"It's a place as alien as space a fluid world of darkness and cold and extraordinary forms of life." "Though at risk here, humanity descends in shells of steel compelled by our insatiable curiosity." "Hidden in the haze of the sea are creatures so immense and so mysterious, they seem unreal." "A mammoth pulse of life, picked up through hydrophones" "The beat of a heart so large it can be heard two miles away." "No animals more enthrall us than the giants whose songs echo across the vastness of the deep who roam somewhere beyond our view and our understanding- the largest creatures ever to live on earth." "For all life in the sea successful feeding is the key to survival." "Many creatures, like the manta ray take advantage of a remarkable food source- swarms found throughout the ocean of plankton, larval fish and tiny shrimp called krill collectively the greatest mass of protein in the entire world." "Filtering out the tiny food through strainers in its gills, the manta can live on the relatively sparse plankton of the tropics." "But the great baleen or toothless whales also filter feeders- must find greater concentrations of it elsewhere - or they'll starve." "The great whales' search for food can force them to journey across an entire ocean." "Masters of starvation, they can survive on their blubber while they wait for the plankton swarms to reappear." "Barely visible to us as red surface patches marked by birds the massive krill swarms in cool upwellings or polar seas are the primary food sources sufficient to sustain the greatest of all whales, the rarely seen Blue Whale." "A blue often drives krill to the surface then lunges to engulf them clamping its huge mouth shut like a trap while on its side." "Comb-like filters in its mouth, called baleen act like sieves, capturing the krill as the water drains away." "The whale simply swallows the meal that's left." "More than a hundred feet long and a hundred tons the Blue Whale is the largest animal ever to live on the earth surpassing any dinosaur." "Its heart is bigger than a small car." "A child could crawl through its largest arteries." "Their voices are equally mighty, carrying at least a thousand miles through the sea." "Yet as large and loud as they are" "Blue whales are among the most elusive of all creatures." "The story of the whale is one we can piece together only as fragments, gathered species by species from the farthest corners of the world." "One of the best places to peer into the lives of whales is Peninsula Valdes on the southern coast of Argentina." "Each winter, Right Whales follow unknown routes from distant feeding grounds to gather in the calm shallows off Valdes." "Once found along the coast of every continent the Right Whale was hunted to the edge of extinction." "Today their numbers have recovered to about 4,000." "Peninsula Valdes is one of the great intersections of sea, land and wildlife left on earth." "Elephant Seals gather here by the thousands to breed and share the beach with Magellanic Penguins who also migrate here each year then waddle ashore to claim a patch of sand." "Since 1970, biologist Roger Payne has walked these same beaches to study the Right Whales." "This is my favorite place in the world." "Here in Peninsula Valdes, Right Whales come so close to shore you can spend an afternoon walking along a beach in their company." "And at night, whenever the herd moves into the bay the sound of their breathing wakes you." "On the head of every Right Whale - roughly where facial hair appears on humans- there are hard, white patches of thickened skin called callosities." "We've found that no two patterns are exactly alike making it possible to tell individuals apart." "The males have more and bigger callosities and they use them like horns to fight over females." "Using callosity patterns like human fingerprints we can now follow the lives of more than 1,300 individual Right whales." "Some, like Troff, have become old friends." "The relatively quiet waters of these bays seem an ideal nursery for the whales while the cliffs provide a perfect vantage point for Payne and his team to observe whale behavior." "On average, Right Whales give birth to one calf every three years." "Curiously, one in 50 is born white but only remains so for the first year of its life." "Fewer than ten white calves are ever alive on the planet at the same time." "Like people, mother whales keep their babies right next to them where they can be watched continuously - and protected." "Like children of all species, whale calves seek attention." "And to get it, a mischievous calf will sometimes drape its body over its mother's blowhole so she can't breathe." "Adults can also be playful." "A whale will often hold its tail up as a sail and ride the wind." "They don't sail to get places." "Perhaps they do it just for fun." "Tail slapping and breaching serve many purposes." "They may be a form of communication." "It seems to be a challenge to other whales and often gets the whole bay going." "When seas are calm, Right whales often rest or sleep head down with their tails in the air." "Naturally buoyant, they got their name from whalers." "Because they were rich in oil which kept them afloat when killed they were the "right whales" to hunt." "On occasion, members of Payne's scientific team must approach near enough to check the general health of an individual whale by close inspection of its skin." "Though the diver is here to observe the whale her subject seems just as interested in her." "Observing whales in their habitat can be dangerous." "A blow from a fluke that weighs a ton could easily render a diver unconscious." "Eye to eye across the gulf between species." "Although we've learned a great deal about Right Whales- an enormous mystery remains." "We don't know precisely where they all go when they leave Peninsula Valdes." "We know only that they'll be back again next year." "Another chapter in the whale story can be found off Hawaii a major breeding and calving ground for Humpback Whales a species we know better than most other whales." "The sailing vessel Odyssey will allow Payne's team to both study and live among the whales." "Almost immediately whales appear." "Though many people are unaware of it dolphins are actually toothed whales, along with porpoises the smallest of some 75 whale species in the world." "Most whales, like the Humpbacks, have to be sought out but dolphins often come to us." "Dolphins spend their lives immersed in a sea of sound." "They use whistles to keep in touch and rapid clicks to examine their world through echolocation." "What captivates Payne most about Humpbacks is their underwater sounds." "But to hear them, he has to leave the noise of the Odyssey." "In the 1960's, Roger P. and Scott McVay discovered that Humpbacks sing and Payne has spent years recording their songs through hydrophones." "We know next to nothing about what the songs of Humpback Whales mean." "We do know that only the males sing." "It seems to be done to attract females and to challenge other males." "Everyone in this area sings the same song but it changes subtly over time." "Like human singers, Humpbacks often employ rhymes apparently to help them remember complex songs." "Suspended head down and motionless they sometimes sing for hours at a time." "The songs are shatteringly loud." "Biologist Debbie Glockner-Ferrari has worked in Hawaii since 1975 studying humpback whales." "At age six, her daughter is already an eager assistant." "I love working with whales, especially mothers and calves but they can be difficult to study because they're often pursued by groups of aggressive males." "Though they may look peaceful underwater ten enormous whale Humpbacks rushing by can pose a 400-ton threat to any researcher who happens to get in their path." "Physical contact with their mothers is very important to the babies." "As an observer my own relationship varies from whale to whale." "Their natures often seem as diverse as human personalities." "Some barrel past as if I'm not there." "Others will let me approach freely." "This small calf we've named Echo." "Her mother's name is Misty." "Echo is always curious about what's around her." "Young calves are often playful swimming right up to get a closer look at me." "But their mothers are always nearby." "Humpback mothers are pregnant for about a year." "They give birth to a single calf that weighs two to three tons." "While the baby is nursing it's thought to gain about a hundred pounds a day in the first few weeks." "Like humans, whales are air breathers." "When Echo was born her mother most likely pushed her to the surface for her first breath of air." "Often a male suitor will accompany the mother and calf and while the mothers and escorts typically stay under for about a quarter of an hour babies like Echo have to come up for air every few minutes." "Humpbacks breed and give birth here in Hawaii but they don't eat here." "To feed, they must undertake an incredible journey swimming more than 3,000 miles to Alaskan waters." "During that long migration the calf will rarely leave its mother's side." "A young whale would stand very little chance of surviving alone in the open ocean." "When Misty and Echo leave for Alaska I feel excited but worried for them." "Their trip across the ocean and back is filled with hazards." "Some of the whales I've gotten to know have never returned." "Ships plying modern sea lanes cross migratory routes of whales." "Accidental encounters are often fatal." "Through a gauntlet of dangers, Misty and Echo will follow ancient whale pathways to Alaska." "Within the watery depths are bones of their ancestors- reminders of the days when whalers waited along these migration routes driving many species to near extinction." "Though whaling is now much reduced, it still continues and some whalers kill even endangered species." "How whales navigate the globe is still a mystery to us." "They may be assisted by the calls of distant whales beacons to guide them through the deep." "Though masters of navigation there are some obstacles they cannot avoid." "As whales approach the coast some get caught in fishermen's nets." "Even the strongest whale struggling to free itself, may drown." "But in faraway Newfoundland a lucky few in this predicament get to meet biologist Jon Lien who has freed more than a thousand whales." "In a hopeful change of conscience the human has turned from hunter to helper." "One might expect an entangled whale dragging the boat of its helpers, to be aggressive- but Jon has never been hurt while freeing them." "The whales seem to know they're being helped and accept it passively, perhaps even gratefully." "After weeks at sea, the Humpbacks approach Alaska." "Some may have lost nearly a third of their weight since last eating." "No animal on Earth makes a greater effort while going without food." "One of the gravest threats faced by traveling whales comes not from people, but from their own kind." "Here, a skull of a Killer Whale is a ghostly reminder that they lurk in the surrounding waters." "Armed with massive teeth, they are to other whales the most fearsome predator in the sea." "Roaming in packs, Killer Whales often prey on whale calves and even attack adults." "In open water, there's no place to hide." "Not all whales will reach their destination." "A final piece of the whale story lies in the icy waters of Alaska- both feeding grounds and journey's end for the migrating Humpbacks." "The Odyssey and its crew have sailed here to wait for their arrival." "Around Odyssey, the season of plenty has begun in the far North." "Though the Humpbacks are headed here for the swarms of krill and tiny fish the spring and summer months in Alaska also provide a bounty for year-round residents." "A wildlife spectacle around them, but no whales in sight." "Days of looking turn to weeks." "As big as whales are, they can be hard to find." "You can often hear them before you see them." "The long and hazardous journey is over." "The whales have made it back." "A big male comes to the boat and rides the bow wave something Payne has never seen a Humpback whale do before." "As the day wears on, more and more whales arrive but to the crew's disappointment" "Misty and Echo are not among them." "Finally, a procession of mothers and calves begins to arrive." "Then, the moment they had hoped for." "By sheer luck, they spot a calf with familiar markings." "It's Echo and Misty is with her." "They've made it unharmed." "The long months of fasting end as the herd assembles to feast." "Dependent until now on their mothers milk the calves are about to get their first taste of krill and fish." "Humpbacks have developed one of the most unusual feeding strategies in the sea." "In a coordinated action, they blow nets made of bubbles to encircle small schools of fish." "Then, while one submerged whale screams to concentrate the prey they all rocket upward through the bubble net to engulf the trapped fish in their huge mouths." "It's a perfect strategy." "The fish won't cross the barrier of bubbles." "Seldom seen by humans it is one of nature's most extraordinary sights." "When summer ends, the Humpbacks turn southward again continuing the ancient cycle of their lives." "Most of their existence remains shrouded in mystery yet the more we learn, the more we move to protect their world so that far into the future our children's children can still marvel at the songs and secrets of the mightiest creatures the Earth has ever known."