Category: tracking

Whale Journals – December 2015 – Netflukes – whale movies

Not much going on in whale world on the water for us these days. I heard reports of 4 or 5 humpbacks hanging out between Vancouver Island and Texada Island but we’ve been quite busy working.

Last month was about books to curl up and hibernate with during the dark days of winter.This month it’s time for cultural celebrations. And what better way to celebrate than by watching films about whales and interspecies communication?

Youtube is full of close encounters between humans and cetaceans, which I love. The excitement of the humans is in their voices. Even adult voices become squeaky as they leap up 2 octaves when confronted by the awesome presence of a 30 tonne whale approaching their boat. It’s a palpable primal reaction.

But there is little to fear. SLOW DOWN, don’t crowd, make sure you know where they are and they know where you are. It’s best if they can hear you so a slow or idling engine is helpful. If they approach you? it is an experience you will never forget and a story you will retell hundreds of times. Maybe you’ll even make a video!

Back to the many wonderful films about whales:

Of course any of the BBC series like “The Blue Planet”, “Planet Earth”, “Life of Mammals”, “Nature’s Great Events” offer state of the art production values and thrilling footage. The “making of” shorts they made of how they got the footage are fascinating too, especially for budding filmmakers.

National Geographic has become quite sensationalist in their approach to nature films since being bought out  by Rupert Murdoch but this is a good one .

“Ocean Voyager” Whale Documentary – The Biggest Sea Creatures || National Geographic 2015

Story of a humpback mother and calf. The video repeats at 51:16

https://youtu.be/DWv8JRRl1s8

“The Birthplace of the Giants”  in Northwestern Australia – Nat Geo 2015

https://youtu.be/7Q6rKN4Bc6U

Some other smaller productions companies produce great ocean nature films too

Ocean Stories 3 – “Dolphins and Whales” NONA NATUREDOCX and SEALIFE PRODUCTIONS 2011

“The Giants of Rurutu” Humpback Whales of Tahiti: SOUND & VISION/CINEMARINE 2011

 

The French Godfather of all ocean nature documentaries – Jacques Cousteau made hundreds of films. Find them in Wikipedia and Search for them in Youtube.

The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau – “Whales” rerecorded 1991

https://youtu.be/DlHDK-aq9vM

and “The Singing Whale” about Humpback whales rerecorded 1991

https://youtu.be/e7ZKdZaViFg

The English Godfather of nature films, David Attenborough is still making features for the BBC. Find his filmography on Wikipedia and Search the series “The Blue Planet”, “Planet Earth”, “Life of Mammals”, “Nature’s Great Events” among others on Youtube

Planet Earth about the Oceans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGdyezNZt20

The Life series about mammals includes cetaceans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv2oobRVeTk

Nature’s Great Events Series: Everyone feeds on Herring in the Pacific Ocean

https://youtu.be/QSiTumuzfeQ

and Feast of Sardines off the coast of southern Africa

https://youtu.be/UQGvhn1w65Y

Civil war in Sri Lanka protected a recovering population of Blue whales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrWvkZjgrSk

Planet Ocean [UK]- by Yann Arthus-Bertrand & Michael Pitiot                

 

Habitat of the Orca Killer Whales & Sea Creatures – Feodor Pitcairn Productions Ltd. 2000

https://youtu.be/rH5zO-EL5Fg

 

Intelligence and Communication in non-human species that may surprise you

https://youtu.be/Q-4w5xYLwiU?t=4s

And finally, humans who can communicate with other species:

“The Animal Communicator” with Anna Breytenbach and Jon Young by FOSTER BROTHERS FILM PRODUCTIONS for NHU AFRICA

https://youtu.be/S5vOgJAa6To

And how it might be possible

 

International Film Festivals

where you can find amazing nature films that don’t get Hollywood or network distribution.

Blue Ocean Film Festival

Ocean Film Festival

Halifax International Oceans Film Festival

Cuban Ocean Environmental Film Fest

Asia Ocean Film Festival (Hong Kong)

ENJOY!

Whale Journals-March 2015

Celebration and relief! I just finished a Research & Creation Grant application for the Canada Council for the Arts and sent it to Ottawa via Canada Post. I’m calling this project “Welcoming Whales”, a double meaning [one for each blowhole]?

We won’t find out whether the jurors on the committee like my proposal enough to give me money for it until July. But whales don’t wait until a grant comes through to show up. So my plan is to get out in April/May and sail the waves in the trusty Blue Parrot ship. It would be a dream come true to meet the humpback whales as they return to play and feed in the Salish Sea.

Until then it’s time to work on this website which has a working title of “the nature of women & girls” I’m sorting through photos, video clips interviews etc. that might be of interest to folks who want to deepen their own connection to the rest of the natural world.

In November of 2013 Terry http://amphibiographer.tv/ and I drove US Interstate Highway I 5, negotiating monsoon rains and torpedoing transport trucks, to deepen our nature connection by participating in a course given by Anna Breytenbach and Jon Young. “Animal Communication & Intuitive Tracking” opened the possibility of mind to mind sharing with other sentient beings and reading the life energy of a being while tracking. Both of these ancient indigenous arts invoked profound experiences in us that inspired this project. If you do not know their work you can find Anna at http://animalspirit.org/ and Jon at http://8shields.org/ They are incredible human beings and awesome mentors of humans of all ages and cultures.

Well, it’s expensive to get out in a boat, even an old sailboat for a few months so I’d better sign off and invent some means to do it.

until next time.