DocumentariesBlackfish
Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity. Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry. This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals. Available for purchase at Amazon - Click on the image to be sent to the store. Keiko's Journey Home
Narrated by actress and animal lover Rene Russo, Free Willy Story: Keiko's Journey Home is an educational documentary about Keiko, the real-life whale who inspired the Free Willy films. This Discovery Channel video chronicles Keiko's capture in Iceland and subsequent captivity in Canada and Mexico. The story of finding a better life for the animal is told as Keiko journeys to Oregon for rehabilitation through the efforts of animal activists and Warner Bros. A special segment of the 46-minute program features Karla Corral, Keiko's trainer. ~ Kathleen Wildasin, Rovi Watch for free on Youtube by clicking the image. Keiko: The Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy
Nowhere in recent history has a captive mammal garnered go much attention as Keiko, the orca star of the 1993 hit film, “Free Willy.” The film’s success, partnered with growing public interest in animals held in captivity, launched a children’s crusade that called for Keiko’s release into the wild. The result: a multimillion dollar project that spanned four countries, weathered endless controversy that continues to this day. Through first-hand accounts by the marine mammal experts charged with his care, “Keiko The Untold Story” follows Keiko, his life, his legacy of hope, and the untold story of his extraordinary journey. Available only through the website - Click on the image to be taken to the store. The Cove
Academy Award® Winner for Best Documentary of 2009, THE COVE follows an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, shining a light on a dark and deadly secret. Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action. THE COVE is directed by Louie Psihoyos and produced by Paula DuPré Pesmen and Fisher Stevens. The film is written by Mark Monroe. The executive producer is Jim Clark and the co-producer is Olivia Ahnemann. Available on Amazon by clicking the image. Frontline: A Whale of a Business
For the first time on YouTube, a behind the scenes look at the ludicrous business that is captivity. This program focuses on the beacon for all captive cetaceans, Keiko. His rehabilitation and eventual release was the center of a controversy about keeping these intelligent animals in barren concrete tanks for our amusement. Join Neil Docherty as he interviews the big guys behind this practice and go back in time to see how all this started with the very first killer whale in captivity. Watch for free on Youtube by clicking the image. Lolita: Slave to Entertainment
Man versus nature; in the summer of 1970 a barbaric hunt kills five orca whales and destroys the lives of countless others. Six young orcas are ripped away from their family, sold to marine parks, and shipped across the world to enter into a life of slavery. Three decades later only one survives. And she just so happens to be Miami's biggest performer. Available on Amazon by clicking the image and watch for free on Youtube here. Springer the Orca
A documentary about a young female orca who was caught, rehabilitated, and released. (The image links to Part 1, you can find the other two parts under the YouTubers name) The Whale
Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm revisit the captivating subject of their 2007 documentary Saving Luna -- which told the story of a baby orca named Luna who befriended humans after being separated from his family -- in this re-edit/expansion narrated by Ryan Reynolds. Left alone in the vast ocean, Luna became a local celebrity on Vancouver Island when he began befriending humans near Nootka Sound. But while some locals -- such as a cook, a fisheries officer, and a local grandmother -- became something of a surrogate family for Luna, others argued that human contact could do irreparable damage to the orca. Meanwhile, filmmakers Parfit and Chisholm gradually begin to transcend their roles as documentarians upon deciding to play an active role in helping decide Luna's fate, rather than just covering the story for Smithsonian as they originally set out to do. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi Available for purchase on Amazon by clicking the image. The Woman Who Swims with Killer Whales
The killer whale is one of the most feared predators in the ocean and most would consider it madness to enter the water with one. But New Zealander Dr Ingrid Visser thinks differently - and by swimming with her beloved whales she has come to know almost all of them by sight. But there's been an unusual number of deaths recently and Ingrid is on a mission to find out what is going on. Her findings reveal disturbing new information about the health of our oceans. Available for free on Vimeo. A Fall From Freedom A powerful follow up to THE COVE, this Discovery Channel documentary reveals the controversial captive whale business. Starring Mike Farrell and Keiko the Whale. Available on Amazon by clicking the image. |
BooksSwimming With Orca
by Dr. Ingrid Visser The inspiring stories of Dr Ingrid Visser's encounters with orca. Called orca by some and killer whales by others, these mysterious animals have become part of Ingrid’s life. She has got to know many orca by sight and calls them her friends. Her experiences with orca challenge their fearsome reputation: she gets into the water with them, watches them hunt, and communicates in any way she can. Ingrid is the only orca researcher working in the South Pacific. This book details her fascinating discoveries, as well as telling her own personal story and describing her amazing adventures. Death At Sea World
by David Kirby From the New York Times bestselling author of Evidence of Harm and Animal Factory—a ground breaking scientific thriller that exposes the dark side of SeaWorld, America’s most beloved marine mammal park Death at SeaWorld centers on the battle with the multimillion-dollar marine park industry over the controversial and even lethal ramifications of keeping killer whales in captivity. Following the story of marine biologist and animal advocate at the Humane Society of the US, Naomi Rose, Kirby tells the gripping story of the two-decade fight against PR-savvy SeaWorld, which came to a head with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Kirby puts that horrific animal-on-human attack in context. Brancheau’s death was the most publicized among several brutal attacks that have occurred at Sea World and other marine mammal theme parks. Death at SeaWorld introduces real people taking part in this debate, from former trainers turned animal rights activists to the men and women that champion SeaWorld and the captivity of whales. In section two the orcas act out. And as the story progresses and orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Naomi Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with the death of Dawn Brancheau. Finally he covers the media backlash, the eyewitnesses who come forward to challenge SeaWorld’s glossy image, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that challenges the very idea of keeping killer whales in captivity and may spell the end of having trainers in the water with the ocean’s top predators. The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna
by Michael Parfit, Suzanne Chisholm The heartbreaking and true story of a lonely orca named Luna who befriended humans in Nootka Sound, off the coast of Vancouver Island by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm. One summer in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, a young killer whale called Luna got separated from his pod. Like humans, orcas are highly social and depend on their families, but Luna found himself desperately alone. So he tried to make contact with people. He begged for attention at boats and docks. He looked soulfully into people's eyes. He wanted to have his tongue rubbed. When someone whistled at him, he squeaked and whistled back. People fell in love with him, but the government decided that being friendly with Luna was bad for him, and tried to keep him away from humans. Policemen arrested people for rubbing Luna’s nose. Fines were levied. Undaunted, Luna refused to give up his search for connection and people went out to meet him, like smugglers carrying friendship through the dark. But does friendship work between species? People who loved Luna couldn't agree on how to help him. Conflict came to Nootka Sound. The government built a huge net. The First Nations’ members brought out their canoes. Nothing went as planned, and the ensuing events caught everyone by surprise and challenged the very nature of that special and mysterious bond we humans call friendship. The Lost Whale celebrates the life of a smart, friendly, determined, transcendent being from the sea who appeared among us like a promise out of the blue: that the greatest secrets in life are still to be discovered. Behind the Dolphin Smile
by Richard O'Barry, Keith Coulbourn, Susan Casey Behind the Dolphin Smile chronicles Richard O'Barry's extraordinary journey from dolphin trainer to world-renowned advocate for dolphin freedom. In his early years, O'Barry trained dolphins to entertain audiences for shows at aquatic theme parks and for roles in movies and television shows, most notably Flipper. His career as a trainer came to an abrupt halt when one of the dolphins that played Flipper on television died of stress in his arms. At that moment, he realized that keeping dolphins in captivity and teaching them to do tricks was cruel and morally wrong. He began to understand that dolphins were easy to train not because of his gifts as a trainer, but because they are remarkably intelligent, and he vowed not to rest until he freed every last one of them. O'Barry's first arrest in the 1970s for trying to free a caged dolphin in the Bahamas eventually led to his starring role in the 2010 Academy Award®-winning documentary The Cove, which exposed to the world Japan's horrific annual dolphin slaughter. Included in this new edition is a preface on O'Barry's role in this riveting documentary, which has garnered more awards than any other in its genre, as well as information on his campaigns to stop the slaughter of dolphins. Share and rejoice in O'Barry's adventures, from Flipper to The Cove, and discover how the one-time pride of the billion-dollar captivity industry became the tireless dolphin advocate we know and love today. |
Documentaries Cont.
The Seal Who Came Home
“The Seal Who Came Home” is the true story of Andre, a two-day-old wild harbor seal who, in 1961, was rescued from certain death by Harry Goodridge, an arborist from Rockport, Maine. Over the next 25 years, Andre and Harry established a friendship that brought Andre into the world of humans without Andre’s ever having to sacrifice his wildness. Movie Magic - Aqua Animatronics
This episode of Movie Magic follows the making of the second Free Willy film which used highly realistic animatronics for their cast of orcas. Click the title to go to the movie. |
Sea Ghosts
Jean-Michel Cousteau is accompanied by his son Fabien and daughter Celine on an Arctic expedition to investigate why some groups of beluga whales are thriving while others are not. |