Download or read book Of Orcas and Men written by David Neiwert and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2015-06-16 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A journalist “convincingly spells out the threats to their survival, their misery in captivity, and what scientists can learn by studying them” (Kirkus). The orca—otherwise known as the killer whale—is one of earth’s most intelligent animals. Remarkably sophisticated, orcas have languages and cultures and even long-term memories, and their capacity for echolocation is nothing short of a sixth sense. They are also benign and gentle, which makes the story of the captive-orca industry—and the endangerment of their population in Puget Sound—that much more damning. In Of Orcas and Men, a marvelously compelling mix of cultural history, environmental reporting, and scientific research, David Neiwert explores an extraordinary species and its occasionally fraught relationship with human beings. Beginning with their role in myth and contemporary culture, Neiwert shows how killer whales came to capture our imaginations, and brings to life the often catastrophic environmental consequences of that appeal. In the tradition of Barry Lopez’s classic Of Wolves and Men, David Neiwert’s book is a triumph of reporting, observation, and research, and a powerful tribute to one of the animal kingdom’s most remarkable members. Praise for Of Orcas and Men “Human beings need to learn from and understand the cooperative nature of orca society. Everyone who is interested in both animal and human behavior should read this remarkable book.” —Temple Grandin, New York Times–bestselling author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human “Powerful and beautifully written.” —Jane Goodall “Humans and killer whales have a long and complicated history, one that David Neiwert describes forcefully and eloquently in this fascinating and highly readable book.” —David Kirby, New York Times–bestselling author of Death at SeaWorld “[A] breathtaking survey of orca science, folklore, and mystery.” —The Stranger

Download or read book Orca written by Jason Michael Colby and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on interviews, official records, private archives, and the author's own family history, this is the definitive story of how the feared and despised "killer" became the beloved "orca", and what that has meant for our relationship with the ocean and its creatures

Download or read book Death at SeaWorld written by David Kirby and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2012-07-17 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author of Evidence of Harm and Animal Factory—a groundbreaking 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.

Download or read book A Killer Whale s World written by and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2006 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A close up look at these awe-inspiring black and white sea mammals.

Download or read book Orca written by Peter Knudtson and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The orca, also known as the killer whale, is one of the most intriguing and mysterious animals in the world. This lavishly illustrated portrait of this almost mythical sea mammal offers visions of the orca throughout the ages and across cultures, describing its hunting techniques and refined sonar and communication abilities. Full-color photographs capture whales breaching, playing, hunting, and caring for their young. The book also discusses the ethics of captivity and the environmental threats to whale populations. A foreword by internationally acclaimed scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki is included.

Download or read book The Killer Whale Who Changed the World written by Mark Leiren-Young and published by Greystone Books. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating and heartbreaking account of the first publicly exhibited captive killer whale — a story that forever changed the way we see orcas and sparked the movement to save them. Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That all changed when a young killer whale was captured off the west coast of North America and displayed to the public in 1964. Moby Doll — as the whale became known — was an instant celebrity, drawing 20,000 visitors on the one and only day he was exhibited. He died within a few months, but his famous gentleness sparked a worldwide crusade that transformed how people understood and appreciated orcas. Because of Moby Doll, we stopped fearing “killers” and grew to love and respect “orcas.” Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

Download or read book Beneath the Surface written by John Hargrove and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Now a New York Times Best Seller* Over the course of two decades, John Hargrove worked with 20 different whales on two continents and at two of SeaWorld's U.S. facilities. For Hargrove, becoming an orca trainer fulfilled a childhood dream. However, as his experience with the whales deepened, Hargrove came to doubt that their needs could ever be met in captivity. When two fellow trainers were killed by orcas in marine parks, Hargrove decided that SeaWorld's wildly popular programs were both detrimental to the whales and ultimately unsafe for trainers. After leaving SeaWorld, Hargrove became one of the stars of the controversial documentary Blackfish. The outcry over the treatment of SeaWorld's orca has now expanded beyond the outlines sketched by the award-winning documentary, with Hargrove contributing his expertise to an advocacy movement that is convincing both federal and state governments to act. In Beneath the Surface, Hargrove paints a compelling portrait of these highly intelligent and social creatures, including his favorite whales Takara and her mother Kasatka, two of the most dominant orcas in SeaWorld. And he includes vibrant descriptions of the lives of orcas in the wild, contrasting their freedom in the ocean with their lives in SeaWorld. Hargrove's journey is one that humanity has just begun to take-toward the realization that the relationship between the human and animal worlds must be radically rethought.

Download or read book Listening to Whales written by Alexandra Morton and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Listening to Whales, Alexandra Morton shares spellbinding stories about her career in whale and dolphin research and what she has learned from and about these magnificent mammals. In the late 1970s, while working at Marineland in California, Alexandra pioneered the recording of orca sounds by dropping a hydrophone into the tank of two killer whales. She recorded the varied language of mating, childbirth, and even grief after the birth of a stillborn calf. At the same time she made the startling observation that the whales were inventing wonderful synchronized movements, a behavior that was soon recognized as a defining characteristic of orca society. In 1984, Alexandra moved to a remote bay in British Columbia to continue her research with wild orcas. Her recordings of the whales have led her to a deeper understanding of the mystery of whale echolocation, the vocal communication that enables the mammals to find their way in the dark sea. A fascinating study of the profound communion between humans and whales, this book will open your eyes anew to the wonders of the natural world.

Download or read book Freeing Keiko written by Kenneth Brower and published by Gotham. This book was released on 2005 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the award-winning tradition of "Seabiscuit" comes this riveting account of the magnificent orca whose movie stardom brought world attention to sea life in crisis, and his inspiring journey from captivity to freedom. 8-page color photo insert.

Download or read book Killer in the Pool written by Tim Zimmermann and published by New Word City. This book was released on 2016-09-03 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On February 24, 2010, Tilikum, the largest killer whale at SeaWorld, suddenly dragged Dawn Brancheau, his trainer, into the pool and killed her. Journalist Tim Zimmermann set out to find out why. His riveting account of Tilikum's life, and the history of killer whale entertainment at marine parks, dives into the world of the ocean's top predator. It chronicles Tilikum's capture and separation from his family, and the physical and psychological stress he experienced in marine park pools over some 30 years. It explores Tilikum's involvement in two previous deaths. And it details the inherent risks of using captive killer whales for human entertainment. Ultimately, Zimmermann explains how the life of Tilikum came to mean the death of Dawn Brancheau.

Download or read book Namu Quest for the Killer Whale written by Ted Griffin and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spirits of the Coast written by Severn Cullis-Suzuki and published by . This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A magnificent journey alongside orcas, bringing these beautiful creatures to life." --Jay Ritchlin, David Suzuki Foundation Spirits of the Coast brings together the work of marine biologists, Indigenous knowledge keepers, poets, artists, and storytellers, united by their enchantment with the orca. Long feared in settler cultures as "killer whales," and respected and honored by Indigenous cultures as friends, family, or benefactors, orcas are complex social beings with culture and language of their own. With contributors ranging from Briony Penn to David Suzuki, Gary Geddes and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, this collection brings together diverse voices, young and old, to explore the magic, myths, and ecology of orcas. A richly illustrated literary and visual journey through past and possibility, Spirits of the Coast illustrates how these enigmatic animals have shaped us as much as our actions have impacted them, and provokes the reader to imagine the shape of our shared future.

Download or read book The Lost Whale written by Michael Parfit and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Orca written by Erich Hoyt and published by Firefly Books. This book was released on 2013-11-06 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Hoyt's passionate sense of kinship with orca makes his account effective as both a science and literature. He has chronicled his adventures and discoveries ...with grace, insight, wit--and a comprehensiveness that might satisfy even Herman Melville." (Discover Magazine) Star performers in aquariums and marine parks, killer whales were once considered to be too dangerous to approach in the wild. Erich Hoyt and his colleagues spent seven summers following these intelligent and playful creatures in the waters off northern Vancouver Island, intent on dispelling the killer myth. Orca: The Whale Called Killer is Hoyt's exciting account of those summers of adventure and discovery, and the definitive, classic work on the orca or killer whale. The Free Willy films, inspired in part by Hoyt's pioneering writing about orcas, tell the story of a captive orca being returned to the wild. (Hoyt, in fact, recommended Keiko, the orca who became the star of Free Willy, to Warner Bros.) But Orca: The Whale Called Killer tells the true story of wild orcas befriending humans.

Download or read book Killers in Eden written by Danielle Clode and published by Museum Victoria. This book was released on 2011 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a century, the killer whales of Twofold Bay herded baleen whales towards the harpoons of local whalers, helping them hunt and sharing the rewards. It was a life of industry, adventure and a strange and rare partnership between whale and man. In Killers in Eden, Danielle Clode explores how this relationship between whaler and killer whale developed. Using our knowledge of killer whales to entangle fact from myth, Danielle uncovers the truly remarkable history of the killers in Eden.

Download or read book War of the Whales written by Joshua Horwitz and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: “Horwitz’s dogged reporting…combined with crisp, cinematic writing, produces a powerful narrative…. He has written a book that is instructive and passionate and deserving a wide audience” (PEN Award Citation). Six years in the making, War of the Whales is the “gripping detective tale” (Publishers Weekly) of a crusading attorney, Joel Reynolds, who stumbles on one of the US Navy’s best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity sound—and drives whales onto beaches. As Joel Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth. “War of the Whales reads like the best investigative journalism, with cinematic scenes of strandings and dramatic David-and-Goliath courtroom dramas as activists diligently hold the Navy accountable” (The Huffington Post). When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. “Strong and valuable” (The Washington Post), “brilliantly told” (Bob Woodward), author Joshua Horwitz combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue to “raise serious questions about the unchecked use of secrecy by the military to advance its institutional power” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Download or read book Rush Oh written by Shirley Barrett and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An impassioned, charming, and hilarious debut novel about a young woman's coming-of-age, during one of the harshest whaling seasons in the history of New South Wales. 1908: It's the year that proves to be life-changing for our teenage narrator, Mary Davidson, tasked with providing support to her father's boisterous whaling crews while caring for five brothers and sisters in the wake of their mother's death. But when the handsome John Beck -- a former Methodist preacher turned novice whaler with a mysterious past -- arrives at the Davidson's door pleading to join her father's crews, suddenly Mary's world is upended. As her family struggles to survive the scarcity of whales and the vagaries of weather, and as she navigates sibling rivalries and an all-consuming first love for the newcomer John, nineteen-year-old Mary will soon discover a darker side to these men who hunt the seas, and the truth of her place among them. Swinging from Mary's own hopes and disappointments to the challenges that have beset her family's whaling operation, Rush Oh! is an enchanting blend of fact and fiction that's as much the story of its gutsy narrator's coming-of-age as it is the celebration of an extraordinary episode in history.