hear me.
The Cetacean Institute
is the only museum in the world
exclusively devoted to whales.
As you can see, we have
a great deal to offer,
but that is small
compared to what
we don't know about whales.
The first commonly held
misconception
is that whales are fish.
They're not.
They're mammals like us-
warm-blooded,
needing air to breathe,
and producing milk
to nurse their young.
Do whales attack people
Like in Moby Dick?
No. Most whales
don't even have teeth.
They have a soft,
gum-like tissue
that strains
tiny shrimp for food.
That's the limit
of their hostility.
Unfortunately,
their principal enemy
is far, far more aggressive.
You mean man.
To put it mildly.
Since the dawn of time,
men have harvested whales
for a variety of purposes,
most of which can be
achieved synthetically now.
1 00 years ago,
using hand-thrown harpoons,
man did plenty of damage.
But that is nothing
compared to his
achievements this century.
This is mankind's legacy-
whales hunted
to the brink of extinction.
Virtually gone
is the blue whale,
the largest creature
ever to inhabit the earth.
Despite all attempts
at banning whaling,
there are still
countries and pirates
currently engaged
in the slaughter
of these inoffensive creatures.
Where the humpback whale
once numbered in
the hundreds of thousands,
today there are less
than 1 0,000 specimens alive.
Those that are taken in
are no longer fully grown.
In addition, many
female whales are killed
while bearing unborn calves.
To hunt a species
to extinction
is not logical.
Who ever said
the human race was logical?
If you'll follow me,
I'll introduce you
to the institute's pride and joy.
This is the largest
seawater tank in the world,
and it contains
the only two humpback whales
in captivity.
They are mature humpbacks
weighing 45,000 pounds each.
They wandered into
San Francisco Bay as calves
and were brought here.
We call them
George and Gracie.
It's perfect, Spock.
A male and female humpback
in a contained space.
We beam them up together,
consider ourselves lucky.
Beautiful, aren't they?
And extremely intelligent.
Now if you'll
follow me, please.
Despite all
they're teaching us,
we have to return George
and Gracie to the open sea.
Why is that?
Well, for one thing,
we can't afford
to keep feeding them
2 tons of shrimp
per day.
How soon?
Soon.
It's too bad, too,
because they're
quite friendly,
as you could see.
I've grown
quite attached to them.
And now here's
a much better way
to see George and Gracie-
underwater.
What you're hearing
is recorded whale song.
It's sung by the male.
He'll sing anywhere
from 6 to 30 minutes
and then start again.
Other whales
pick up his song
and pass it on.
The songs change every year,
and we still don't know
what purpose they serve.
Are they some kind
of navigational signal?
Could they be part
of the mating ritual?
Or is it pure communication
beyond our comprehension?
Frankly, we just
don't know yet.
Maybe he's singing
to that man.
Look, there's a guy
swimming in there.
How did he get in there?
What the hell?
Excuse me. Wait right here.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, please.
Who the hell are you?
What were you
doing in there?
Yes, speak up.
Attempting the hell
to communicate.
Communicate what?
You have no right here!
You heard the lady.
Admiral, if we assumed
these whales are ours
to do with as we please,
we'd be
as guilty as those
who caused their extinction.
O.K.
I don't know what's going on,
but get out now,
or I call the cops.
That's not necessary.
We're trying to help.
Your friend was messing up
my tanks and my whales.
They like you,
but they're not your whales.
They told you that?
The hell they did.
Right.
Spock.
Yes?
About those
colorful metaphors
that we've discussed...
you shouldn't
try using them anymore.
Why not?
You haven't quite
got the knack of it.
I see.
It's not always necessary
to tell