Wild Blue: A Natural History of the World's Largest Animal
3.5/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
The blue whale is the largest creature that has ever lived—far heavier than even the most burly dinosaur. A big female can outweigh every player in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball combined. Its mouth can gulp more than 50,000 litres of seawater. A newborn can be seven metres long and gain 18,000 kilograms in four months—about four kilos per hour. But the largest of all animals is also one of the least understood.
A hundred years ago, whalers learned just enough to find them, chase them down and blast them with grenade-tipped harpoons. Whalers in the Antarctic killed some 330,000 blues in just 60 years—less than the lifespan of an individual whale. The most majestic animals in the ocean were almost wiped out so humans could render them into margarine and soap. When the killing stopped in the late 1960s, there were so few blue whales left that most people believed extinction was a certainty. In the years that followed, however, humanity’s relationship with the species changed completely.
“Perhaps more than any single animal,” writes one conservationist, “the blue whale stimulated the resurgence of public interest in ecology.” Now, four decades later, scientists have learned an enormous amount about these whales. They can identify individuals through photographs and biopsies. They attach instruments to the whales’ bodies to study behviour that was once a complete mystery: how they dive, how they feed and where they migrate.
Underwater microphones listen in on the whales’ haunting, low-frequency calls, the most powerful sounds made by any animal. Researchers have answered many questions, but the blue whale does not give up its secrets easily. Equal parts history and science, Wild Blue is the first comprehensive portrait of the blue whale—a journey into the world of an animal that went to hell and is slowly making its way back.
Dan Bortolotti
Dan Bortolotti is the author of nine books of nonfiction and has written dozens of feature articles for magazines and newspapers in Canada and the US. Dan writes a blog on investing called Canadian Couch Potato. In 2011, it was selected by The Globe and Mail as the best investing blog in Canada.
Read more from Dan Bortolotti
Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild Blue: A Natural History of the World's Largest Animal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Wild Blue
Related ebooks
The World of the Salt Marsh: Appreciating and Protecting the Tidal Marshes of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFloating Gold: A Natural (& Unnatural) History of Ambergris Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quarterly Essay 66 The Long Goodbye: Coal, Coral and Australia's Climate Deadlock Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Turtlevine: A Loggerhead Turtle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDead Fish and Fat Cats: A No-Nonsense Journey Through Our Dysfunctional Fishing Industry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeet the Oceans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRestoring the Wild: Sixty Years of Rewilding Our Skies, Woods and Waterways Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Song for the Blue Ocean: Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ebb and Flow: Tides and Life on Our Once and Future Planet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNehalem (Place People Live) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPigs of Paradise: The Story of the World-Famous Swimming Pigs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Carwardine's Guide to Whale Watching in North America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Amazing Diving Stories: Incredible Tales from Deep Beneath the Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart of the Raincoast: A Life Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Language of the Sea: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Water Road Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fiend of the Cooperage (Cryptofiction Classics - Weird Tales of Strange Creatures) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecret Life of the City: How Nature Thrives in the Urban Wild Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Billfish Story: Swordfish, Sailfish, Marlin, and Other Gladiators of the Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSwamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orca: The Whale Called Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Birds of British Columbia: A Photographic Journey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Blue Wonder: Why the Sea Glows, Fish Sing, and Other Astonishing Insights from the Ocean Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSalmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShark: In peril in the sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big Tuna Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Nature For You
Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foraging for Beginners: Your Simplified Guide to Foraging Edible Plants for Survival in the Wild: Self-Sufficient Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Alpha Female Wolf: The Fierce Legacy of Yellowstone's 06 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: Train Your Dog in 7 Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles: Learn How To Forage, Prepare & Eat 40 Wild Foods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Kitchen Garden: An Inspired Collection of Garden Designs & 100 Seasonal Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Silent Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5H Is for Hawk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foraging for Survival: Edible Wild Plants of North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Wild Blue
4 ratings0 reviews