Kingdom of the Blue Whale on National Geographic
© Flip Nicklin / National Geographic
Clear your schedule for Sunday night. That’s right, you heard me. CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE! Because on March 8, 2009 at 8pm EST you HAVE to watch Kingdom of the Blue Whale on National Geographic Channel.
I had the pleasure of watching the special in advance, compliments of the wonderful Minjae Ormes, digital consultant for National Geographic. Reviews on the special are a collaborative effort between Daniel at Biochemical Soul, Christie at Observations of a Nerd, and myself. Daniel covered the presentation and visuals of the special, while Christie covered the science and physiology. Without further ado, I give you the conservation review. (And sound like Dr. Seuss in the process, hehe!)
Heart the size of a mini cooper.
Mouth big enough to hold 100 people.
Longer than a basketball court.
Weighing as much as 25 large elephants.
It is the largest creature to ever inhabit the earth.
But we know precious little about it.
In addition to normal video footage, the special also includes footage from the Crittercam, a technology invented by National Geographic marine biologist Greg Marshall in 1986. The crittercam is comprised of a video camera and microphone, temperature and pressure gauges, headlights, a remote release mechanism, a microprocessor and tracking systems, all housed in a small case worn by the animal.
The special covers a lot of really important conservation issues for blue whales, and other cetaceans as well. I don’t want to give too much away, since I think you should watch the special, so I’ll just do a brief overview for now. Expect an in-depth post next week at some of the conservation issues these magnificent creatures face.
Some of the issues that blue whales face:
whaling
ship strikes
anthropogenic noise
hybridization with other species
Check out a preview from Kingdom of the Blue Whales, in which the scientists buy whale meat from a Tokyo fish market to see if any of it is from illegally killed blue whales:
National Geographic Channel captured the first known underwater footage of a mother blue whale traveling with an infant calf, the youngest ever photographed, in the Costa Rica Dome. Blue whale babies weigh around 6,000 pounds and measure 25 feet at birth, and gain 200 pounds a day. Now THAT’S a big baby!
The special ends with some parting wisdom for us all. It’s all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
“For blue whales to have a chance, we must respect the ocean for the years and decades to come.
Read my follow-up post on blue whale threats and conservation.
Have Australians Stopped Killing Whales? http://is.gd/mgIT What do you think?
Please complete our poll on Whaling, too.
Thanks Lesley
I watched it last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Your Dr. Seuss riddle is cute.
Thanks!