Notes

Barbara Todd.

xi, 292 pages :

illustrations (chiefly colour)
Contents: Part 1. All about whales -- The salty sea -- In the beginning -- Understanding whales -- Whale strandings -- Part 2. Of whales and man -- Whales and people -- Whaling -- Whale research -- Whale conservation -- Encounters with whales and dolphins -- Part 3. Whales and dolphins of Aotearoa New Zealand -- New Zealand cetaceans -- Odontoceti : toothed whales -- Mysticeti : baleen whales.
Summary: For centuries whales have captured our imaginations and ignited our emotions. We have revered and mythologised them, hunted them to the brink of extinction and passionately protected them. But how much do we really know about whales? Based on the hugely popular, internationally touring Te Papa exhibition Whales: Tohora (a.k.a. Whales: Giants of the Deep), this all-new book brings these majestic marine mammals and their underwater world to life, with a special focus on the whales and dolphins of the South Pacific. From the first richly illustrated, entertaining chapter, readers are immersed in the salty sea - the home of the whales - to explore their amazing diversity, biology and adaption to life in the oceans. Throughout the book, literally hundreds of breath-taking photographs, historical pictures, astonishing facts and figures and informative illustrations and diagrams bring the whale world to life. Here, too, are stories from people whose lives have been inextricably linked with whales - from legendary South Pacific whale riders to international whale scientists to conservationists to former whalers and their families. A powerful combination of storytelling, science, and culture that reveals the relationship between whales and humans, now and into the future. (Publisher)