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Through a selection of her stunning photographs, Alexandra Morton
portrays life on the central British Columbia coast.She arrived in
the area in 1984 as a whale researcher, and at first, she was
absorbed in studying the orca and admiring the magnificent scenery.
It is a coast with a long history: dolphins have pulsed in and out
for 10,000 years; First Nations people have lived here for almost
as long; European settlers arrived a scant century ago. As time
passed, Morton began to observe the lives of other creatures that
share the sea and land-humpback whales, bears, salmon, eagles,
deer, and humans-and understand how they are all interconnected. As
one example, "Bears drag salmon beneath the trees of the forest,
feeding the giant plants that shade the river nursery, protect its
banks and allow it to make more fish." In "Beyond the Whales,"
Alexandra explains what is going on beyond the beauty of the
images: "One of the joys of watching a place for 20 years is being
able to read the signs upon the sea-bubbles on the surface mean
tons of herring below; three birds over an orca mean the whale has
brought fish to the surface; shearwaters in Blackfish Sound mean
autumn is here. The ocean feeds the rivers and the rivers feed the
ocean."
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.
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