ECHO LOCATION ON... [morse code audio] MESSAGE INCOMING... IT'S A WHALE... [Verse 1 spoken] A whale is a very large sea animal It breathes air through a hole on its head. It looks like a giant fish But it's a marine mammal instead [verse 2 spoken] A whale can feed, mate and give birth All at sea They also suckle and raise their young In the ocean They range in size From a hundred and forty kilograms To one hundred and ninety tonnes. [verse 3 spoken] Whales evolved from land-living mammals And must regularly surface To breathe air. But they can remain underwater For long periods of time [verse 4 spoken] Whales communicate Using complex low-frequency moans, Melodic songs And precise click patterns called codas To share social identities To navigate And coordinate group behaviour. [verse 5 spoken] Several species of whale Are endangered. The most threatened category includes Critically Endangered whales Like Rice's whale Which is a resident Of the Gulf of Mexico With fewer than one hundred individuals left. There are fewer than fifty North Pacific Right Whales left. [verse 6 spoken] Whales face many threats From human activity. Entanglement in fishing gear, Ship strikes, Underwater noise, Pollution, And the effects of climate change Can all threaten their survival. [verse 7 spoken] World governments Have activated The High Seas Treaty To establish Massive Marine Protected Areas In International Waters For the first time [verse 7 spoken] Whether it is too little, too late Remains to be seen. Some whale species may disappear From our oceans Forever.
