David Attenborough is a name that may not immediately ring a bell for all of us, but I can guarantee that if you watch more than just one or two films about wildlife then you’ve probably heard his voice. To celebrate a belated World Oceans Day, I picked up – courtesy of my local library – a set of DVDs that had David Attenborough Wildlife Specials. Now, each of these is a small segment worth watching, but for W.O.D (as I’ve named it) I focused on one special in particular: Humpback Whales!

Humpback whales are creatures who truly earn the adjective “ginormous” whether that’s a real word or not. They are often perceived as gentle giants, and though that is not entirely untrue, this short special shows that they also can be frighteningly aggressive creatures! For those of you more acquainted with whales this may not be a surprise, but to me it was pretty surprising.

The specials are a bit dated – our HDTV didn’t display this older film too well – but the scenes are no less intriguing as the humpback whales are traced from frigid to tropical climates, showing how the mothers care for their young and how the males of the species can be frighteningly demanding!! There are also interesting facts about how the humpback whale’s unique song can be traced across the oceans and among migratory patterns. The film is short, and in times it may seem to slow down a bit, but it is educational and serves as a good introduction to whales. (Certainly different species of whales have different behaviors, habits, etc, but if you’re not familiar with whales the humpback whale is a nice place to start learning.)

I would recommend the Humpback Whale special for novices to the whale world, though some enjoyment could probably be had by experienced folks as well. I count myself as a novice, and I enjoyed it. There is also something to be said for hearing David Attenborough’s familiar voice narrating all the action when we look at the world of the humpback whale.

Tags: David Attengorough, Giant of the Oceans, Humpback Whale, World Oceans Day