Humpback Whales

About

Graceful and magnificent, humpback whales inspire awe in young and old alike. These marine mammals travel great distances to take advantage of the best breeding grounds and feeding spots. North Pacific humpbacks, for example, mate and give birth in Hawaii and then travel to Alaska each summer to feed.

These gentle giants are famous for their singing abilities — belting out seductive ballads to attract mates or to challenge other would-be suitors. But they also have other talents. Their unique hunting skill, called bubblenet feeding, involves a group of humpbacks working together to capture schools of herring. Each whale has a particular role in the process: One whale swims in a circle while blowing bubbles under a school of herring. When the bubbles rise, the school of herring can not escape and form into a tight ball in the center. Other whales vocalize — grunting or screaming — to scare the herring to the surface. The whales then rise with their mouths wide open to capture large amounts of fish.

Trek across the oceans with these astounding creatures and discover more revealing details about their wonder-filled, watery ways.

1 videocassette (60 min.) : 1/2 in

Spanning the Pacific from the inlets of the Alaskan coast to the Polynesian Islands and the shores of Antarctica, Humpback whales presents a multi-faceted portrait of this fascinating mammal. This program follows the humpbacks closely and uncovers revealing details that add to the growing knowledge of these creatures

Producers, Andy Byatt and Rick Rosenthal ; series producer Keith Scholey

VHS format

Human-made No record of this work says a model made it. What this means.

Archive

Internet Archive, in The VHS Vault

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Credit

Andrew Byatt, Richard E Rosenthal, Keith Scholey, WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)

Language

English

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Tweens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed