“LIFE AROUND US: WHALING“ 1960s WHALE & KILLER WHALE DOCUMENTARY WHALING INDUSTRY 63904

This late 1960s/early 1970s color educational film provides graphic depictions of whaling. It was produced by L. Richard Ellison. The film opens with a blood harpooned whale (:02-:27). A sign at a museum reads “Visitors are requested not to touch the skeletons.” On display is a 100’ model of a blue whale. A scientist works in a large storage room filled with whale bones, shown in close-ups (:28-1:35). Killer whales swim at California Sea World. Blow holes and fins are shown up-close (1:36-3:47). Old paintings depict sea creatures and whales as monsters. An icon of Jonah is shown. Incorrect whale anatomy and other vintage paintings depict early whaling practices (3:48-5:06). Eskimos use a dog sled to pull the boat to the ocean to hunt whales. A bowhead whale carcass is pulled to shore and dissected. Vintage drawings are shown of Victorian woman wearing corsets, whose stays were made from bowhead whale jaws (5:07-7:38). Gray whale s glide through the Pacific (7:39-8:39). A flotilla graphically hunts blue whales (8:40-11:02). Sandefjord, Norway has a large whaling memorial (11:03-11:30). Japanese paintings depict killing whales. A poster shows products made from whales (11:31-12:12). Scientists work in a lab, by boat, and by plane to track and kill whales. The exploding harpoon is graphically shown. Carcasses travel by train to the dismembering area (12:13-19:01). Whale teeth and testes cut into thin slices are examined under a microscope. Based on information gathered and statistics, scientists determine how many whales can be killed each year without reducing the herd (19:02-22:35). Men in boats use paddles to slap the water and drive young pilot whales into shore. They are captured, wrapped, and shipped to public aquariums and scientific institutions (22:36-24:00). Bottlenose porpoises doze at the bottom of a pool, rise for a breath, and sink back down (24:01-24:49). A humpback whale casually swims in the ocean. Nearby on a sailboat, Roger Payne, an acoustical biologist from Rockefeller University, lowers underwater microphones to record their songs. He goes below deck, puts on headphones, and we hear the songs of the humpback whale (24:50-26:19). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit