Natural World: Riddle of the Right Whale poster

Episode

Natural World: Riddle of the Right Whale

Natural WorldSeason 181999-10-03

Overview

A dramatic film about Right Whales, the rarest of all the great whales. There's a race on to save them and even US nuclear submarines are part of the effort. Dramatic footage above and below the water reveals these fascinating giants battling for mates, rearing young, sailing with their tails and meeting other whales, dolphins, seals and sharks. It's called the Right Whale because it used to be the right whale to hunt - big and full of blubber. Today it's baffling biologists who cannot understand why, in spite of total protection, it refuses to recover.

Details

Series
Natural World
Season
Season 18
Episode
Episode 1
Air date
1999-10-03

Episode context

Riddle of the Right Whale is Episode 1 in Season 18 of Natural World. It aired on 1999-10-03.

Previous / Next

Episode 2: Hokkaido: Garden of the Gods 1999-10-10 A look at the unique wildlife of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, and the island's few remaining members of the ancient Ainu race, who see all animals as sacred. Swept by winds from the high Arctic, Hokkaido is an island of towering volcanos and fairytale forests, where cranes perform dances in the snow, brown bears plunge for salmon in rivers and eagles plunder the spoils from winter fishing fleets. The unique wildlife of Hokkaido has long been worshipped by an ancient race of hunter-gatherers, called Ainu, a few of whom still survive among modern Japanese. Even today, they honour the natural world around them through ritualised dance and prayer.

More episodes from this season

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