 13 years (more than 14,000 whale watching trips were filmed) before producing Salt & Friends."You meet Salt, the first whale named, [and] her eight calves and two grandcalves. Silver is the first known whale grandmother and had just half a tail, Regulus (nicknamed Reggie) hits himself, Colt sings beside the boat. Sockeye, Arrow, Olympia, Nurse, Ember, and many more are seen."
William Rossiter, president, Cetacean Society International, writing in Whales Alive!, July 2001, p. 13: "The incomparable wonder of living whales is superbly demonstrated in Salt & Friends, a marvelous video documenting the lives, multi-decades histories, and personalities of fifteen individual North Atlantic humpback whales summering at Stellwagen Bank, near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Bar Harbor, Maine.
"Salt & Friends dramatically validates the new economic reality that whales alive have greater value than whales dead. It makes real the dream, defining the future, long-term relationship between humans and cetaceans as one of peaceful coexistence and mutual enrichment.
"The video is a labor of love, presented to show that whales especially deserve our protection from whaling nations . . . We agree with its creator, Dan Knaub, that no one with an open mind should be able to see this tape and not see the unique value of whales, and be moved to protect them."
Trisha: I could not agree more. This is a superb tape, conveying a wealth of visual and verbal information that is interesting and informative for both adults and children. If you would like to purchase one tape that captures an awesome range of surface behaviors, intergenerational relationships, and personality quirks of individual whales, this is it.
Samson & Sally: The Song of the Whales.
This animated film is about the journey of two young whales. Parent's Choice Award winner.
Saving Inky. By Nick Caloyianis. National Aquarium in Baltimore, Pier 3, 501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA, (410) 576-3800. Was shown at Sea '96, the 32nd Annual International Underwater Film Festival, May 18, 1996, Oakland, California, USA. 16 minutes.
The story of a stranded pygmy sperm whale, its recovery and successful release by the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
"A Scent of Whales.". An episode of the television series Hawaiian Eye starring Anthony Eisley, Robert Conrad, Grant Williams, Troy Donahue, and Connie Stevens. Teleplay by Charles B. Smith and William Bruckner. Burbank, Calif.: Warner Brothers, late 1950s or early 1960s.
Trisha: The story revolves around a large piece of stolen ambergris, and the various individuals fighting, kidnapping, impersonating, etc., in order to try and obtain it.
The Science of Whales. Sci-Trek Saturday series, The Discovery Channel, USA. Coproduced by Bo Boudart and Elizabeth O'Connell. Narrated by Curtis Howard. WonderVisions, 1998. Available from WonderVisions, Box 1372, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650-233-0540.
Trisha: Humpback whale, blue whale, and orca language and communication studies are examined, including the use of the U.S. Navy's underwater acoustic technology to study whale sounds and the effect of LFA on humpback and gray whales. Other studies discussed include humpback whale migration, social structure, and cooperative lunge feeding, and orca social structure. Researchers include Christopher Clark, Bruce Mate, Cynthia D'Vincent, Ken Balcomb, Paul Spong, John Ford, Fred Sharpe, Joy Reitenberg, and Dan Sullivan.
Scientific American Frontiers. Television program.
Trisha: Shows rescue by Jon Lien and crew of humpback whale entangled in a fishing net in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland. Also examines the failing Newfoundland fishing industry and the subsequent increased use of nets, which results in increased entanglement of whales. One whale who dies in a net is hauled ashore and the ear removed by Lien in order to study the whales' hearing and attempt to determine why they do not avoid the nets. Lien has designed whale alarms that make a simple clinking sound that the whales can hear but the codfish can't, and they have been very successful in several trials. The Grand Banks are currently closed to cod fishing due to record low numbers of fish, so the whales are now safe from the nets, and it is hoped that the alarms will keep them safe once the Banks reopen.
Scientific American World. Episode 3. The Learning Channel (U.S.).
Examines whether orcas communicate through their own language or if they are simply making random squeaks.
The Sea Beast, 1926, 1930. 1930 version directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
Silent film of the novel Moby-Dick starring John Barrymore and Dolores Costello in 1926. Remade as a talking film in 1930, with the storyline drastically altered, with John Barrymore and Joan Bennett. For details about these films, see Richard Ellis's Men and Whales, page 252.
Seals, Whales, and Dolphin Tales. From the Undersea Safari series. Hosted by Loni Anderson. Field producer and director Bill Macdonald. NBC Productions. Bill Burrud Productions, Inc., 1990.
Explores humankind's changing relationship to the sea mammals dolphins, whales, seals, and sea otters.Segments include Ken Norris on sophistication of dolphins; importance of orcas to native cultures; similarity of diving with dolphins and painting pictures as expressed by artist Margery Spielman; the Dolphin Experience, Freeport, Grand Bahamas, where humans can swim with captive dolphins both in an enclosure and in the first nonmilitary open release program (the latter shows scuba-diving participants receiving dorsal fin tows, foot pushes, etc.); Dr. David Nathanson, Dolphin Research Center, and his work with mentally and physically handicapped children and depressed terminally ill adults and children and captive dolphins, including Dean Paul Anderson, a child with Down's syndrome; orcas, with footage of free orcas and captives at Orlando Sea World, including Baby Shamu II and Baby Namu, plus footage of the birth of an orca in captivity; our historically villainous relationship with whales, plus footage of blue whales, sperm whales, and gray whales; captive belugas at Sea World of Florida; rescue, rehab, and release program of Sea World of Florida for whales, dolphins, and West Indian manatees, including successful treatment and release of a stranded Bryde's whale; swimming with wild spotted dolphins in the Bahamas; our historically cruel exploitation of dolphins by the tuna industry and the move toward dolphin-safe tuna; Russian students swimming with captive dolphins at Dolphins Plus in Key Largo, Florida; and how our empathy for dolphins is promoted by swimming with them.
Sea Monsters: Search for the Giant Squid. The National Geographic Society. National Geographic Video, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-4688, USA, (800) 627-5162.
Trisha: I've only seen the last few minutes of this film, but those few minutes had an interesting segment on sperm whales and our attempts to track and videotape their dives for food, including the giant squid.The film concludes with the following quote from John Steinbeck (I'm quoting from memory, so it may not be precise): "Men need sea monsters in their personal oceans. An ocean without monsters is like sleep without dreams."
Sea of Cortez. 50 minutes.
"Mexico's desert sea is traveled in search of marine life that thrives in . . . abundance. The Sea of Cortez reveals the profound beauty harbored beneath its waves and the stark realities of a dependent land. Divers observe giant manta rays, finback whales, and, along the cliffs, the ancient art of an Indian tribe. The crew discovers that commercial fishing may soon remove the natural diversity from these waters and leave them barren."
seaQuest DSV U.S. television series. Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, David J. Burke, and Patrick Hasburgh. Dolphin Supervision by Walt Conti and Associates. A Coproduction of Universal Television and Amblin Entertainment. Shown originally for three seasons on NBC 1993-1995 and is currently being rerun on the SciFi Channel. Click here for an episode guide.
One of the characters on this program was a bottlenose dolphin named Darwin. The following description was taken from the back cover of a package containing a plastic model of Darwin."The year is 2018. In the grand depth of the world's oceans lies the most dangerous and mysterious region on Earth. Multinational confederations are armed and ready to protect their undersea colonies, farms and mining operations. The governments of the world have created their last great hope: The United Earth/Oceans Organization (UEO). On the front lines of this hostile environment is seaQuest DSV [DSV stands for Deep Submergence (or Sea) Vehicle], the largest, fastest, most powerful research submarine ever launched. With her multinational crew she traverses the ocean's depths battling to maintain the fragile peace."
NAME: Darwin (Male Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin-Tursiops truncatus)
RANK: Non-Commissioned Officer
ASSIGNMENT: Special Missions, seaQuest DSV 4600
UEO MILITARY ID#: DD001-2018-NB0
SECURITY ACCESS: Classified
DATE OF BIRTH: Estimated as 2007
CHARACTER PROFILE: Playful. Trusting. Friendly to humans. Highly intelligent mammal. Extremely loyal to Captain Bridger. Special relationship with Lucas Wolenczak.
PERSONAL HISTORY: Born in Caribbean waters. Rescued following gill net accident and trained by Nathan Bridger at Caribbean research center, 2015. Learned interspecies communication via hand signals, forming close bond with Bridger. Assigned to seaQuest, 2018, where Vo-Corder technology developed by Lucas Wolenczak allows central computer to translate natural dolphin clicks and whistles into simple human speech. Uses dolphin tube system aboard ship to interact with crew and follow close friend, Lucas.
MISSION SPECIALTY: Dolphin Re-Breather allows prolonged dives at extraordinary depths without resurfacing--for strategic underwater assignments.From the description in the seaQuest DSV FAQ: "There are actually four Darwins: 1) The Real Dolphin, which you see in the pilot episode (2nd season), and a also in a few subsequent episodes. This dolphin was used throughout the first season, but the mechanical dolphin was more widely used in the second season. 2) The Mechanical Dolphin, which is mainly used on the sets, when Darwin pops up out of the water. 3) The Computer Generated Dolphin, which is used for all the underwater scenes. 4) The Dolphin on a Stick, which is sometimes used when Universal allows tours into the seaQuest set, and they sometimes have this bobbing around."
Episodes in which Darwin or other cetaceans are featured:
Episode 1: "The Devil's Window." Darwin falls mysteriously ill and will die unless a cure is found, but a visiting scientist is more concerned with his project than a mere dolphin!
Episode 9: "The Regulator." Krieg contacts an unconventional salvage operator in order to get the seaQuest's ventilation fixed, but in return for his service, "The Regulator" takes Darwin!
Episode 15: "Whale Song." Illegal whaling ships are lose and a renegade sub has been sinking them. The crew of seaQuest must stop both the sub and the ships.
Episode 20: "Such Great Patience." Things go wrong when the seaQuest crew discover a million-year old spaceship with Darwin being the key to bridging the communications gap.
Search for Humphrey. A Channel 7 San Francisco special report. Reported by Bill Van Amburg.
Documentary about humpback whales inspired by Humphrey, a humpback whale who entered San Francisco Bay in 1985 and swam upriver before returning to the open ocean. Includes footage of Hawaiian humpbacks, whale-watching tours to see them, aggressive of males during the mating season, plus threats to humpbacks' existence. Whale researchers featured include Debbie and Mark Ferrari, Greg Kaufman, and Paul Forestell.
Seasons in the Sea. A National Geographic Video Presentation. Howard Hall Productions, Thirteen-WNET, 1990. 55 minutes.
"Seasons in the Sea, Best Picture of the . . . WILDSCREEN 1990 film festival in Bristol, England, takes you on a spectacular tour through the giant-kelp forests of Monterey Bay, just off the California coast . . ."To make this unique film, award-winning producer Howard Hall, working with a crew of four, spent three years in California waters. He saw and photographed animal behavior previously unobserved by scientists, including blue whales, earth's largest living creatures, feeding underwater; graceful bat rays in the intricate act of mating; and huge blue sharks eating tiny krill. He even discovered a giant jelly fish--new to science and as yet unnamed--and the invertebrates that live upon it." And more.
Trisha: This excellent film contains brief footage of a gray whale resting in the kelp forest and an overhead surface shot of some others, and a longer segment of fine blue whale footage. Other sea beings and their interrelationships in the food chain shown include: sea otters; California sea lions; harbor seals; an octopus, squid (courting, mating, anchoring of egg cases, and hatchlings); black sea urchins (and their damage to the kelp forest); white sea urchins (which eat the black sea urchins when they migrate to a new forest); bat starfish (and their social life; the starfish also eat the black sea urchins); anemones; the giant jelly fish mentioned above--which have a 3-foot-diameter bell, 20-foot-long arms (very beautiful), and are an ecosystem unto themselves; neutabranchs; sea hares; garibaldi; anchovies; other fish; krill; wolf and moray eels; manta rays, and hundreds of bat rays courting and mating, as mentioned above; and several species of shark, including swell, horned, angle, basking, and blue sharks, and the emergence from egg cases of two of these species.
Sea Stories. National Geographic Society, (202) 857-7481. Was shown at Sea '96, the 32nd Annual International Underwater Film Festival, May 18, 1996, Oakland, California, USA.
A multi-projector slide/music/narration extravaganza by the National Geographic Society. It features the stories of four photographers - Flip Nicklin, David Doubilet, Burt Curtsinger and Emory Cristof - and their encounters with the marine environment.Includes "eye-to-eye" footage of whales.
Seatek. The Learning Channel, USA.
In one episode "experimental divers meet a civilian patrol that uses force to keep whalers from killing illegally."
Sea Trek [title uncertain]. Produced by Robin Hellier.
Trisha: Wonderful underwater footage of humpback mothers and calves in very clear water in Hawaii, with one especially precious shot of a very young calf resting beneath its mother's chin. Also some footage of surface behaviors and underwater footage of two scuba divers swimming with a whale shark.
Second Chance: The Sea. Pyramid Films. 16 mm. 11 minutes.
Scott: Animated film about oceans from the beginning to 1976, with whale and dolphin sounds and a Dizzy Gillespie score.
Secret Societies of Whales and Dolphins. Tape 1 in The Best of Cousteau video collection. Narrated by John Denver. Produced by Jean-Michel Cousteau. Co-produced by Sandra Ostertag. Executive produced by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Jean-Michel Cousteau. Time-Life Video. 1996. 46 minutes. Distributed by Time-Life Video, 777 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, USA, (800) 621-7026.
". . . this voyage takes you around the world to discover the secret--and sometimes strange--lives of whales and dolphins. We search the skies for intelligent life, but ignore entire nations already among us. Living in societies as complex as our own, whales and dolphins fascinate, amuse and even befriend us. We know they are extremely intelligent but much of their behavior remains mysterious."Off the coast of the Bahamas, the crew joins a pod of spotted dolphins who live in highly ordered communal groups, much like human villages. But even close-knot dolphin societies have eccentrics, like Jojo, a loner who plays by his own rules. A snorkler's alarming encounter with a whale [Trisha: footage of the woman who was held underwater in Hawaii by a pilot whale] reminds us that these kindred spirits are still wild animals, capable of unpredictable and sometimes disturbing behavior.
"Most disconcerting of all--mass suicide. On Cape Cod, volunteers work frantically to divert a group of pilot whales from stranding themselves on the beach. And in Hawaii, the Cousteau team makes a shocking discovery--whale bones entombed hundreds of feet deep in a pitch-black labyrinth of underwater tunnels.
"Although oceans separate us, we are closely linked. As Cousteau shows us, by exploring the minds and language of these playful marine mammals, we may one day better understand ourselves."
Trisha: Interesting and beautifully filmed. Also includes footage of surface interactions between humans and gray whales, as well as underwater footage of the whales, in Baja California.
Secrets of a Desert Sea. Produced by Hardy Jones. Written by Julia Whitty. Executive produced by Natan Katzman. Hardy Jones Productions and KQED, Inc., 1983. Available from Hardy Jones/Julia Whitty Productions, 1252 B Street, Petaluma, California 94952, USA, e-mail: hjwp@aol.com. 60 minutes.
"In this remarkable program, dazzling footage of marine life tells the story of Mexico's Sea of Cortez. This little-known body of water, defined by the western coast of mainland Mexico and the Baja Peninsula, has very little exchange with the Pacific Ocean and thus has many indigenous species. It is home to whales, dolphins, huge manta rays, hammerhead sharks, vast bird colonies and dense schools of fish."Life in the Sea of Cortez is intensely interconnected, and the program shows how each creature fits into the larger ecosystem. The filmmakers end with a plea that this unique body of water be preserved as a place where humans can come to observe and to marvel at the other remarkable creatures that share the earth."
Secrets of Discovery. The Discovery Channel, 6902 Hawthorne Park Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220, USA, (317) 579-0400.
"Destination Discovery Magazine presents Secrets of Discovery, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of four original Discovery Productions . . ."First, Discovery's On Location cameras travel In the Company of Whales and introduce you to Dr. Roger Payne and the production crew exploring man's link to the world's largest and in many ways most fragile creatures."
Additional films featured include The Man Who Loves Sharks, Frontiers of Flight, and Submarines: Sharks of Steel.
Secrets of the Golden River. Wild Discovery. The Discovery Channel.
"The world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, is home to a spectacular variety of wildlife, from dolphins to neon tetras. More species of fish live in the Amazon basin than in all of North America."
Secrets of the Humpback Whales. Narrated by Susan Sarandon. The Discovery Channel, USA. 1998. 52 minutes.
From the cover: "Travel with the humpback whales on their 3,000 mile migratory journey from the tropics of Hawaii where they breed and bear young, to their summer feeding place in the frigid coastal waters of Alaska. Noted director/cinematographer Al Giddings . . . and teams of experts explore the mysteries of the whales including melodic mating songs and unique bubble net feeding."
Shamu TV. A segment of the Sunday morning, three-hour program block Discovery Kids. The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet Network!, USA.
"The Emmy award winning Shamu TV is co-hosted by Shamu and his trainer, as well as a team of student adventurers. Each show features up-close footage of animals, interviews with animal experts, and on-location segments." A toll-free number staffed by the Sea World Education Department, 1-800-23-SHAMU (TDD: 1-800-TD-SHAMU), is also provided seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST so that students may call with questions about marine animals.One segment of Shamu TV covers killer whales. Click here (page gone, sorry) to view a NetShow feed from this segment. This segment may be named Whale Tales, or this may be a separate Shamu TV episode on whales.
Sharks and Whales. By Prentice-Hall Media. Tarrytown, New York: Prentice-Hall Media, 1977. (With teacher's guide, book, and read-along cassette).
Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales. From the Nova series on U.S. public television. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Library Video Classics Project. Distributed by Ambrose Video Publishing, New York, USA, 1984, 1988. First Independent, United Kingdom, later released by BBC2.
Examines some of the language experiments being done with apes (including Washoe, Koko, Nim, Lana, Sherman, Austin, and Chantek), dolphins (includes John Lilly's work with Joe and Rosie), sea lions, and whales.
The Silent World.
The Singing Whales. From Jacques Cousteau's 1986 Undersea World series. Narrated by Rod Serling. Directed by Philippe Cousteau. Produced and written by Andy White. Pacific Arts Video, 1986. 24 minutes.
"The scientists of the Calypso study the sounds of the humpback whale, swimming . . . close to the enormous fins of the untroubled animal. The video also underscores the threatened extinction of all whales by hunters from protein-hungry nations."
The Six Million Dollar Man U.S. television series. Dolphin episode guest-starring William Shatner.
Frank: Shatner plays the part of an astronaut who, while on an orbital mission, passes through some strange energy field that gives him enhanced extrasensory powers that ultimately prove to be too much for him. After a visit to an oceanarium, he urges NASA officials to modify an Apollo spacecraft to take up one or two dolphins to experience the energy field, as he believes the dolphins will derive even more from the experience than he did.
The Smithsonian's Whale. Produced and directed by Sophy Burnham. The Smithsonian Institution.
About the building of a new blue whale model at the Smithsonian in the 1950s to replace the plaster cast built in 1903.
Snooper Troops, Case 2: The Disappearing Dolphin. By Tom Snyder. For Commodore 64/128. Ages 10 to adult.
"Someone Stole Lily the dolphin from the Tabasco Aquarium. But Who? And Why? As a snooper trooper it is your job to find out. But it won't be easy."
A Sound of Dolphins. From The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau series. Narrated by Rod Serling. Produced by Andy White. Executive produced by Jacques Cousteau and Marshall Flaum. A Marshall Flaum Production in association with Les Requins Associes and Metromedia Producers Corporation. Pacific Arts Video, 1986. Available from Pacific Arts Video, 50 N. La Cienega Blvd., Suite #210, Beverly Hills, California 90211, USA, or from University of California, Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, USA, (510) 642-0460. 60 minutes.
"Captain Jacques Cousteau and the crew of the Calypso try to unravel the mysteries surrounding one of the world's most intelligent creatures, the Dolphin. Filming these free-spirited individuals has always been difficult due to their speed, maneuverability, and sense of humor. An ingenious underwater camera extension was attached to the Calypso, aimed backward to capture the first frontal shots of Dolphins swimming freely. At Gibraltar, research is conducted into Dolphin sonar and echo location abilities. In the Canary Islands, the crew films villagers who use a whistle language not unlike the dolphin's to communicate across rugged terrain for up to six miles, suggesting the possibility of interspecies communications. And in Mauritania, Cousteau captures the amazing sight of Dolphins herding tons of migrating Mullet toward shore and into the waiting nets of local fishermen. From earliest times villagers there have depended on Dolphins to help them with their harvest. They've been called our 'Brothers in the Sea' and this award-winning film is one of the finest insights into their world."
The Sounds of Discovery. From the The New Explorers series on U.S. public television (PBS). Hosted by Bill Kurtis. Teachers' kit available. Films Incorporated, 5547 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640-1199, USA, (312) 878-2600, ext. 43, (800) 621-0660.
This program features Chris Clark working with the U.S. Navy to track great whales via submarine listening devices, and Oregon State University marine biologist Dr. Bruce Mate, who is the first scientist to successfully place a satellite tag on a sperm whale. The latter tagging took place aboard the Whale Conservation Institute's R/V Odyssey on a cruise in the Galapagos. Satellite tags will enable scientists to follow the sperm whale (which spends only about 5 percent of its life at the surface) both above and below the surface. [Dr. Robbins Barstow says the underwater footage of a pod of sperm whales is the best sperm-whale footage he has ever seen--Trisha]
Sperm Whale Explosion Video #1. TV-MIDT-VEST. Private copies of this video may be ordered from TV-MIDT-VEST, Soevej 2, DK-7500 Holsterbro, Denmark, voice: (45) 97 40 33 00, fax: (45) 97 40 14 44, tvmv@post4.tele.dk.
Carl Kinze: The video shows a 1185 cm male sperm whale that stranded near Nymindegab on the central west coast of Jutland, Denmark, on 17 November 1990. A taxidermist from the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, is mounting the slippery carcass in order to commence the flensing. One of the first cuts leads to an explosion (with sound). Intestines, etc., are blown into the air. There are fleeing, screaming people. The key sequence is repeated several times, and once in slow motion.
Sperm Whale Explosion Video #2. http://www.perp.com/whale/. Quicktime movie of a stranded sperm whale exploded by the Oregon highway department in 1970 in Florence, Oregon. Catalog number: STR10139; stranded November 9, 1970; condition: 2+; length: 1300 cm est.
Sperm Whale Oasis. Produced by Feodor Pitcairn in association with Working Dog. Ocean Wilds series. PBS Home Video, 2001.
From the PBS website: "Sperm whales are among the least-filmed of the great whales, in part because they dwell at great depths, and because centuries of whaling have made them wary of humans. But off the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, Pitcairn infiltrates a group of sperm whales -- largest of all the toothed whales -- and lingers in their midst. The result is stunning -- one of the most compelling and close-up encounters ever filmed with these real-life Moby Dicks."
Sperm Whales: The Real Moby Dick. From the U.S. PBS Nature series. 1996. Available from WNET Video Distribution, P.O. Box 2284, South Burlington, Vermont 05407, USA, 800-336-1917. See also PBS's online guide to sperm whales.
Captures efforts of Jonathan Gordon and other researchers to study the least known of the great whales, including their physicality, modes of communication, and social interactions. Also addresses how the species returned from the brink of extinction at the hands of whalers.Trisha: Several alt.animals.dolphins participants have praised this film, and I concur.
Spinner Dolphins of Hawaii. By Terry Pinney. Music by Ariel. Waianae, Hawaii: Lei Aloha Center. Email: Dolphins4U@aol.com. 40 minutes.
Spirit of the Amazon: Boto Dolpin. Fabulous Animals series. Produced by Uwe Kersken. Gruppe 5 for Docstar and WDR.
" A pink Boto Dolphin emerges from the Amazon as a handsome man and seduces a villager at a dance. Unseen, he takes her back with him to the river where they both play together as Dolphins.""Fabulous Animals is an original . . . 13-part series which celebrates the animals who play an important role in the myth, legend, and folklore of diverse peoples and cultures, from the Inuit to the Aborigines. The sea monster, the unicorn and the vampire are not merely creature of fantasy; they all have their origins in real, living animals. The highest quality animal behavior footage is combined with amusing tales recounted by natives from all over the world. State of the art graphics and dramatized re-enactment give powerful and realistic insight into the relationship between animals and the people they live among."
Spirit of the Dolphin Video Journey. By Katryn Lavanture. Spirit of the Dolphin Journeys, 81 Wild Cherry Lane, Marietta, PA 17547(temporary address), 800-414-7763, email: dolfun@paonline.com. 16 minutes.
From the Web site (Katryn Lavanture writes): "I've created a 16-minute video of the spotted dolphins we swim with in the Bahamas [consisting of] underwater footage plus beautiful music created exclusively for me by Michael Hammer. As when you actually swim with dolphins, this video evokes feelings of deep peace, relaxation, and well-being. It was created for use individually or in groups to set a mood, de-stress, and calm emotions. Also, if you've ever had the opportunity to swim with dolphins it is a way to continue the connection you felt with that experience. For those of you in corporate, educational, or health care systems it is an excellent way to create a calm space before or after stressful meetings, during trainings, [or] before testing, [as well as] in waiting rooms, labor and delivery rooms, via in-house closed circuit TV, etc."Trisha: Lovely, relaxing footage (New Age sound track) of Atlantic spotted dolphins with some exquisite segments, particularly the eye closeups. The tape opens briefly with surface leaps and bow riding, then moves underwater, utilizing slow motion and interesting camera angles to pleasing effect.
Spirit of the Sound. From the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Nature series. Produced by WNET and TV New Zealand. 60 min. Available from Wehman Video, 2366 Eastlake Avenue East, Suite 312, Seattle, Washington 98102, USA, (800) 659-1553, (206) 726-0220, fax: (206) 726-0273.
Explore one of the richest wildlife habitats in North America, Washington State's Puget Sound, in this highly acclaimed program from the PBS Nature series. Secretive harbor seals return to their breeding grounds. Salmon complete their endless cycle from stream to sea and back. Skies come alive with migratory birds during their continental migrations, and below the tides lies the domain of the killer whale.
The Splendors of the Sea: The Caribbean's Secret World. The Discovery Channel. 60 minutes.
This documentary explores the underwater world of the Caribbean. Includes footage of killer whales.
Spotted Dolphin and Sea Otter. Acorn Media Publishing, 1998. 50 minutes.
Trisha: Based on the input of alt.animals.dolphins readers, the novel Startide Rising, from Brin's Uplift series (see the entry for The Uplift War in the Cetacean Fiction Bibliography for links to more info on the Uplift concept), is the all-time cetacean sci-fi favorite. It is as grand as the cover quote indicates, and the dolphins, who have been genetically uplifted by humans, constitute the primary crew aboard Streaker, including the captain. Their portrayal is interesting and complex, including their personal and species-related traits and their multiple levels of thought and communication: the Whale Dream, Keneenk (combines "logical, human-style thought with the heritage of the Whale Dream"), Primal Delphin, dolphin-Trinary, and Anglic. It will be interesting to see how all of this translates to film.
Startropics Nintendo game.
"Stone Money." The Aquanauts television program. 1999.
The Story of Jonah and the Whale. A Sony Wonder Video, 1996. 30 minutes.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Film starring William Shatner, Leonard
Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley. Produced by Harve Bennett. Directed by Leonard
Nimoy. Produced by Harve Bennett. Paramount Pictures Corp., 5555 Melrose Avenue,
Hollywood, California 90038, USA, 1987. 119 minutes.
The Discovery Channel program Movie Magic has a segment on Walt
Conti's (Edge Productions) creation of the animatronic humpback models used
for the film. See Movie Magic entry above.
Stop the Smoggies: Leader of the Pack. CINAR Films, 1996. Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment, Ontario, Canada. (Animated.)
"This critically acclaimed series, endorsed by the Greenhouse Crisis Foundation, deals with environmental issues from acid rain to endangered species using a combination of wit and humor sure to capture youngsters' attention."
The theme for 'Leader of the Pack' is endangered species, and "The Smoggies turn a pack of whales against the Suntots. Emma thinks she's Napoleon and hurls her forces at Coral Island. But when the whales beach themselves, thank God the Suntots are there to come to the rescue!"
Story of Jonah and the Whale. By Beginners Bible. 1997. 30 minutes.
Stranded. Narrated by Peter Gwynne. Directed by Tristram Miall. Produced by Robert Loader. A Public Media Corporation Release. Golden Dolphin Films, 1981. Films Incorporated, 5547 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640-1199, (312) 878-2600, ext. 43. 48 minutes.
Stunning Sounds. Hosted by David Suzuki. Written, produced, and directed by Mike Poole. From the Nature of Things series, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1986. The Discovery Channel.
Surface Breathers: The Mammals. From the Sea Life Sound filmstrip series. National Geographic. 12-14 minutes.
"Swimming with Giants." The Quest television program, Animal Planet channel, November 1999.
Swimming with Whales. Narrated by Gregory Peck. NOVA Series. U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Coronet Film & Video, 108 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, Illinois 60015, (800) 621-2131, (708) 940-1260. 58 minutes.
The discussion guide accompanying the video includes Comments for Teachers, Viewing Goals, Discussion Questions, and Suggested Activities.
Tales from the Nursery. Vol. XIII of The Blue Frontier series.
Hosted by Leslie Nielsen. Produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea
World U.S.A., Inc. Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina Del Rey,
California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. 1989. Grade level 6-college. 30 minutes.
Tales of Whales and Sails. 1991. Available from Dolphin Within Society,
P.O. Box 2052, Clovelly, NSW 2031, Australia, voice: (02) 665 0712, fax: (02)
664 2018, e-mail: 100352.2334@compuserve.com. 23 minutes.
The Talking Whale. Directed by Robin Brown. Central Television (formerly ATV), United Kingdom. 1981.
Gudrun was moved from Harderwijk to Sea World of Florida, Orlando, in 1987, where she eventually gave birth to two calves, but sadly died of toxemia during her third pregnancy in 1995. For more information and a picture of Gudrun, visit
Jaap van der Toorn's Web site.
Talking with Dolphins. U.S. Navy Film Title 732620. National
Audio-Visual Center (General Services Administration). 16 mm. 16 minutes.
Talk Like Whales. Written and directed by Vibeke Vogel. Denmark, 1993.
28 minutes. In English and Danish.
There's a Sound in the Sea. Written and produced by Michael Robert Hoyt. Available from Michael Robert Hoyt, 3922 Rickover Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20902, USA, or may be rented from Defenders of Wildlife, 1244 Nineteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA.
This Island Earth. A Kenny Loggins television special.
Those Incredible Animals. Hosted by Loretta Swit. Produced by Michael Hoff. Westinghouse Broadcasting Inc., 1991.
Top Guns and Toxic Whales. Directed by Lawrence Moore. New York: The Cinema Guild, 1991. 52 minutes. URL: www.cinemaguild.com.
Touched by a Dolphin. Hosted by Sharon Lawrence. Produced and written by Pamela Stacey. Executive produced by Dennis B. Kane and James McQuillan. ABC/Kane Productions International, 1997. Available for purchase by calling (800) 650-4ABC.
Pigs are then shown and said to be one of the closest land relatives to
dolphins, followed by a visit to Laguna, Brazil, where dolphins have been
assisting fishermen since 1847. The dolphins herd the fish into shallow water,
signal the fisherman, and then roll away, at which time the fishermen throw
their nets, and the dolphins catch and eat the fish who escape the nets. The
next stop is Moray Firth Bay in Scotland's North Sea, where the largest
bottlenose dolphins in the world (up to 13 feet long and weighing more than
1,000 lbs.) have been ramming harbor porpoises and tossing them up in the
air, causing massive internal injuries that kill them. Scientists studying
the Moray Firth dolphins cannot yet account for this behavior.
Shark Bay, Monkey Mia, Australia is next visited, where beach visitors may
feed resident wild dolphins under the supervision of a park ranger. Researchers
Janet Mann and Vincent Yanek [these names may not be spelled correctly] also
discuss their observations of five female dolphins in Shark Bay who carry
sponges on their beaks, apparently to protect themselves from abrasions when
rooting in the sand to scare up fish. They report that this is the only
suspected tool use among dolphins and whales [in the wild], and that it has
only been observed among these five females in Shark Bay.
The video closes with footage of the Atlantic spotted dolphin encounter in
the Bahamas.
To Save a Whale. Volume III of The Blue Frontier series. Hosted by Leslie Nielsen. Produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea World U.S.A., Inc. Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street, Marina Del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329. 1989. Grade level 6-college. 30 minutes.
Touching Eternity: A Day at Sea World. World of Texas, 1993.
Tracking a Whale by Satellite. From The Wonderful World of Whales,
Dolphins, and Porpoises series. Produced by Cetacean Society International.
Available from BTA Films and Videos, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield,
Connecticut 06109, USA. 30 minutes.
Tranquillity With Sea Friends & Underwater Christmas. Photographed by
Dan Wagner. P & B Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 033271, Indialantic, Florida
32903-0271, USA, (800) 741-5335, (407) 723-9312. 42 minutes.
The Trials of Life: Hunting and Escaping. Hosted by David Attenborough.
New York: Turner Home Entertainment.
The Tribal Sea: Whales and Dolphins.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul
Lukas, and Peter Lorre. Directed by Richard Fleischer. Screenplay by Earl Felton. Based on the novel by Jules Verne. Walt Disney Home Video. Available from Buena Vista Home Video, Dept. CS, Burbank, California 91521, USA. 127 minutes.
New versions of this film were produced on ABC and CBS television in the
United States in 1997.
ABC: Four-hour version starring Michael Caine as Captain Nemo, Patrick Dempsey as Professor Arronax, and Mia Sara as Nemo's daughter.
The Triumph of Life. IMAX, 1995.
Twenty Years with the Dolphins. By Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Forthcoming.
2010: Space Odyssey II. U.S. film based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke.
Starring Roy Scheider.
The Ultimate Guide: Whales. Produced and directed by David Reed.
Narrated by Will Lyman. Produced for The Discovery Channel by Wildlife
Associates, Ltd. Discovery Communications, 1997.
Trisha: A very nice overview of cetaceans, covering their evolution and
anatomical adaptations to the marine environment, breathing apparatus and
efficiency (dives as long as 2 hours), swimming efficiency (up to 40+ mph),
blubber and heat conservation, echolocation and communication (including
dolphins, sperm whale codas and dialects, and humpback whale songs), social
behavior (dolphins, sperm whales, and pilot whales), feeding behaviors
(including baleen whales feeding on krill and fish, and orcas beaching
themselves to feed on sea lions), strandings (pilot whales), sexual behaviors
(narwhals, sperm, right, humpback, and gray whales), newborns (humpback and
sperm whales), barnacles and whale lice, whaling and humans as the whales'
greatest threat, whale-watching and ecotourism, and some typical footage
of a captive orca performance (leaping [with and without a human clinging to
his or her nose], splashing water on the audience, 'doing the boogie,' and
'waving' to the crowd).
Umealit: The Whale Hunters. Coproduced by Bo Boudart for Nova. Available from WGBH TV, Boston, Massachusetts, (617) 492-2777.
The Unicorn of the Sea. Fabulous Animals series. Produced by Uwe Kersken. Gruppe 5 for Docstar and WDR.
"Fabulous Animals is an original . . . 13-part series which celebrates the animals who play an important role in the myth, legend, and folklore of diverse peoples and cultures, from the Inuit to the Aborigines. The sea monster, the unicorn and the vampire are not merely creature of fantasy; they all have their origins in real, living animals. The highest quality animal behavior footage is combined with amusing tales recounted by natives from all over the world. State of the art graphics and dramatized re-enactment give powerful and realistic insight into the relationship between animals and the people they live among."
The Virtual Whale Project, Simon Frazier University.
Web site includes actual footage of cooperative feeding in Frederick Sound, Southwest Alaska, plus simulated schooling, animating humpback whales, and visualizing bubble nets.
Visions of Dolphins online footage.
Visions of the Deep: The Underwater World of Al Giddings. From the NOVA
series of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Narrated by Michael Landon.
Produced by Tony Salmon and Melanie Wallace. BBC, 1983. WGBH Educational Foundation, 1984.
The Voice of the Dolphin. Produced by Albert Stevens and Thomas Fitz. The Scientific advisor Dr. Oscar Janiger. The Delphys Foundation, P.O. Box 4009,
Santa Barbara, California 93140, USA, (800), 762-6801. 1992. 26 minutes.
Trisha: A gentle film with beautiful footage narrated by two young synchronized
swimmers.
Voice of the Whale. By George Crumb. Baker & Taylor Video, 1989.
Voices from
a Distant World (Link points to an archived version). By Oren Lifshiz. Available from Fox Media, Tagensvej 85C, 2200 Copenhagen N., Denmark, e-mail: Foxmedia@dk-online.dk.
The Voyage of the Mimi. Television series. Bank Street College Project
in Science and Mathematics. Pleasantville, New York: Sunburst Communications,
1985. (See the book of the same title in the
Cetacean Children's Bibliography.)
Voyager probes. Audio and image contents available on CD-ROM.
Walker's World television program. Episode: "Iceland: Glacial Adventures." 1999.
The Warm Blooded Sea: Mammals of the Deep. Number 10 in The
Cousteau Odyssey series.
Watching the Whales. Produced by Stan Minasian. Marine Mammal Fund, Fort Mason Center, Bldg. E, San Francisco, California, 94123, USA. 1985. New re-edited edition 1993. 30 minutes.
"The sounds heard are those made by the animals themselves as they are
viewed, and the purity of the experience lies in the absence of music or
narrative, the ultimate natural experience."
Water Polo electronic game. Game & Time series. Japan: Morioka Tokei, Inc.
The Waterville Gang. Created and written by Barry Rosenburg, and
produced by Glen-Warren Productions, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
We Call Them Killers. Directed by Tom Shandel. Produced by Peter Jones. National Film Board of Canada. 1972. 16 minutes.
"Whale." Jim Henson's Animal Show television program. 1999.
"Whale." Twisted Tales television program. 1999.
The Whale Adoption Project Presents Your Favorite Whale. Available
from International Wildlife Coalition, Whale Adoption Project, 70 East Falmouth
Highway, East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536-5954, USA, (800) 548-8705, (508)
548-8328, fax: (508) 548-8543. 35-40 minutes.
Whale Adventures. By Audubon Society. HBO Video, 1998. 30 minutes.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society Slide Pack. Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society, P.O. Box 981, Bath BA1 2BT, England.
"Whale Detectives". Segment of Discovery Magazine, the week
of May 18, 1998. The Discovery Channel.
A Whale for the Killing. By Farley Mowat. For television.
Whale Music. By Rheostatics. Baker & Taylor Video, 1994.
The
WhaleNet Guide to Whales and Marine Mammals of the North Atlantic Ocean.. CDROM for Mac and PC. Produced by WhaleNet
in conjunction with Wheelock College and The College of the Atlantic with funding by the National Science Foundation, 1998. For information contact Whalemaster, Lenk & Associates, 179 South Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02111, fax: 617-753-9967, email: whalemaster@lenkassociates.com. Retail and wholesale inquiries invited.
Contents include: 1) a field guide to the 20 most common marine mammals of the North Atlantic region, 2) a special graphic key that lets you identify over 800 different individual humpback whales, 3) sighting histories of over 11,000 occurrences of known humpback whales, and 4) texts and references for the field guide, including an extensive glossary.
"Naturalists with laptops on board can log in fluke characteristics and
download sighting histories and fluke images while on the whale-watch vessel.
"Teachers and students can use [the CD-ROM] in conjunction with WhaleNet,
the Voyage of the Mimi materials, and other curriculum units.
" [The CD-ROM] can [also] be sold on board whale-watch vessels and in
bookshops as educational souvenirs."
"A Whale of a Business." Frontline, PBS, USA. Produced by
Renata Simone and Neil Docherty. Frontline produced by WGBH Boston, WTVS Detroit, WPBT Miami, WNET New York, KCTS Seattle. First airing November 11, 1997.
"Despite three Hollywood feature films and a six-year, multimillion
dollar grassroots campaign, the killer whale who starred in Free Willy
remains in captivity. Keiko, who played Willy in the Warner Bros. movie,
is the focus of a worldwide movement to returned him to the wild--a move
which was opposed by many in the $1-billion-a-year marine park industry.
"On January 7, 1996, a team of veterinarians, airline workers,
crane operators, and animal advocates worked together to carry out a plan
that had been in the works for two years: moving the five-ton whale,
Keiko, from a Mexican theme park to a newly built rehabilitation tank in
the United States. Now being cared for in Oregon, Keiko is in a unique
position. The only whale in captivity not required to perform, he is
being prepared for life in the wild. While his eventual freedom is not
yet a certainty, much is at stake in the future of this eighteen-year-old
whale.
"Frontline examines the money, power, and politics behind the
captive marine mammal industry. Through the story of Keiko's eighteen years
in captivity, the program explores the capture, shipment, and treatment of
marine mammals, the laws governing those activities, as well as human
understanding of and relationship with these large creatures. Frontline
looks at all sides of this controversial issue, interviewing Sea World
executives, marine mammal experts, and advocates who believe the animals
should be freed.
"'Ever since Flipper leaped onto our TVs in the sixties, audiences
have been captivated by dolphins and whales,' says Frontline producer
Renata Simone. 'We take a hard look at the industry behind the spectacle
and find a bitter war between activists who fervently believe these animals
should be free [Ric O'Barry and Ben White] and corporations like Sea World
[represented by Brad Andrews, zoological director, and Jim McBain,
Sea World's veterinarian] where entertainment, image, and sales are the
objective. In the middle of this balancing act is a 10,000 pound whale
named Keiko.'
"'A Whale of a Business' includes interviews with the key players in
Keiko's saga: his current veterinarian [Lanny Cornell]; those responsible
for his transfer to the new rehabilitation pool, including Craig McCaw, the
billionaire entrepreneur who underwrote much of Keiko's rehabilitation project
[and David Phillips, a Free Willy Foundation board member along with Craig
McCaw]; the producers of Free Willy, Lauren Schuler-Donner and Jenny
Lew Tugen; and government ministers in Iceland, who must give permission for
Keiko to be returned home.
"'There was no question that the moral imperative was created by
the movie,' Craig McCaw tells Frontline. 'If you convince several
billion children that the whale got free . . . and then you don't fulfill
that dream, you have broken a promise to children all over the world.'
"The marine amusement industry had its start in 1965 when Ted Griffin,
the owner of a small Seattle aquarium, heard that an orca had been caught
by local fishermen and bought the whale from them for $8,000. Today, the
United States is the largest player in this global industry. In the U.S.
alone, the twelve largest aquariums took in more than $700 million in 1995.
The marine parks' managers confirm that performing dolphins and whales are
their star attractions and their largest audience draw.
"Susan Davis, associate professor of communications at the University of
California, San Diego, and an expert on theme parks, calls the layout at the
flagship Sea World, 'a landscape that tells you, on the one hand, if you come
here you'll be doing something good for the oceans and consume, consume,
consume. That's a contradiction.'
"'A Whale of a Business' takes viewers to two recent fish drives in
Japan where, using underwater sound to disorient the animals, fishermen
drive 100 bottlenose dolphins, 50 false killer whales, and 50 pilot whales
into a harbor. Buyers select the best looking animals for purchase by
aquariums; the rest of the animals are slaughtered for the expanding
Japanese 'whalemeat' market.
"Marine mammal advocates use accepted research in their arguments
for releasing the animals. In addition to complaints about the size and
shape of the animals' pools (which they say do not take into account the
mammals' needs for acoustic stimulation), advocates also point to data
showing that sea mammals' life expectancy in captivity is little more than
one-third of the expectancy in the wild.
"Frontline looks at marine park industry representatives'
argument that the animals have a good, secure life in captivity and that the
educational value for children justifies any loneliness these animals may
experience. Jim Antrim, a Sea World spokesperson, says their aim is 'to
make people aware of how remarkable whales and dolphins are so that people
will endorse measures to protect them in the wild.'
"Advocates counter that marine parks teach the wrong lessons. 'This
model teaches that man is in charge and has the right to destroy any other
animal's natural life,' says Ken Balcomb, who is director of the Whale
Research Center in Washington State. 'Is that what we really want our
kids to learn?'
"But is releasing Keiko and other dolphins and whales a realistic
solution? Some of those involved in moving Keiko to his rehabilitation
tank in Oregon have left in frustration over delays in his release. Some
blame the delay on the influence of marine park insiders working with
Keiko. But after years of being held in a relatively small tank, Keiko
must overcome a number of obstacles before he will be able to survive in
the wild, including being retrained to hunt fish.
"'It's an amazing spectacle to see Keiko nuzzling live fish like
bath toys, instead of treating them like prey,' says producer Neil
Docherty. 'It shows how much has been taken away from these animals when
they are removed from the wild. While it may be a noble idea to release
these magnificent creatures, we are left wondering if it is even
possible.'
"'Keiko is not a good candidate. He's been dependent upon humans for his
food, his interaction. He's an animal that's adapted to living in
an oceanarium environment and done so successfully for many years,' says
chief veterinarian for Sea World Jim McBain.
"Another hurdle for Keiko is the skin virus he developed in captivity.
Some say if he is set free now, he could spread the virus to populations
of wild orcas. But critics say many whales in the open ocean have the
virus and that it is being used to delay Keiko's release.
"But the greatest difficulty is the unknown. No other captive
killer whale has ever been released, and it is difficult to predict
Keiko's success.
"'We're not going to release any of the animals in our collection
because they've been in our collection for long periods of time, and we're
not going to put them at risk where they can die,' Brad Andrews, corporate
director for Sea World, tells Frontline.
"The question of whether parks should be required to free their
marine mammal collections raises a loud debate. Like any other industry,
the marine parks say they should be allowed to make money from these
popular attractions. But there is a ground swell of voices saying man's
interaction with animals has to evolve into a new form."
Also contains footage of captive dolphins trained by the military.
See http://video.pbs.org:8080/ramgen/wgbh/pages/frontline/dolphin.rm.
Whale of a Tale CD. Windows and Macintosh. Texas Caviar, 1995. Ages 5-10.
Texas Caviar is an award-winning, independent publisher of education CD-ROM titles for children. Each title combines an original story with classic, curriculum-based, liberal arts materials and activities at the computer and away from the computer.
Whale of a Tale. Baker and Taylor Video, 1994. Ages 2-10.
A Whale of a Tale. Starring William Shatner, Marty Allen, and Abby
Dalton. Produced and directed by Ewing M. Brown. Copyright Luckris Corp, 1982.
Distributed by Hemdale Home Video, Los Angeles, California. 97 minutes.
minutes.
"It's young Joey's fondest wish to work at the . . . aquatic park known
as Marineland, and kind marine biologist Dr. Fredricks (William Shatner) gives
the boy a job assisting Louie (Marty Allen), a friendly fisherman who brings
'em back alive. Over the objections of his anxious mom and skeptical aunt, Joey
revels in his piscine paradise--and develops a unique friendship with a killer
whale named Orky."
Trisha: Haven't seen this one, but it promises to be an excruciating experience.
Whale Rescue. Wildlife Tales series. Produced by Nancy LeBrun. Copyright ABC/Kane Productions International, 1990. Distributed by Capital Cities/ABC Video Publishing, Stamford, Connecticut. 25 minutes.
The Whale Rider. Screenplay and direction by Niki Caro. Produced by ApolloMedia, Pandora (Germany), South Pacific
Pictures. New Zealand, 2003 (release date: June 6). 105 minutes. See the Cetacean Fiction Bibliography for the book by the
same name on which this film is based.
Awards: AGF People's Choice Award (2002 Toronto International Film Festival); World-Cinema Audience Awared (2003 Sundance
Film Festival)
Whales. In development by National Wildlife Federation.
Whales. Narrated by Patrick Stewart. Directed by David Clark. Produced by Al Giddings and David Clark. Advisor: Dr. Roger Payne. A joint IMAX production of National Wildlife
Productions, Destination Cinema, Inc., and Zephyr Productions. Premiered on
November 15, 1996, at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and
will be shown at IMAX theaters worldwide. Video and soundtrack available from
the National Wildlife Federation, P.O. Box 9004, Winchester, VA 22604-9004, voice: (800) 477-5560, fax: (540) 722-5399. Science education package available from Leighton Taylor and Associates, 1677 Sage Canyon Road, St. Helena, California 94574, USA, (707) 963-2260.
Includes footage of Dr. John Lien of the Whale Research Group, University of
Newfoundland, freeing a net-entangled humpback in July 1995; humpback feeding
behavior, including the herding of fish prey underwater using sound and bubbles,
followed by leaping out of the water in coordinated fashion with mouths agape
as they feed, filmed in August 1995 in Frederick Sound, southeast Alaska, guided
by Fred Sharpe of Simon Frazier University, British Columbia; right whales
filmed in September 1995 in Peninsula Valdez, Patagonia, southern Argentina, from sea cliffs and beaches via telephoto lens, from Zodiacs and helicopter, and
underwater; humpback whales breeding and mothers with calves filmed in March
1996 in Maui, Hawaii--this is the breeding ground for many of the whales filmed
on the feeding grounds in Alaska in August--under the guidance of Debbie Ferrari, who has been studying this population of humpbacks for two decades and knows many of the individuals well; in mid-1996 in Columbia, South America, a military submarine will be filmed that is being used by a Colombian cardiologist to listen to whale heartbeats, followed by filming of an underwater whale graveyard in Newfoundland, and then diving off the coast of southern California to film the blue whale.
Cinematographer Al Giddings says this is the best footage of whales he has ever
shot. He says the experience provided him with "one of the greatest underwater moments of my career . . . I was frequently so knocked out by the experience that I would have to get back to the boat and look at my flippers for two or three minutes before I could even talk about it."
From a review by Brent Hall in the January 1997 issue of Whales Alive!:
This film "balances entertainment with education as it presents many spectacular images of whales along with their vocalizations and songs. The immense screen allows you to see the whales virtually life-size. Oddly enough one of the most striking sequences to me was of a whale skeleton on the ocean floor . . .
"I only have one slightly negative impression of the movie: it is probably
because the film's emphasis is on baleen whales that the orcas are given a very
brief and unbalanced treatment, portrayed as the 'bad guys' preying on the migrating humpback whales that the audience had just bonded with earlier in the film. The toothed whales deserve a sequel! In the meantime, anyone interested in whales should find this to be an excellent movie." [Trisha: I agree with Brent; the orcas' portrayal is brief and unbalanced; otherwise, nice footage of the other species filmed.]
Whales. From The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau series. Narrated by
Rod Serling. Produced by Alan Landsburg. Executive produced by Jacques Cousteau and Alan Landsburg. Les Requins Associes and Metromedia Producers Corporation. Pacific Arts Video, 1986. Available from Pacific Arts Video, 50 N. La Cienega Blvd., Suite #210, Beverly Hills, California 90211, USA. 60 minutes.
Whales. Washington, D.C., USA: National Geographic Society, P.O. Box
1640, Washington, D.C. 20013-1640, (800) 343-6610. 1981. (With teacher's guide.)
Whales. Albatross Guides, Thomas M. Johnson Natural History Photography
and Tours. Written and directed by Paul Thompson. Produced by Tom Wilkinson.
Wombat Film & Video, 250 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019, USA, (212)
315-2502.
Whales. Los Angeles, California: Churchill Films, 197?. (With guide.)
Whales!. A World of Audubon Special Presentation. Narrated by Johnny
Carson. Produced by Hardy Jones and Julia Whitty. Executive produced by Christopher N. Palmer. A coproduction of the National Audubon Society, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and WETA, Washington, D.C., 1987. Distributed by Vestron Video. Available in hearing-impaired format.
Some of the individuals featured include: Roger Payne, David Day, Craig Van
Note, and Scott Kraus.
Whales: An Unforgettable Journey. SlingShot Entertainment. 44 minutes. Originally presented in IMAX Theaters.
Whales: Can They Be Saved?. Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA, (800) 554-9862. 23 minutes.
Whales: Mammals of the Ocean. Institut fur Film und Bild, Germany, 1992. Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA, (800) 554-9862. 16 minutes.
The written text included with the video includes viewing objectives, key words
and terms, and discussion topics for pre- and post-viewing.
Whales: The Enduring Legacy. Exhibit at Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada. For information, call (800) 661-5411 or (250)
387-3701.
"Of all the creatures on Earth, whales are one of the most
intriguing in the natural world. From the extraordinary migratory journeys
of the Gray Whale to the history of the commercial whaling industry, the
stories and legends of these mammals have appealed to all of us.
"Whales: The Enduring Legacy will explore the often controversial
relationship between whales and humankind: the mythology, conservation,
economics, recreation and art associated with the largest and some of the
least known mammals on Earth.
"An articulated 10-meter Gray Whale skeleton will greet visitors as
they enter a gallery filled with remarkable artifacts, specimens and
informative displays. You'll hear mysterious whale sounds, learn about
whale identification and view displays on prey and feeding habits.
"Whales: The Enduring Legacy will touch on the mythology,
traditions and tribal history associated with whales in Northwest Coast
aboriginal culture.
"You'll learn of the mythological world of whales, a place of the
hunter and hunted where heroic and magical encounters took place. You'll
learn of the wondrous, ancestral creatures of the sea - part human, part
animal and part spirit.
"The traditions, rituals, regalia and elements of the whale hunt
will be highlighted. Archaeological specimens will emphasize the antiquity
of aboriginal whaling, comparing hunting techniques to those of the
Euro-American commercial whalers.
"Impressive artifacts will illustrate the importance of whales in
aboriginal ceremony. Dance blankets, headdresses, feast dishes and rattles
will be exhibited as well as an array of ceremonial masks, which were worn
by dancers to portray the legendary sea creatures of the mythic world.
"The history of commercial whaling in British Columbia will be
explored, from its origins in the 1840s to its fall in 1967. British
Columbia's whaling industry represented over a century of exploration and
misuse, exploiting the great whales until the industry drove its prey to
extinction.
"Conservation and research issues will be investigated,
encompassing a wide range of viewpoints from various periods. Rare
artifacts, including early notebooks and laboratory equipment, highlight
displays on preservation issues, research and the International Whaling
Commission.
"Whales: The Enduring Legacy explores how human beings are
continually fascinated with these graceful animals and how this is
demonstrated through everything from artistic works to sight-seeing
excursions. The exhibit will also touch on some of the controversies, such
as keeping whales in captivity and the issues surrounding the
whale-watching industry.
Whales and Dolphins. Assignment Discovery--H20 Ocean series, episode
204. The Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc.
Whales and Dolphins. By Micro Squad. (Book and 48K disk & cassette.)
Ages baby to preschool. Troll Associates Software, 1984.
Whales and Dolphins. From Mutual of Omaha's Spirit of Adventure series. Hosted by Jim Fowler. Original music composed by Christopher Cross. American Adventure Productions, Inc. MPI Home Video, 1988, 1991. 50 minutes.
"Co-host Peter Gros, along with Grammy award winner Christopher Cross and
marine scientist Diana Reese, demonstrate the use of underwater music to attract
and stimulate dolphins. One a more serious note, the show also examines some of
the threats to the dolphin; mysterious diseases and the indiscriminate killing of dolphins by commercial tuna fisherman."
Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM (PC/Mac). The Encyclopedia of World
Animals Series. Ransom, 1996.
Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM. Star Press Multimedia, 1994.
Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM. State University of New York at Buffalo, 1995.
Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM. From the 5-CD Oceans multimedia reference library.
Whales & Dolphins of the World CD-ROM. Untamed Planet series. PC only. Webster Publishing, Upper Level, 36-38 Wattle Road, Brookvale, NSW 2100, Australia, voice: +61 (2) 9939 5505, fax: +61 (2) 9939 8355, email: webpub@websterpublishing.com.
Contents: Evolution, Move from Land to Sea; Evolving Cetaceans, Anatomy and Physiological Adaptations; Whale and Dolphin Anatomy; Diving Thermoregulation; Life in the Water; Life Cycles; Echolocation; Communication; Behavior; Food and Foraging; Reproduction; Strandings; Whales and Man; History; Myths and Cultural Associations; Whaling and Whale Products; Conservation; Whale Images; Cetacean Cinema; Cetacean Picture Gallery; The World's Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises; Baleen Whales; Toothed Whales; Whale and Dolphin Research; Kith and Kin of the Killer Whale; Parallels between Dolphins and Primates; Looking for Mr. Right; Dolphins of Monkey Mia; Graveyard of the Cetaceans; A Day in the Life of a Cetacean Paleontologist
Video: around 30 minutes, photographs/illustrations: around 500, audio: nearly 2 hours, including whale and dolphin sounds; sample screen shots are available at the Web site.
Zooguides: Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM. PC and Mac. Produced by REMedia/Sony Electronic Publishing, 1997. Ages children to adult, but primarily grades K-12. REMedia, 13525 Midland Road, Suite H, Poway, California 92064, (619) 486-5030 (800) 573-63334. Available online from The Video Project, 200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com.
Rated one of the top 50 CD-ROMS by MacUser.
Trisha: Good introduction, but not all of the sounds are identified by species and some of the video footage could have
been better. According to a post on MARMAM mailing list, it also contains some inaccuracies. Although both this CD and
In the Company of Whales (see above) provide good introductions, overall I have a slight preference for the latter.
Whales and Fishing Gear: Prevention and Release. Produced by the Division of Educational Technology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Whale Research Group. St. John's, Newfoundland: Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1993.
Whales and Other Sea Mammals. Based on the U.S. television series Wild, Wild World of Animals. New York: Time-Life Films, 1977.
Whales and the Threat of Nets. From The Wonderful World of Whales,
Dolphins, and Porpoises series. Produced by Cetacean Society International.
Available from BTA Films and Videos, 190 Stillwold Drive, Wethersfield,
Connecticut 06109, USA. 30 minutes.
Whales and Whale Watching [in Australia] CD-ROM. Mac only. By
Ludwig Heinrich with Brigalow Digital Publishing, assisted by the Australian
Nature Conservation Agency (then called the National Parks and Wildlife Service)
and the Australian Film Commission. EduMacAction Natural History series, Vol. 1, No. 1. 1993. Based upon an Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service booklet entitled Whales and Whale-Watching in Australia. CD available from Brigalow Digital Publishing, P.O. Box 406, Dickson, ACT, Australia, or Environmental Australia Biodiversity Group, Wildlife Management, GPO Box 636, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia, voice: +61 2 62500737, fax: +61 2 62500314. For more information, contact Bede Ireland at bede@aca4.com.au.
"It also contains historical information on the relationship between whales and humans. Unfortunately this has often been one of exploitation; it is only in
recent times that most countries have abandoned whaling, and now whale watching as an industry is overhauling the commercial returns of killing them.
"This also presents problems for the whales but if people follow the
instructions and heed the warnings contained in this publication then we should
not endanger them further."
Contents include: species covered, introduction, watching whales in Australia,
watching dolphins in Australia, whale watching guidelines (vessels, swimmers and
divers, air and land), whale biology, Odontoceti, Mysticeti, whale sexuality,
echolocation, facts about whales, Australian whaling history, Australian achievements in whale conservation, history of cetacean protection in Australia, fishing regulations, International Whaling Commission, threats to Cetacea, Cetacea strandings, and government agencies.
Species include: blue, minke, Bryde's, humpback, sei, southern right, pygmy right sperm, killer, false killer, pygmy killer, pilot, and melon-headed whales; bottlenose, common, Irrawaddy, spinner, striped, and Risso's dolphins; and others.
Trisha: Although this CD concentrates on the cetaceans in Australian waters, it is in many ways similar to, although in a few ways distinctly different from, the general cetacean CDs in this videography. I find the use of visual material in the present CD more creative than in the others, but I find the use of sound clips from government officials, for instance, not to work well in holding the user's interest. The CD is intended for schools and the general public.
Whales, Dolphins & Men. Written and produced by Simon Campbell-Jones.
A BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), Bayerischer Rundfunk coproduction,
1972. Available from Films Incorporated, 5547 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois
60640-1199, USA, (312) 878-2600, ext. 43, or from University of California,
Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, USA,
(510) 642-0460. 51 minutes.
Whales Down Under. Wild Discovery series. Produced and directed by Max
Quinn. Executive produced by Gaynelle Evans. Photography by Paul Donovan and Max
Quinn. A coproduction of TNZ Natural History, Discovery Channel, and NDR. TV
Natural History, 1997.
The film also discusses the massacre of the southern right whale almost to
the point of extinction by the whaling industry, and the fact that it is
unknown whether or not the population is large enough to survive (the total
worldwide population is 3,000). The scientists are shown taking skin samples
by darting to determine where the whales feed, the concentration of pollutants
in their blubber, and their family structure. The New Zealand population is
characterized by an abnormally high amount of mottling, and the researchers
have some concern that this might indicate problems associated with interbreeding.
Baker and Patenaude are cataloguing the New Zealand population through photo
identification by callosities, and some of the whales have been given names.
Three of the more curious juvenile males are Moby Dick, Star Wars, and Dark
Star.
Whales in Crisis. Produced by National Geographic Television and Film. Debuted on PBS, April 2004.
According to Katy Pentland of the American Cetacean Society, this film contains clear factual errors that National
Geographic's researcher(s) should have caught, and it is one of the slickest pieces of pro-military, election-year
propaganda she has ever seen. She made public her letter to Tim Kelly, president of National Georgraphic Television
and Film.
The Whale Show. Hosted by Paul Spong.
Whales of Alaska's Inside Passage. Produced and directed by Kevin
Hartwell. U.S. Public Broadcasting System. Capital Communications, 1997.
The Whales of August. Starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish. 1987. 91
minutes.
Whalesong. Written and directed by Beverly Lewis. Produced by Ricky
Blackwood and Beverly Lewis. 1989.
"Whale Song." Produced by Elena Mannes. 60 Minutes II television program. Shown January 16, 2001.
Whalesong. By Barbara Sweete. Produced in association with the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation and TVOntario. Oley, Pennsylvania: Bullfrog Films, 1989. 28 minutes.
* Dynamic discussion of baleen and toothed whales
"Whalesong also provides a carefully thought out curriculum for
school districts, offering a full day of scientific exploration. Students through all grade levels participate in fun-filled experiments designed to provide a greater understanding of the magic abilities of these amazing animals."
WhaleSong: Whales and Dolphins of the Pacific. Narrated by Lloyd
Bridges. Produced by Earthtrust, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, Hawaii 96734-1711, USA, (808) 254-2866, fax: (808) 254-6409. Video Releasing Co., 1989.
Pat Hale: Very good conservation-awareness video with excellent footage of a
variety of species. Contains graphic footage of tuna-industry netting and
dolphins being killed.
Whales Surfacing. Doubleday Multimedia. Silent loop. Disney footage.
8mm. 1:25 minutes.
Whales That Wouldn't Die. 28 minutes. Available for sale or rental from
University of California, Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, USA, (510) 642-0460.
Whales Voyage Commodore computer game. CD32.
Whale Tales television series. Produced by Christopher Carson.
Forthcoming. Contact: Whale Tales, c/o Reverie Film Productions, P.O. Box 1714,
San Luis Obispo, California 93406-1714, USA, e-mail: reverie@fix.net.
We are currently seeking video footage of interesting or unusual encounters
between humans and dolphins, whales, and porpoises. If the footage is good,
we will contact the cameraperson for rights. We would also like to interview
the various individuals involved with the encounter.
Whale Tales is also interested in video footage of human contact with
manatees, dugongs, seals, and sea lions.
If you or anyone whom you know [has] video footage of your whale or
dolphin encounter, or [has] a series of still images which help to illustrate
your story we want to see it! Please pass the word around to your friends and
contacts that Reverie Film Productions is interested in seeing all video
footage of good encounters.
Please note that all materials mailed to us will become the property of
Reverie Film Productions.
Please send a VHS cassette (NTSC format preferred) or a series of 5 x 7
prints of your experience along with a written description of the encounter
to the address [above].
The Whale Tape. Sharkbait Productions Hawaii, 1988, 1989.
The Whale That Became a Star. Marineland of the Pacific. 16mm. 27 minutes.
The Whale Video Company. P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055,
USA, (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. Hours of operation: 9AM-6PM Eastern Standard Time.
From the company: "This effort over the last decade has produced the world's largest video library of whale and dolphin footage. Stock footage of hundreds of individual humpback whales has been cataloged for your next video project. In addition, excellent footage of individual fin and northern right whales is now available. All other east coast whale and dolphin species, as well as sharks, pelagic birds, and other sea life are represented.
"Tapes were also produced highlighting individual humpback whales. Nearly
sixty whales, with names from Agassiz to Zepplin can be seen. For example,
Salt is the most famous of all humpbacks and each of her six offspring are
represented in the tape library.
"Rights to the footage can be purchased for broadcast, commercials, training and other projects. Our tapes are available at wholesale prices for retail sales or fundraising purposes [and in overseas formats]."
See detailed descriptions of TWVD's offerings at the following entries in this
videography:
The Best of Bar Harbor Whale Watching
Whale Wars. Produced and directed by Paul Cleary. British Broadcasting
Corporation, 1993. 50 minutes.
From a review in The Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly, Spring 1993,
"Visually impressive, Whale Wars [also] shows us the beauty and
athletic prowess of cetaceans in their own element and contrasts their joyous
natural lives with the ugly dismemberment of their smooth and shining bodies.
To see a power saw slice through the head of a Dall's porpoise in the butchering
establishment of a big whaling company brings home the basic meaning of the
issue.
"But this remarkable film actually succeeds in showing that the long struggle is being won--whale and dolphin watching brings smiles and wonder to the faces of the many Japanese who delight in the living animals. The deep sincerity of a young girl who says simply, 'That is very beautiful,' explains why whale watching is taking root in Japan. Several coastal towns have even become economically dependent on this non-consumptive use of whales. Whale Wars takes the viewer through a number of coastal towns.
"One citizen went so far as to say that if Japanese government were allowed
to go commercial whaling again, the whale watching industry in Japan would
collapse within a year. 'For the government to claim that there is widespread
support for commercial whaling is to neglect the realities of rural peoples in
Japan,' he fumed.
"Takeshi Hara, one of Japan's top science news editors emphasizes the lack of balance in reporting on the whaling issue. 'About 90% of the coverage was there to justify whaling. Many countries had views against whaling, but these views were not covered by the mass media,' he said.
"The government's claim that traditional culture in Japan demands whale
killing rings hollow in the face of Whale Wars' broadbased documentation. Everyone interested in this vital, long-contested issue should view the film.
"Whale Wars met with great approval in the UK. It got the highest
rating in the history of BBC's Nature program. American environmental
group representatives joined in praising the new video. 'It is the most impressive piece that has ever been done on the Japanese whaling situation,' stated David Phillips of Earth Island Institute. 'The investigators at EIA deserve a lot of credit.' Phillips said the video had a positive impact on the IWC proceedings. 'Many delegates were struck by the fact the Japanese villagers and opinion leaders were speaking out against commercial whaling. That story just doesn't often get out in Japan.'"
Whale Watch. From the NOVA series. Produced by U.S. television station
WGBH. New York: Ambrose Video Publishing, 1982. Vestron Video, 1982, 1988.
Close-captioned. 57 minutes.
Whale Watcher: An ACQUIRE(r) expert system application for whale identification. Acquired Intelligence, Inc.
Whale Watcher: The Movie. Narrated by naturalist Frank Scheele. Red Top
Productions, 1989. Available from Bennett Marine Video, 730 Washington Street,
Marina del Rey, California 90292, USA, (213) 821-3329.
"Reflect on rare footage of the endangered Right Whale . . . Wonder at the
graceful symmetry and power of a pod of Killer Whales as they swim by on their
hunt for giant Bluefin Tuna. Thrill to the antics of the gregarious Humpback
Whales and witness their varied and fascinating behavior . . . "
Whaling Wall XXXI: Grey Whale Migration. By Wyland. Narrated
by Leonard Nimoy. Produced and directed by Millie Benton Paul. Wyland Studios,
1993. Available from Wyland Galleries, 2171 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach,
California 92651, USA, (800) 777-0039, (714) 497-4081, fax: (714) 497-7852. 30
minutes.
What to Do about Whales? Produced by Kate Clere and Michael McIntyre. 60 minutes.
When Animals Talk. Hosted by Joan Lunden. Arts & Entertainment Channel. 2000.
When the Whales Came. Starring Paul Scofield and Helen Mirren. Based
on a book by Michael Morpurgo. Directed by Clive Rees. Golden Swan Films and
Television B.V. in England. New York: CBS/Fox Video, 1989, 1990. 100 minutes.
Where Have All the Dolphins Gone? The Untold Story of Dolphin Slaughter
and the Shameful Coverup. Updated version. 1990. Narrated by George C.
Scott. Produced by the Marine Mammal Fund. First shown on the Discovery Channel
(U.S.A.). Miracle Productions, P.O. Box 111, Kings Cross, NSW, Australia.
Available in the United States from Earth Island Institute, 300 Broadway, Suite
28, San Francisco, California 94133, (415) 788-3666, or from The Video Project,
200 Estates Drive, Ben Lomond, California 95005, USA, 1-800-4-PLANET, 408-336-0160, fax: 408-336-2168, e-mail: support@videoproject.com. Available in England from International Dolphin Watch, Parklands, North Ferriby, E. Yorks, HU14 3ET, England, 0482 632358, fax: 0482 634914. Ages 15-adult. 56 minutes.
Best Film of Festival, U.S. Environmental Film Festival.
Where the River Runs Black. Playhouse Video, 39000 Seven Mile Road,
Livonia, Michigan 48152, USA. (Based on the novel.)
Scott: A story from the legends of South America, where the river
dolphins are thought to have the ability to transform themselves into beautiful
women or handsome men. A young priest is seduced in the beginning of the movie,
and a child is born who grows up with the dolphins as his friend. He must
avenge the death of his mother and the destruction of the rainforest. Excellent,
highly recommended.
Whispers of the Whales. By Trish and Wally Franklin. Directed by James
Bradstock (Rising Tide Films), Music by Yvon Mounier. Available from
The Oceania Project (Link points to an archived version), P.O. Box 646, Byron Bay 2481 NSW, Australia, voice: 61 66 858128, fax: 61 66 858998, e-mail: oceania@nor.com.au. 42 minutes.
"Captured on video from atop the 80-foot mast of the Expedition vessel,
you will view these magnificent creatures of the ocean in ways never seen before
and share the experience of those aboard the Expedition.
". . . Whispers of the Whales is a video which will engage hearts
and minds around the Planet to become inspired by the beauty and mystery of the
Humpback Whales of Hervey Bay."
Trisha: Excellent footage of various humpback whale behaviors, including
surfacing to breathe and diving, tail slapping, pectoral fin slapping, breaching, and spyhopping, with gentle, occasional narration by Trish and Wally and beautifully composed original music. Extensive delightful footage of humpbacks resting, rolling, and spyhopping right alongside the boat in very clear water.
The White Dawn.
"White Shark Research." The Aquanauts television program.
"Who Killed the Whales." (Link points to an archived version) Segment of 60 Minutes II television program, April 2001. 12 minutes. Available from CBS Archives, 212-975-5442 or 212-975-5442 .
Why Does the Singing Whale Sing?. Jacques Cousteau Special. ABC, 1973.
Why Puget Sound's Orcas are Dying. Documentary aired by KIRO/CBS TV in Seattle, Washington, October 2000.
Widgets Great Whale Adventures. By Animated. Faberge Arts Foundation,
1991. (Close captioned). 47 minutes.
Wild America: Beautiful Blues. Hosted by Marty Stouffer. Marty Stouffer Productions.
Wildlife Adventures. (U.S. television program).
Trisha: I tuned in in the middle of this, so my description is somewhat
sketchy.
Wildlife Chronicles: Gray Whales. The Discovery Channel.
Other footage includes:
* Feeding behavior. From differential wear in the baleen and a pronounced absence of barnacles on one side of the mouth, it has been determined that gray whales feed with either the left or the right side of their mouth down, with a preference for the right.
* Human threats. These include gill nets, lobster and crab pots, and other
marine debris, plus disturbance by shipping and offshore drilling for gas and
oil.
* Watching the gray whales all along the coast of California. At the peak of
the season, 350-400 whales pass by every 24 hours, moving steadily at 3-4 knots.
* Predation by orcas (no actual footage of predation is shown).
* Carnage by Scammon in the Baja lagoons and present sanctuary status of the
lagoons.
* Calf growth (1/2 kilogram/hour) and mother-calf interaction and deliberate
training of calves by mothers for the difficult swim north.
* Mating activity in outer lagoons.
* Advent of whale-watching cruises in the San Ignacio lagoon following the
first friendly approach in 1975.
* Wonderful close-up eye footage.
Wildlife Talk: Whale Rescue. The ARK Group, 425 Alabama Street, San
Francisco, California 94110, USA, (415) 863-7200.
WildQuest wild dolphin swim footage.
Wild Rescues. Animal Planet cable channel, USA. Produced for Animal
Planet by Termite Art Productions. Discovery Communications, 1997.
The surfers did not heed the dolphins' warning, and not long after a large
fin came swimming rapidly toward Adam Maguire. Adam thought it was a dolphin,
but it turned out to be a four-meter shark, which bit a hunk out of his
surfboard, seriously injuring Adam's side in the process. Adam thought he was
a goner, but two of the bottlenose dolphins appeared immediately and began
charging the shark. Adam's friends said that many other dolphins then
joined in the attack, and they knew Adam would be all right. They all three
credit the dolphins for saving his life.
Wild Shores of Patagonia.
Willie the Operatic Whale. Based on an original story by Irvin Graham.
All voices provided by Nelson Eddy (a rather remarkable feat). Walt Disney
Mini Classics series. The Walt Disney Company, 1946. Distributed by Buena
Vista Home Video, Burbank California. 29 minutes. (The tape also includes two
shorts, Ferdinand the Bull and Lambert, the Sheepish Lion.)
(For children.)
Trisha: When word reaches land about an incredible singing whale, an opera
scholar concludes that the whale must have swallowed a human opera singer,
and the scholar sets out to harpoon the whale and set the singer free. The
whale's ability is prodigious--displayed in imaginary sequences of Willie
performing at the Met--and the sailors on board ship try to prevent the
scholar from harpooning him. In the sad end, however, the scholar succeeds,
and Willie and his great gift die. The film ends by showing Willie performing
in heaven, drawing bigger crowds than ever, and singing more gloriously than
ever. Lots of archetypal symbolism here, folks :-).
Wolves of the Sea.
Wonderful Whales. Volumes 1-7 (1991-1997). Available from:
The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box 1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
17055, USA, (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 30 minutes each. (Some of the
whale names refer to names assigned to the humpback whales in the International
Wildlife Coalition's whale adoption program. Some of the videos are also
available from the coalition, which can be contacted at: International Wildlife
Coalition, 70 East Falmouth Highway, East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536-5954,
USA, (800) 548-8705, (508) 548-8328, fax: (508) 548-8543.)
Volume 1: The humpback whales Olympia and calf, Mars, Salt, Ivory, Cats Paw, and
Onyx. Also dolphins and finback, northern right, sperm, and pilot whales. "The closest breach ever is highlighted as a finale."
Volume 2: The humpback whales Salt, Colt, Buckshot, and Nile. Also white-sided and white-beaked dolphins and finback, minke, and pilot whales. "See a northern right whale calf breach seven times and its mother surface right beside the boat." Also includes "the disentanglement of a very lucky dolphin."
Volume 3: The humpback whales Salt, Mars (breaching), Scratch, Sirius, Seal, Pepper, and Turris. Also finback and sei whales.
Volume 4: The humpback whales Thalassa (Salt's 1985 calf), Anchor and calf (Anchor is Olympia's 1983 calf), Talc, Treasure, and Dash-Dot. Also includes white-sided dolphins as well as right, finback, minke, and a large pod of pilot whales. "The finale includes two spinning head breaches close to the boat."
Volume 5: The humpback whales Colt, Salt, and Tassel. Closeups of fin, minke,
right, and pilot whales. Humpback, fin, and minke whales breaching. Also includes a very curious harbor seal.
Volume 6: "The best tape in the series!" The humpback whales Salt, Sirius, Bandit, Colt, Olympia and calf, and Milky Way and calf and the only triple breach ever recorded on film (three whales jumping out of the water at the same time). Also includes minke whales and dolphins.
Volume 7: "Shows the highlights of more than 1,500 trips into the Gulf of
Maine and 'rivals Volume 6 for best tape in the series.' Includes the humpback
whales: Chimney and calf, Thread, a calf of Fringe, Colt, Stub, Icarus, and
Bandit. There are more than 20 breaches on this tape. Other species include
fin whales, dolphins, and curious minke whales right by the boat.
Trisha: I've had the great pleasure of viewing volume 6, and it is indeed a
wonderful collection of whale-watch footage, ranging from humpbacks hanging
out right alongside the boat in very clear water to magnificent breaches and
close-up views of the open and full mouths of feeding humpbacks. There is
also some delightful footage of a curious minke whale checking out this large
whale-watching vessel and its occupants (giving lie to the claim by some that
minkes don't make good whale-watching candidates), some good footage of a fin
whale, and some exquisite footage of a young humpback totally at ease, rolling
over its mother alongside the boat, and lifting one of its pectoral fins up and
over its head in that beautifully slow balletic motion that no other species
can equal, human or nonhuman.
I have also viewed volume 7, and it is an equal treat. Just about everything
you could possibly hope to see during a summer's worth of whale-watching is here: humpbacks lunge-feeding, breaching (including chin breaches and many magnificent spinning head breaches; one whale's body completely clears the water, which is very unusual), tandem breaching, spyhopping, pectoral-fin slapping, and tail slapping. There is also wonderful footage of humpbacks, including mothers and calves, who come right alongside the boat, often in very clear, very calm water, and spyhop or body roll in order to look at all the people looking at them. Thread, a thirteen-year-old male, even carefully displays his tail flukes for the onlookers. The closing humpback footage is most unusual--four males come alongside the boat, including Stub and Colt, and begin to sing and spyhop and jockey for position (their singing is included, as is other humpback song at the beginning of the tape; the rest of the soundtrack consists of some description by naturalists on the boat, but primarily captures human exclamations of awe and joy :-)). In addition to the humpback footage, there is also close-up footage of a minke whale who comes alongside the boat and of breaching minke whales (a very rare sight, according to the naturalist on board at the time). An extra treat is footage of a leatherback turtle, a 600-pound sunfish, and a basking shark that approaches the boat with mouth wide open.
The Wonder of the Dolphin. Produced and directed by Elissa Faye (efaye1@aol.com), Dolphin Therapy Research. Production in progress. Dolphin Therapy Research, 3940 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Suite 354, Studio City, California 91604, USA, (818) 501-5305.
Regarding The Wonder of the Dolphin documentary: "This project
will research the effects of dolphin interaction on abused children, and raise
public awareness of this research and the plight of abused children through a
documentary. We propose to produce three one-hour episodes in Honduras, Hawaii,
and Florida. The research project and documentary will last six months at each
site . . .
"The documentary will focus on the effects of dolphin interaction on the
children. It will also show some of the root causes of child abuse, such as
poverty and alcoholism.
"Only children diagnosed with PTSD will be part of the documentary. By
following the selection process as researchers interview children and visit their
homes trying to arrive at a diagnosis, the film will raise awareness of these
children and the poverty they live in.
"The documentary will show the effects of abuse on these children, showing
their interactions with their families at home, their work in school, and their
experiences on the street with their friends.
"A significant portion of the documentary will focus on the dolphin-child
interaction. The documentary will follow the children from their initial reaction to the dolphins, whether it is awe, wonder, or fear, through their subsequent sessions as they become comfortable, even friendly with the dolphins.
"The viewers will likewise get to know the dolphins, seeing distinctive
personalities emerge, recognizing the dolphins by name, and seeing how the
interaction with these children affects the dolphins.
"Finally, the documentary will show what effect the dolphin interaction
has on the children. How will it affect their lives at home, at school, and at
play? Will there be, as we suspect, a positive impact on these children's mental
health and social interactions? The research project and documentary will answer
those questions."
For more information on the research methodology, etc., click on the Web site
above.
Wonders of the Sea video series. Tape set no. 1 and tape set no. 5.
No. 5: "Emerald Sea: . . . Located at the northern tip of Vancouver Island in Canada's Pacific Northwest, Port Hardy is a diver's mecca for a few short months each year. Pacific dolphins, whales, sea lions and a wealth of marine life converge on this tiny area each fall. Travel by liveaboard dive vessel to many of the great dive sites . . ."
Wonders of the Sea. From the Earthquest Series. American MPC Research, Inc.,
11849 E. Telegraph Rd., Santa Fe Springs, California 90670, USA, voice: (310)
801-0108, fax: (310) 801-0138, e-mail: ampc@vividnet.com.
World Ocean
Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Cruise A23 film clips.
World of Whales CD-ROM. New Zealand: Terabyte Interactive.
From Robbins Barstow's review in the October 1996 issue of Whales Alive!: " [This] outstanding CD-ROM . . . is a creatively designed audio-visual information package which can provide hours of interesting and challenging, interactive learning time . . .
"Four major sections provide colorful images and stimulating bits of knowledge concerning (1) whales, (2) the world they live in, (3) the relation of people to whales, including whale killing and whale watching, and (4) the outlook for whales' futures. Included in many of the information subsections are brief, filmed, on-screen statements by representative persons, including individually identified scientists and researchers, Norwegian and Japanese whalers, and Greenpeace and other conservationists.
" . . . Filmed treatments are necessarily somewhat superficial, but a
'Research' appendix on the CD-ROM offers extensive, word-only texts providing
in-depth articles and analyses of much of the disc's content.
Awards:
The World of Whales and Dolphins CD-ROM (PC). Underwater World.
Your Favorite Whale. Available from: The Whale Video Company, P.O. Box
1052, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, USA, (717) 763-9507, fax: (717) 763-0943. 35-45 minutes. (The International Wildlife Coalition may be contacted at: 70 East Falmouth Highway, East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536-5954, USA, (800)
548-8705, (508) 548-8328, fax: (508) 548-8543.)
Adoption program whales include: Abraxus, Arrow, Bat, Batik, Buckshot, Cats Paw,
Churchill, Colt, Columbia, Crystal, Cygnus, Equus, Falco, Fringe, Half Moon, Istar, Ivory, Lightning, Littlespot, Mars, Midnight, Mirror, Navaho, Nile, Nurse, Olympia, Onyx, Orbit, Othello, Patches, Pepper, Quixote, Rune, Salt, Scratch, Scylla, Seal, Sickle, Sinestra, Sirius, Smoke, Sod, Spoon, Stub, and Tanith.
Other whales include: Anchor, Anvil, Arc, Badge, Chimney, Coral, Dash-Dot, Echo,
Electron, Fan, Giraffe, Glo, Pawn, Quote, Rocker, Shark, Talc, Thalassa, Trident, and Zodiac.
Details of sightings by individual are available from The Whale Video Company.
Trisha: I've viewed the tape of Olympia, and it is wonderful. The segments
include footage of her with an escort in which she repeatedly slaps her pectoral
fins on the surface of the water, sometimes one and sometimes both; footage of
her and one of her calves in which she is lobtailing, as occasionally does her
calf; footage of her, an escort, and one of her calves in which they swim
parallel to the boat and the calf takes a good look at everyone on board,
then all three of them turn to face the side of the boat, perpendicular to it,
and simply loll at the surface right by the boat, culminating in the calf
spyhopping to get an even closer look at the beings lined up at the railing. The
water is exceptionally clear in the latter segment, and the entire body of each
whale is clearly visible in the water. The tape concludes with Olympia breaching
and some brief footage of the boat making its way back to shore.
Zeus and Roxanne. Starring Steve Guttenbery and Kathleen Quinlan.
Directed by George Miller. Produced by Frank Price. Scripted by Tom Benedict,
who wrote Cocoon. Rysher Entertainment. 1997.
Trisha: I've not seen this film, but from the reviews I've read and the
e-mail I've received about it, it is yet another in the unfortunate series of
mediocre dolphin films and television series.
Zoo Life with Jack Hanna. 1 hour 38 minutes on 3 videocassetes. Written
and produced by Joan Owens.
Zoom the White Dolphin. Children's Treasures series. Directed by
Rene Borg. Produced by Albert Barille. Music by Michel Legrand. Copyright
Telcie 1970, 1974. Distributed by Embassy Home Entertainment, Los Angeles,
California. 94 minutes.
Untitled. Being produced by Paul Gasek with October Films, London England for the Discovery Channel series SciTrek. Forthcoming. Contact information for Paul Gasek: Stony Brook Films, 1002 Stony Brook Road, Brewster, Massachusetts 02631, USA, voice: (508) 896-2562, fax: (508) 896-5265, e-mail: sbf@ccsnet.com, URL: http://www.ccsnet.com.
"In any event, once we have that sequence we'll fill out the rest of the film with examples/sequences of applications of technology which enable better and closer relationships with whales--and which demonstrate, through their complexity, the wonder of what whales do themselves simply as a matter of course. For example, how do right whales differentiate between different types of plankton? We need fancy technology to do it most of the time.
"In any event, I would like very much to hear of any entanglements at all--Hawaii, West Coast, Baja, Northeast, Middle Atlantic, and Caribbean. The Center for Coastal Studies is federally contracted to rescue whales, and has the support of the Coast Guard. Is there someone on the West Coast like that?
"As well, we would like very much to hear about novel ways technology is
used to provide insight into the lives of whales. The film project will
undoubtedly take some time, so we have some opportunity to do something unique
and interesting."
Title unknown. Described in a 1994 post to a mailing list. URL for post: http://dml.cmnh.org/1994Dec/msg00103.html.
Compilation provided by:
Trisha Lamb (Note: I will be in meditation retreat from September 2005 through January 2009 and
will be unreachable via email during that time.)
Back
to Cetacean Bibliographies, Audiography, and Videography
From the back cover of the novel:
"The Terran exploration vessel Streaker has crashed on the uncharted water world of Kithrup, bearing one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Above, in space, armadas of alien races clash in a titanic struggle to claim her. Below, a handful of her human and dolphin crew battles armed rebellion and a hostile planet to safeguard her secret--the fate of the Progenitors, the fabled First Race who seeded wisdom throughout the stars."
"This is a role playing game where you are on a tropical island in search of a dolphin and you have to be very clever to find your way around."
" Aquanauts travel to the caverns of Palao to see the ancient stone currency . . . and to New Zealand to see the relationship between people and whales."
From the cover: "Commanded by God to tell the wicked Ninevites about his holy laws, Jonah becomes afraid. Hoping to hide, he boards a ship and sails away, only to encounter a terrible storm far out at sea. Thrown overboard by the fearful sailors, Jonah is suddenly swallowed whole by a gigantic, but very friendly whale! Carried along inside the great beast's stomach, Jonah is about to learn an astonishing lesson in the power of God's divine love and forgiveness . . ."
In the 23rd century a mysterious alien probe threatens Earth by disrupting
weather patterns and somehow suppressing all energy sources in its vicinity.
It threatens to evaporate the oceans and destroy the atmosphere unless it can
make contact with the humpback whales, thought to be the most intellectually
advanced life form on Earth, who are now extinct. In their frantic attempt to
save humankind and the planet, Kirk and his crew time travel back to San
Francisco in 1986 to find humpback whales and return them to the future.
[Trisha: Good movie :-)]
From the video cover: "Stop the Smoggies features the Suntots, a group of kind, cheerful, nature-loving characters who live in harmony with nature. Their idyllic and picturesque surroundings are threatened by the Smoggies, a trio of garbage-strewing characters anchored offshore Coral Island, the Suntots' home.
The human fascination with whales; footage of single and mass strandings,
speculation about why they occur, and practical advice on how to help strandees;
our knowledge of dolphins, false killer whales, and killer whales learned
in captivity and the wild, including consideration of their brain size and
intelligence and echolocation/sonar at rocky vs. gently sloping sandy beaches;
Ken Norris speaking about studying dolphins in the wild; footage of Physty, a
young sperm whale who stranded; Frank Robson speaking of his extensive experience with strandings; and Dudok van Heel's research with Gudrun (orca). Stranded species include sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales, pilot whales, killer whales, false killer whales, and common dolphins (fewer than ten of the almost eighty species of cetaceans mass strand, and only toothed whales).
Includes footage of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, humpbacks, dusky dolphins,
belugas, Commerson's dolphins, orcas, sperm whales, and narwhals, and considers
whether the toothed cetaceans use sound to stun their prey. For bottlenose
dolphins and orcas it is hypothesized that the mechanism of disorientation or
stunning is not just some kind of bodily injury to the fish's swim bladder or
body organs, but is rather an assault on the fish's hearing apparatus and
temporarily disorients the fish and makes it easier to capture. The difference
between the transmission of sound in air and water is discussed, as well as the
different kinds of sounds made by toothed cetaceans and their mechanisms of
production. Also examines the different dialects of orcas.
"The voyage begins in the Dominican Republic in the isolated reef called Silver Bank. Each year an amazing phenomenon occurs here, hundreds of humpback whales gather to breed. On board are several prominent whale researchers who hope to get a closer look."
"Discover why there is both hope and concern for the survival of the great
marine mammals of the oceans in this informative new program. Two hundred years
ago, whales were plentiful in the waters around Canada's Vancouver Island. By the mid 1960s, however, the whales all but disappeared; commercial whalers had hunted some species to near extinction for their commercial by-products. NOVA follows Canadian scientists aboard the schooner John Muir to observe humpbacks, killer whales, and grey whales in this fragile area. The program reveals life cycles, feeding habits, family units, and means of communication of these majestic creatures. The impact of human intervention, pollution and habitat destruction are also addressed."
"Saving the endangered species of the world's oceans is a round-the-clock
job for the scientists at Sea World. Some of the most prominent experts in their
fields have taken on the ambitious task of saving everything from Emperor Penguins to Killer Whales. An . . . inside look at one of the many ways [humankind] is finally learning how to give back to nature."
This is a short video about Trish and Wally Franklin's work observing humpback
whales in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia, in 1991 through their
Oceania Project.
According to Trish and Wally, it contains very dated information at this point,
and there may be few or no copies still available from Dolphin Within Society.
For current videos of their work, see Whispers of the Whales and
Angels of the Sea.
About Gudrun, an orca, and research with her by Dr. Willem Dudok van Heel,
Jaap van der Toorn, and Cees Kamminga at the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk, the
Netherlands.
Scott: Describes experiments with dolphins and electronics.
From a friend: One participant is Richard Sears; two others are Danes (an
anthropologist and a philosopher) who make their comments in Danish. The
discourse of the two Danes poetically touches upon the whales as nomadic
subjects and of the eye of the whale being turned inside, i.e., looking into
itself. The cinematography is very good, very "cosmic."
A film and manual (manual contains filmscript and teacher's resource unit) on
whales. The original pictures of whales in There's a Sound in the Sea
painted by elementary school children are available in an exhibition through
General Whale, P.O. Box Whales, Alameda, California 95401, USA.
Contains footage of Loggins' 1992 visit to Earthtrust's Project Delphis, during
which he sang for the dolphins.
Includes the following segments: 1) Humphrey, the humpback whale who wandered into San Francisco Bay in 1985 and then went upriver, ultimately returning to the open ocean. It was the first time a humpback had ever been seen in San Francisco Bay. 2) Trainers of captive orcas Vikka and Yaka [spelling of names may be incorrect] at Marine World Africa U.S.A. demonstrate some of their tricks and speak about how Vikka and Yaka had to learn each other's dialect. 3) Swimming with humpback whales in Hawaii with marine biologists Mark and Debbie Ferarri. Includes both underwater and surface footage. 4) Gray whales and human-gray whale interaction in Baja California lagoons Guerrero Negro and San Ignacio. 5) Captive belugas at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington, Inuk, Shiku, and Mayuk [spelling of names may be incorrect].
"Challenging our traditional view of national security as being assured by elaborate armaments systems, this documentary shows how environmental deterioration has now become the real threat to national and international security. Utilizing imaginative computer graphics which simulate a global environmental 'war room,' the video depicts several scenarios of future geopolitical conflicts involving environmental issues and features interviews with international leaders in the fields of national security and the environment."
Trisha: In this ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation) special presentation,
Sharon Lawrence interacts with dolphins at various captive facilities and
with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins off Denise Herzing's research boat in the
Bahamas. Captive facilities include the Rotan Marine Institute in Honduras,
the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas (footage of Duchess giving birth to Squirt is
shown), the Hilton Waikoloa in Hawaii (where children are shown "interacting"
with a captive dolphin), and the Kewalo Basin Marine Lab (where the work of
Lou Herman and Adam Pack is discussed, Akeakamai is shown going through
language drills, and communication between dolphins is explored. According to
Herman, from dolphins' responses to the "tandem create" command, via which two
dolphins are asked to come up with a novel behavior and then do it together,
we know that they communicate with each other, but we don't know how. Footage
is shown of two dolphins conferring underwater, sometimes with whistles and
clicks, and sometimes not, just before performing tandem behaviors of their
choosing.).
"The unusual 'songs' of its courtship ritual have endeared the Humpback
Whale to the hearts of millions. This is the all-but-too-true story of how this
gentle giant faced almost near extinction at the hands of heartless, greedy
whalers and how measures are now being taken to preserve this majestic creature."
"This . . . video presentation is a souvenir of the . . . moments you
experienced at [Sea World of Texas] . . . Get behind the scenes at our White Whale and Dolphin Stadium and view the largest population of beluga whales. Experience . . . Shamu at the . . . Shamu Stadium . . ." [Trisha: The actual description is rife with hyperbole. From my point of view, there is nothing "majestic," etc., about cetaceans in captivity.]
"Where do whales go? Why try to track a humpback? Dr. Robbins Barstow talks
with Dr. Peter Beamish of Ocean Contact and shows exciting footage of whales
off the Newfoundland coast and photos of the first great whale to be tracked
by satellite."
"Come slip below for a two-minute Underwater Holiday. Then relax to
forty-two minutes of music and sea friends. Join pods of wild dolphins as they
interact with each other. Join large turtles and octopus at night. Glide
through schools of fish and watch their colors change. Then swim with manta
rays, sharks, and pilot whales. See manatees mating and babies with their
mothers."
Includes footage of orcas attacking and eating baby seals.
"The oceans during the late 1860-92s are no longer safe; many ships have been lost. Sailors have returned to port with stories of a vicious narwhal . . . which sinks their ships. A naturalist, Professor (Pierre) Aronnax, his assistant, Conseil, and a professional whaler, Ned Land, join an U.S. expedition which attempts to unravel the mystery."
CBS: Two-hour version starring Ben Cross, Richard Crenna, and Paul Gross as Ned
Land.
Feature film highlighting Cynthia D'Vincent's studies of humpback whales.
From the website: ". . . the story of work with dolphins in the Bahamas over the course of twenty years. Video clips will soon be posted to [the website--click above]. You will get to know one very special dolphin named Chopper whom we have known since 1978."
Scott: The story begins with dolphins living in the home of a researcher
who is Scheider's wife. The earth is saved, the universe is "born anew," and
the dolphins are in the final scenes.
"Learn about [whales'] past, their successes and failures, and see comparisons of size and speed, and cutting-edge computer animation."
An in-depth look at Eskimos and international whaling politics; also featured
are the first census and studies of the bowhead whale and the Eskimos'
cultural relationship with the bowhead.
"A blind Eskimo boy is mistreated by his mother. When a friendly sea-bird restores his sight, he keeps it a secret but plots his revenge. One day when they are out fishing, and she tells him as usual where to aim his harpoon, he spears a whale instead of a beluga. Attached to the line, she is dragged into the water and turned into a Narwhal."
From the Web site: "Most of the complex behaviors that lead up to the surface lunge [when humpback whales are feeding] take place underwater. Here at Simon Fraser University, we are using a variety of research tools including sonar, dive tags, and hydrophones to understand what happens when these whales slip below the waves. The Virtual Whale Project was developed to help us interpret our data with the use of 3D graphics and sound. Perhaps one of our most important goals, however, is to use The Virtual Whale Project as an education and conservation tool to celebrate the lives of humpback whales."
Chronicles the amazing range of work of underwater photographer Al Giddings.
Includes superb close-up footage of a mother humpback whale and her newborn
calf and of a very friendly solitary wild dolphin.
Features swimming champions Matt Biondi, Karen and Sarah Josephson, David
Berkoff, Kristen Babb, and Michelle Svitenko interacting with Atlantic spotted
dolphins in the Bahamas. Discussion of what actions by the swimmers are most
attractive to the dolphins. Excellent underwater footage in very clear water,
including footage of dolphins playing the "seaweed game" and feeding.
Denise Herzing describes some of their forms of play, their feeding behavior
using echolocation, signature whistles and identifying body marks, and
excitement vocalization and behavior. Also discussed and shown are shark-induced
behaviors, reasons dolphins lie on the bottom, socializing between bottlenose
and spotted dolphins, and swimming with a barracuda. The video closes with a
message to live in harmony as the dolphins do.
On the dolphin life at Dolphin Reef (captive-dolphin swim program) in Eilat,
Israel.
Humpback whale songs are part of the sounds of Earth now traveling beyond
the solar system aboard the Voyager probes.
"In the land of fire and ice, go whale watching . . ."
A natural video and sound recording of dolphins and whales in the wild. Includes
common dolphins, spinner dolphins, Pacific spotted dolphins, Atlantic spotted
dolphins, whitebeak dolphins, pilot whales, killer whales, gray whales, humpback
whales, and blue whales. The re-edited edition includes additional footage of
bottlenose dolphins and Peale's dolphins.
In this game, you are a dolphin and you have to catch a ball thrown to you from another dolphin and then throw it into a hoop.
The Waterville Gang was a children's television show that aired in Canada
between 1971 and 1972. It employed puppets on a seascape backdrop, and one of
the original characters was Dodger Dolphin.
This film, released as a theatrical short in Canada, the United States, and
elsewhere, is based on Paul Spong's work with orcas and was filmed at the
Victoria Sealand of the Pacific Aquarium with orcas Haida and Chimo. Paul
interacts in various ways with both whales and describes his attempts at
interspecies communications, and musician Paul Horn holds Haida's attention
with the sounds of his flute.
"Kids learn that whale's milk has five times as much cream as cow's milk. The dolphin is the whale's closest cousin."
Take a dream whale watch that features your favorite whale. This video
collection includes all Whale Adoption Project Whales except Altiplana,
Feather, Flag, Haze, Orion, Tusk, Cloud, and all West Coast whales.
A pack of twenty slides with full quotes, covering all issues, including
pollution, captivity, whaling, whale-watching, and some species identification.
Trisha: A brief look at the undercover DNA sampling of whale meat in Japan and
Korea. Such sampling has revealed that 10-15 percent of the whale meat sold in
these countries is from endangered and illegally taken blue, fin, sei, and
humpback whales.
From the Web site: "This CD-ROM is designed for students and teachers in
classrooms, whalewatchers, researchers, or . . . anyone truly interested in
whales."
A documentary on the captive marine mammal industry using Keiko and his
history as the context.
"When Ernest the orca swallows a book in his breakfast by accident, he begins a journey to discover who won the Great War. Along the way, he also learns about asking questions and friendship from a lively cast of sea creatures. Companion learning activities introduce World War 1, music of Tin Pan Alley, inventions, language arts, whales, and friendship. Games include nautical knot-tying, sea sounds, and more."
From the video cover: " Join an adventurous young boy and his best friend--
who just happens to be a whale--for a rollicking romp in A Whale of a Tale. The watery world of whales, dolphins, walruses and other oceanic wonders is the setting for this fun-filled fish story.
From the video cover: "How would you go about freeing a 60,000-pound
humpback whale trapped in a fishing net? John Lien and his unique whale rescue
team face that challenge almost daily. Traveling in a tiny boat with the minimum
number of tools, the crew races against time for two important reasons: to save
the whale before it dies, and to save the fishermen's valuable nets and precious
fishing time. Featuring remarkable undersea footage and a close look at the heroic rescue effort, this film captures a life-or-death drama off the coast of
Newfoundland."
From the description for the film: "Set in the fascinating native New Zealand culture of the Maori,
this is the contemporary story of the attempt by a 12-year-old, Pai, to become a Whale Rider, a tribal distinction and
position traditionally reserved for males only. Pai is the only living child of the son of her tribe's chief, after her
mother and brother die in a horrible accident, with her father fleeing New Zealand altogether. It is a belief of the
Whangara people that their entire culture descends from a single ancestor a thousand years ago, Paikea, who escaped death
when his canoe capsized in the ocean by riding back home on the back of a whale. Ever since, Whangara chiefs (aka the
first-born male sons of the previous chief) have been Whale Riders. And so young Pai wants to bring life back into her
family by fulfilling her destiny and community, regardless of her gender, to ultimately become the tribal chief as well as
Whale Rider."
Will explore the current status of the world's whales.
This film "will bring you into the drama, joy and poetry of the underwater
domain of some of the largest creatures ever to live on earth! The habitats and
lives of the Humpback, Right, Blue, and Orca whales, as well as countless other
wondrous creatures [including dolphins and giant manta rays] [who] share their
undersea environs or patrol the shores nearby, will be brought to you on the
giant screen."
"Captain Jacques Cousteau and the crew of the Calypso sail the Indian Ocean
off the coast of Madagascar, then off the Baja Coast in search of the largest and most intelligent inhabitants of the sea--the Finback, the Sperm, and Killer Whales. In many ways, this expedition recalls the misplaced romanticism of a bygone era when whaling ships sailed out to hunt the giants of the deep. On the trail of the great Sperm Whale, the lookout's cry, 'Thar she blows,' is heard once again as determined men with harpoons are lowered over the side. This time, however, the long spears have been designed to harmlessly pierce the skin and plant tags which enable the Oceanauts to trace the Whale's migration. The tag is a piece of hightech hardware which also enables the Cousteau crew, for the first time, to film the Leviathan underwater in the open ocean. Cousteau also visits the Mystic Seaport Whaling Museum, where he screens a film clip of the notorious
whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, on her last voyage in 1921. And, in a
startling display of communicative ability, the Calypso crew explores the
responses of a Killer Whale to the taped sounds of another Killer Whale."
Surveys the history of whaling and current conservation and research efforts.
Species covered include: humpback, sperm, blue, gray, right, fin, and orca
whales. Examines the devastating history of whaling and efforts to end it,
along with characteristics and behaviors of the various species and other
threats to their existence.
From the publishers: "Experience breathtaking close-up encounters with the largest mammal that ever lived -- the
Blue Whale."
"Whales in their surprising varieties have long intrigued humans. Yet, despite their almost eighty species in the seas worldwide, little is known about their habits and life cycle. The profits to be derived from the incredible bounty of products their bodies yield, however, have been recognized by hunters--particularly since the mid-nineteenth century--to such an extent that today several whale species are endangered. This video program examines the behavior of some of the world's most commonly known whales in their natural habitats, and attempts to convey some sense of the importance of conserving these awesome ocean mammals for future generations to study and enjoy."
"With exceptional artifacts, displays and special effects, the
Royal B.C. Museum will celebrate a group of mammals that have fascinated
humans for centuries. Whales: The Enduring Legacy opens April 18, 1997.
Explores the intelligent hunting behavior of killer whales, dolphins' ability
to "see" using sonar; and how other whales use sound to hunt and
communicate.
"The great humpback whale, its intricate feeding patterns and its eerie
underwater communications are examined in extraordinary detail. Traveling to the
icy waters off Alaska, where the mammoth mammals spend their summers, marine
investigator Cynthia D'Vincent charts the feeding patterns and records the
mysterious vocal messages of the humpbacks.
Provides detailed information on subjects such as classification, distribution,
diet, reproduction, and survival status and strategy.
Features "over 30 minutes of video, distribution maps, fill index, whale sounds, photographs, and a guide to whale families and species. As a bonus, many beautiful painting by Larry Foster are included."
From the Web site: ". . . the best of both worlds in a multimedia title - encyclopedic information as well as information presented in a documentary style. All whales and dolphins of the world are covered, as well as details on how whales behave, why they strand, why they don't get the bends, how long they can hold their breath, who is still whaling, what whales eat, and much, much more."
Expert narration, video, animation, and photographs bring the world of
cetaceans to life in this beautiful reference and learning guide. All 70
known species of cetaceans are described and illustrated, along with the
threats to their survival. Each cetacean family has a library of material
than can be easily accessed, including photos, video clips, and worldwide
distribution maps. Sections include: Introduction, Life Cycle, Ecology, Body
Plan, and Species Classification.
"How do great whales feed? What is different about modern fishing nets? Why
do nets threaten whales' lives? Can entangled whales be rescued? An instructive
interview with Nancy Wallace of the Entanglement Network, showing exciting
footage of a rescue of a giant humpback whale caught in a fishing net."
From the liner notes: "This publication is designed to serve as an overview of the whales that are seen in Australian waters and to stand as a guide to watching and caring for whales. It shows you how to recognize different whales and dolphins, how to approach whales and how to assist stranded whales.
"Outstanding documentary on ocean-dwelling mammals, presenting the results
of numerous fascinating scientific experiments that prove the remarkable intelligence of dolphins and whales--including their ability to communicate with one another and think abstractly. Concludes that, aside from human beings, whales are the most intelligent form of life on earth. Also examines the barbarous methods of the whaling industry, which threatens whales with extinction despite evidence that all whale products can be produced as cheaply by using more abundant resources. Score consists entirely of 'songs' and sounds made by whales themselves"
Trisha: This fine documentary chronicles the observation by researchers
Scott Baker and Nathalie Patenaude of southern right whales in their winter
breeding grounds in the shallow bays of Auckland and Campbell Islands off New
Zealand. The whales seem unbothered by the presence of the researchers and
photographers, and some are quite curious about both the divers and their
boats. Both the above-water footage and underwater footage are excellent and
capture many right whale behaviors, including lobtailing, spyhopping, breaching,
dozing, feeding, courting and mating, playing, mother-calf interaction, and
vocalization. The birth of a right whale has never been observed, and
photographers attempted to film a night birth, but krill were attracted to the
underwater lights in such profusion that filming was impossible. The hours-old
calf is shown, however, as well as several other calves who are a few weeks
old, including one albino.
Includes: volunteers' efforts to save stranded pilot whales in Big Pine Key, Florida; in Puget Sound marine biologist Ken
Balcomb discussing the Navy's sonar, which disturbs killer whales and causes them to strand (he found a similar situation
earlier in the Bahamas, where a U.S. destroyer's sonar cause beaked whales to strand) countered by Robert Gisiner, who
oversees the Navy's research into underwater noise; off Greenland, Danish scientist Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen and his team
attaching satellite tags to track bowhead whales; and in Tonga, Felipe Tonga, a conservationist, working to save the
humpback whale from the threat of resumed hunting. The amount of time devoted to Greenland and Tonga is far less thatn the
other two venues.
This show was conceived and hosted by Paul Spong in 1973 as his "method of
educating people about cetaceans in the wild, about their intelligence and their
benign and majestic power, a way for people to learn about whales without the
whales themselves having to be captured." He showed the best orca slides
from Hanson Island and Blackfish Sound and Bruce Bott's film of a mother and
baby orca underwater. He also played selections from his tape library of orca
sounds. At the end of the show, he told the audience about the Greenpeace plan
to save the whales. The Whale Show was first shown on December 28, 1973, in
Vancouver, next in Japan, and thereafter at various locations around the world.
Trisha: From Glacier Bay brief footage of harbor porpoises and bow-riding
Dall's porpoises followed by segments on humpback whale studies (photo
identification, feeding, surface behaviors, migration from Alaska to
Hawaii--one whale is known to have made the 3,000-mile trip in 39 days)
(researchers: Chris Gabrielle and Jan Straley) and orca studies (photo
identification, social structure, dialects, resident and transient
populations) (researcher: Marilyn Dahlheim). The Vessel Management Plan
for Glacier Bay and the need to monitor whale-watching activities are
also briefly discussed.
"[A] moving drama of two elderly ladies during one summer in their family home on the Maine coast."
Trisha: This 20-minute segment of 60 Minutes shows an interview with Fred West, director of Seattle's City Cantabile Choir, and the choir's performance of a program of songs for the local orca population. A microphone was dropped into the water to convey the performance into the ocean, and a hydrophone was used to record orca vocalizations that took place during the performance. Both during rehearsal and during the actual performance, members of J pod came into the immediate area and vocalized. Jim Nollman, who plays something akin to jazz improvisation with the orcas, believes that the orcas respond to the music and participate in its creation. Roger Payne, however, who has studied humpback songs for several decades and finds they follow essentially the same laws of composition as do human composers, and also feels that what humpbacks do is true art, believes there is not yet sufficient evidence to confirm cetacean participation in our music making.
"Whalesong is a dramatic journey via lecture, slides, and underwater recordings into a universe of majestic proportion and ancient, compelling rhythms. To capture the charismatic qualities of these magnificent creatures known collectively as the order Cetacea, Whalesong interweaves:
* A group of slides from some of the world's foremost marine photographers
* State-of-the-art underwater recordings
"This beautiful video is a tribute to the majesty and grace of marine
mammals."
Scott: Whales surfacing, diving, and close-ups.
"Engrossing and informative history of gray whales, a species twice in
danger of extinction. Includes spectacular close-up footage of the whales during
their annual migration. Top awards."
From Christopher Carson: Whale Tales is a multi-part television
series which explores the relationship between man and whale. Our segments
feature close personal encounters between humans and dolphins, whales, and
porpoises.
Footage of whales and dolphins.
Scott: Footage of a captive orca.
Trisha: The Whale Video Company (TWVD), which was founded in 1988, is an excellent source of video footage on the whales of Stellwagen Bank off Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the whales off Bar Harbor, Maine. TWVD has spent almost 40,000 hours on Stellwagen Bank ("the best place in the U.S. to see whales") taping the cetaceans who frequent this region, and in July 1997 TWVD taped its 10,000th whale-watch trip.
The Best of Provincetown Whale Watching
Beyond Belief: The Humpback Whale
Salt & Friends
Wonderful Whales (Volumes 1-6)
Your Favorite Whale (Individual footage of 65 different humpback
whales who have been photo-id'ed and named.)
Documents the undercover work by the Environmental Investigation Agency on trade
in whale and dolphin meat in Japan, including unregistered catches of Dall's
porpoises, processed along with whale meat, and smuggling of whale meat into
Japan.
"Documents the remarkable comeback of the gray whale, once nearly extinct
and now numbering nearly 10,000. Shows the whales and their activities in coastal Pacific waters off central Mexico, and illustrates the methods used to study and film them."
An expert systems questionnaire with graphics that helps you identify the species of whales you have seen on a whale-watching trip.
"Welcome aboard the Whale Watcher as we sail across Cape Cod Bay on an unforgettable voyage to Stellwagen Bank--feeding ground of the great whales.
Footage of humpbacks, grays, orcas, and blue whales, and a brief discussion of
threats to them, followed by footage of the Wyland whaling wall--nearly
two football fields wide and ten stories tall and painted in eleven days in 1991--in Redondo Beach, California (gray whales, dolphins, and a blue whale). Also briefly shows Laguna Beach, California, mural of gray whales, and murals in Canada, Japan, and Hawaii.
" . . . features the town of Kaikoura as one of four communities worldwide developing whale watching as a viable alternative to
whale killing. It looks at the development of whale watching in New Zealand, Iceland, the USA, and Japan. 'With whales still under threat around the world, it's becoming increasingly clear that whale watching may provide the
answer to their protection,' said Ms. Clere. "As more people learn to appreciate whales, we are beginning to understand that they are worth more alive than dead."
What to do about Whales? tells the story of Kaikoura, which transformed itself from a dying town into a vibrant
community enticing visitors from all over the world."
"As humans break the species barrier of communication, they are capable of understanding and talking with animals. From household pets to wild critters, the range of communication that is being cultivated is remarkable. . . . When Animals Talk [is] a two-hour documentary that explores how animals communicate with each other via body language and vocalizations. With the help of computer technology and sign language, humans can understand a fascinating variety of creatures. Animals highlighted in the show include orangutans, chimps, humpback whales, monkeys and frogs."
"It has been 70 years since the people of Samson Island preyed upon a school of narwhal whales [just prior to World War I], only to be destroyed by a mysterious curse. If the last survivor is to be spared, it will be up to two trusting children to learn his ancient secrets."
"This updated version of Where Have All the Dolphins Gone?
investigates the current status of dolphins in the world today, portraying
their beauty and charm as well as the perils they face. Despite a major
consumer victory that led to "dolphin safe" tuna in the U.S., some nations
continue to use nets that entrap dolphins, and recent trade agreements could
undermine dolphin-safe tuna in the U.S." Includes undercover footage.
"A haunting family drama about a boy raised by river dolphins in the jungles of the Amazon. . . A touching tale of a child's love for freedom and
craving for justice that deals with human innocence and nature's purity."
"Experience the grandeur and gentleness of the Humpback Whales and the
playfulness of the Dolphins, as they come to watch the watchers aboard The Oceania Project's Annual Whale & Dolphin Expedition to Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.
Narwhals and belugas.
"Aquanauts travel to South Africa to tag great white sharks [and] . . . to Australia to research dolphins living in polluted waters."
". . . coverage of the Bahamas Strandings [which] reflects Ken Balcomb's discoveries and opinions regarding the damage done to the Cuvier beaked whales during deployment of Navy sonar. This includes interviews with Pentagon and Navy officials. Also there is rare footage from the 1996 Mediterranean strandings of Cuvier beaked whales which was caused by Low Frequency Active Sonar."
An exploration of the occurrence of the color blue in nature includes very brief
surface footage of the blue whale.
One segment of one episode of Wildlife Adventures shows footage of a
humpback whale mating pod off Socorro(?) Island being photographed by Iwago
and the Whale Conservation Institute.
Tracks the annual migration of gray whales from the high Arctic to the lagoons
of Baja California. Since following them in stormy weather or at night is
difficult, footage of Dr. Steven Schwartz tagging some of them with radio
transmitters is shown. This tagging, which is claimed without substantiation
not to cause the whales any harm, has revealed that they maintain the same speed
of travel at night as they do during the day, an average 6.25 km/hour. From a
population of 4,000 when the whaling slaughter was stopped, the grays have
recovered to their present population of 18,000, increasing at ~2.5% (or 450)
per year, although their population seems to be leveling off.
John Lien and his whale rescue team free an adult humpback whale trapped in a
fishing net off the coast of Newfoundland.
Trisha: One segment of this program reenacts the shark-attack story of three teenagers who went surfing at Half Tie Beach on the north coast of Australia in 1989. When they first got in the water, they noticed there were about 30-50 bottlenose dolphins swimming in the same area. The dolphins swam playfully, not showing any signs of agitation, but their behavior changed noticeably after about three hours. They seemed to become aggravated, and one even charged one of the surfers, almost knocking him off his board.
From the video cover: "Willie the Operatic Whale is the thoroughly
charming story of a melodious mammal who is destined to be the biggest thing
yet to hit the Met!"
All footage taken in the Stellwagen Bank off Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Dolphin Therapy Research's (DTR's) purpose, as stated at the Web site above:
"DTR seeks to research the effects of dolphin-assisted therapy on severely
abused children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. Additionally, DTR wishes to scientifically identify signs of abuse in the children's artwork, making the artwork admissible in court as evidence in abuse cases."
No. 1: "Hawaii: . . .Visit the Kona coast for a fascinating liveaboard journey. Encounters with humpback whales, whale sharks, and manta rays. Dive in the island's fascinating lava caves. Kauai: . . . Remarkable encounters with dozens of green sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and Hawaiian monk seals. Visit with the U.S. postal service as they unveil their "Wonders of the Sea" collection, underwater . . ."
Not cetacean intensive, but has a chapter on marine mammals that includes
discussion of cetaceans, as well as slides and video clips of dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals.
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) is an unprecedented effort
during 1990-1997 by scientists from more than thirty nations to study the
large-scale circulation of the ocean. The film clips include whale footage
taken from the RRS James Clark Ross between March 20 and May 6, 1995,
which sailed from the Falkland Islands to the ice shelf on 16 degrees West via
Punta Arenas and then occupied deep stations every 10-60 km between Antarctica
and Rio de Janeiro.
From Teramedia: "World of Whales combines interactive learning
about whales and their environment with a unique approach to understanding
people's involvement with these great creatures. By interviewing experts,
exploring whale sanctuaries, and examining conservation efforts, the user gains
insight into what the future holds for whales. Not only unique in its range of
content and variety of media, this CD-ROM combines compelling graphics with
outstanding interactivity. Features include: high level of graphics; educational
interface activities; 3D-rendered whale animations; video interviews with
whalers, scientists, and conservationists; games, including whale identification
[by] matching sounds and songs; [and over twenty-five minutes of video footage]."
Digital Hollywood Awards 1996, Overall Winner
Cinema in Industry Awards 1996, Winner
British Interactive Multimedia Awards, Finalist
Australian International Multimedia Awards, Finalist
Introductory CD-ROM for divers, with details on the world's cetaceans. Includes
many color images from top diving photographers and videographers, plus information on cetacean biology, behavior, and population distributions, as well as personal accounts, quizzes, and games.
A series of forty-five tapes produced about individual humpback whales in the
International Wildlife Coalition's whale adoption program, plus twenty additional tapes of other humpback whales from the same area that have been named. All footage taken in the Stellwagen Bank region off Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA.
In this film, which was shot in the Bahamas in early 1996, Steve Guttenberg is
a dog owner and Kathleen Quinlan is a scientist who owns a dolphin. When the
dog and the dolphin bond and form a method of communication, they bring the
owners together, until a rival scientist steals the animals.
One segment visits Sea World in Florida to "watch trainers playing and
swimming with dolphins to better understand how these friendly mammals learn."
From the video cover: "The friendly and smart dolphins next door! Imagine
yourself becoming good friends with a dolphin family! That's what happens in
this full-length animated feature set in a tropical paradise. With a beautiful
musical score by Michel Legrand, Zoom the White Dolphin shows how close
the worlds of humans and dolphins truly are[.]"
Paul Ganet: "It's about how we use technology to study, observe, track,
preserve, conserve, and occasionally rescue whales--of all kinds. We're working
with The Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and have
become 'their crew' for the duration of the project. Central to the film is a
whale rescue sequence, an entanglement perhaps--and we are standing by very hard
right now for that event, whenever it occurs between now and a long time from
now--or maybe next week--who knows?
Jere H. Lipps, Department of Integrative Biology & Museum of Paleontology, University of California at Berkeley,
510-642-9006, jlipps@ucmp1.berkeley.edu, writes: "There was a great film of Orcas taking on a large fin whale off BC,
Canada, I believe, in which a pack of the killer's were systematically training
young. First the adults would charge into the whale, and like david
schwimmer described, bite the tongue, fins and flukes. Then the lead guy
whistled, the adults backed off, and all the little guys charged in to do
the same. They were chaotic and couldn't seem to get the technique down,
so another whistle backed them off for another watch and learn session by
the adults. Eventually the big whale died. I can't remember the film's
name or anything else because I only caught part of it on TV. So its a
nature movie, maybe a PBS film. I'd sure like to use it in my oceanography
class if anyone can remember it."
Whale-Watching Web:
Editors