Whales

Coming up on The Children's Hour, we're learning about the largest animal to ever live on Earth, which still roams the oceans today. Whales. Once hunted to near extinction, some whales are making a comeback, while others remain critically endangered. We hear from a marine biologist researching whale songs and background noise interference. And we talk with a Mexican ponguero or a boat driver who teaches kids and adults about the friendly whales in his own

backyard. Mixed with great music, take a trip under the sea with the Children's Hour this week to learn all about whales. The Children's Hour is produced by the Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico nonprofit. We're located at the sunspot. Solar Studio. It's time for the Children's Tower. Kids call the radio. Why do whales sing? I don't know why. Because they can't talk. On a fateful day in the month of May, I was sitting catching fish. When a magic whale swam

up to the rail and said, please make a wish. So I said, well, gee, I'd love to be like you, a giant whale. Next thing I knew, I was grayish blue. And I had a two-ton tail. Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song As the flounder set to the oyster bed Sing a whale song With a mighty leap I dove down deep and swam out through the cove. Then a race to the top did a belly flop and down again I dove. From the Arctic to the Baltic to the far off Hebrides.

Like a submarine through the deep blue green. I swam the seven seas and sang a whale song. Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song. As the dog fish bark to the great white shark, sing a whale song. But there were some things I wish I could forget Like that garbage scowl off a curacao Or that oil spill below Brazil Or getting caught in that giant net And I couldn't get out and oh was I upset So I had to hail that magic whale who changed me back once more. Say it

now that you know the great below, we need your help on shore. To tell your tale of being a whale and all you've seen and done, then wet and dry will unify. And all the world as one will sing a whale song. Sing a whale song. uh Sing a whale song. From the smallest ant to the tallest tree, from the highest peak to the deepest sea, all the world will ring in harmony and sing a whale song. Tom Chapin from a release called Moonboat. That's an oldie but goodie. This is The Children's

Hour. I'm Katie Stone. And today on the show, we're going to learn about whales. Our episode today was taken from a show we originally broadcast live on KUNM FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, all the way back in 2006. Our kids crew back then was Jenna, Evan, Luna, Eli, Bryson, Crawford and Enid. We have a lot to learn about whales today and you can learn more in our learning guide at ChildrensHour.org. Look for whales. We have so much to learn, in fact, that we

better dive right in. Citations play an important role in the life of the ocean, serving as flagships for the health and well-being of the whole marine ecosystem. Primitive whales evolved about 50 million years ago from a hoofed land animal. to the marine mammals of today. And scientists believe that the closest relative on land to a whale is the hippopotamus. Most

whales live in small groups called pods. People don't usually realize that whales have hair, no long hair like humans, but short stubby hair that often disappears by the time the whale grows into an adult. Whales, like birds, migrate. The Pacific gray whale migrates over 12,000 miles every year, starting as babies in the warm lagoons on the coast of Baja Mexico and traveling all the way up to the Arctic Ocean, even going as far as the frigid waters

above Siberia. Well, that's quite a trip. And we're taking a trip today to learn all about the magnificent whale right here on The Children's Hour. You can learn more at ChildrensHour.org. Look for this episode. whales but first this is from Linda Yaps for the love of Hawaii. Aloha Nā Kupuna, aloha Nā Kamali E ho kai o lākou mana o E ho mauna ho ilina A uala o ka mauke kai E kona moku, e kona moku e A u he a u e e ko hola Ke anu e nu e i ka mo Aueauea e kohola, ke anuenue i ka moana.

Aueauea e kohola, e holoholoana o hawaine.

It's long summer up in Glacier Bay But the Alaskan sun is fading away Snow and ice are bringing a chill And the humpback whales have had their fill Of fish and frill They've been eating all summer and their bellies are full Now the whales are feeling that natural pump To head down south to sing their song Winter in Hawaii is where they belong The whales know It's time to go They're feeling that sensation It's time to change location Make the big mic, make the I'll shut it down some.

They'll sip the waves and get their flukes in gear The journey is long, they make it twice a year It takes determination To make it to their destination To their winter home say hello to a passing ship with a bridge and a flow and a fancy flip. The planet guides them with gravitation. They follow the sun for navigation. The whales know where to go.

They're feeling that It's time to change location And make the big, make the big migration Head down site They live off their blubber so they don't need to eat Just sing and play These are born under Hawaiian sun They're never small, they start out weighing a ton The cats

are hungry and their mamas are too So what's a hungry humpback whale gonna do? The whale They're feeling that sensation It's time to change location And make the big mic, make the big mic Make the big migration head back north There's a nice warm winter in Hawaii down south But the north is the place to catch fish in the mouth Whales come together and blow a bubble net And scoop a ton of fish without breaking

a sweat The whales know how to blow It's another summer up in Glacier Bay They'll stay until the sun starts fading away When snow and ice start bringing a chill And they've had their fill of fish and crew The whales will know It's time to go The whales know When it's time to go You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. That was Dana with her song, Migration. Today we're learning about whales. There are many stories about whales all over the world.

This one is from the United Kingdom. It's written by Julia Donaldson and was released in 2003 as a children's picture book. It won many awards and has been adapted into a film in 2019. It's illustrated by Alex Scheffler and published by Macmillan Press. The Snail and the Whale.

This is the tale of a tiny snail in a great big gray-blue humpback whale. There was a rock as black as soot and there was a snail with an itchy foot and the sea snail slithered all over the rock and gazed at the sea and the ships and the dock and as she gazed she Sniffed

and sighed. Oh the sea is deep and the world is wide how I long to sail Said the tiny snail But the other snails in that snail flock all stuck together tight to the smooth black rock and said to the snail with the itchy foot Be quiet don't wiggle sit still stay put but

the tiny sea snail just sniffed and sighed then cried I've got it. I'll hitch a ride So all over the rock, this tiny snail made a shimmery, slimy, handwriting trail, a silvery trail that looped and curled and said, ride wanted around the world. And then a whale came by one night when the tide was high and the stars were bright. A humpback whale, immensely long, who sang to the snail a wondrous song of shimmering ice

and coral caves and shooting stars and enormous waves. And the humpback whale raised his great big tail. He held it out of the starlit sea and said to the snail, come sail with me. And off to the sea so wild and free swam the great big whale with the snail on his tail to towering icebergs and far-off lands with fiery mountains and golden sands and dashing waves that arched and crashed and foamed and froliced and sprayed and splashed the tiny

snail on the tail of the whale. And there were caves beneath the waves where colorful fish with leathery fins and sharks with hideous toothy grins swam past the whale and the snail on his tail. And there was the sky so vast and high, sometimes sunny and blue and warm, sometimes filled with a thunderstorm, with zigzag lightning flashing and frightening the tiny snail on

the tail of the whale. She gazed at the sky, the sea, the land, the waves and the caves and the golden sand, She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all, and she said to the whale, I feel so small. There came a bad day when the whale lost his way and got him in speedboats running a race, digging and zooming all over the place, upsetting the whale with their ear-splitting roar, making him swim too close to the shore. And there went the tide, just slipping away, leaving

the whale lying beached in a bay. Quick, off the sand, back to the sea! cried the snail. I can't move on land, I'm too big! moaned the whale. The snail felt helpless and terribly small. Then, I've got it, she cried and started to crawl. I'd better not fail, said the tiny snail. Then she heard the bell from the school on the bay, ringing the children in from their play. And there was the teacher holding her chalk, telling the class, sit straight, don't

talk. And there was the board as black as soot, and in came the snail with the itchy foot. A snail, a snail! The teacher turned pale. Look, the children, it's leaving a trail. And there was the trail of the tiny snail, a silvery trail, saying, please save the whale. Yelling and shouting, the kids ran from school, catching the firemen, digging a pool, squirting and spraying to keep the whale cool. And here came the tide coming into the bay, and there

were the villagers shouting, Hooray! As the whale and the snail traveled safely away. dock and the flock on the rock who said, how time's flown and haven't you grown? And the whale and the snail told their wonderful tale of shimmering ice and coral caves and shooting stars and enormous waves and of how the snail, so small and frail, with her looping, curling,

silvery trail, saved the life of the humpback whale. Then the humpback whale held out his tail and on crawled snail after snail after snail and they sang to the sea as they all set sail on the tail of the gray blue humpback whale. first heard a song of kawaii when I was just a girl I remember filling my heart back then with love swimming with the whole new world.

came ringing a song Swimming the ocean so free For 22 years I've been listening to you Now I'm back, verse 23 And here you make this long journey to the Isle you you sea waters to the calm and gentle seas. It must make you happy to come back and be home just like me. Swimming in the ocean so free For 22 years I've been listening to you Now I'm back for verse 23 That's Linda Yap with Kohola's song, the song of the humpback whale, verse 23. You're listening

to The Children's Hour and today we're learning about whales through stories and music. And there's a lot more information for you in our learning guide at childrenshour.org. Look for whales. Coming up, we've got a discussion with Melania Guerrera. She's a scientist who studies the vocalizations of whales. You're listening to The Children's Hour. Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is a production of The Children's Hour, Inc. We're

a New Mexico based nonprofit organization and we're funded by listeners just like you. Learn more at Children'sHour.org. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs supports The Children's Hour. Celebrate the diverse cultures of New Mexico at nmculture.org. Keep up with the Children's Hour and sign up for our monthly newsletter at childrenshour.org. Hi, I love the Children's Hour because it's fun and you go to all sorts of different places. I'm Yoshi

James from Australia. Take the Children's Hour with you on your road trip. Find us at childrenshour.org or anywhere you listen to podcasts. m Setting our sails, hunting for whales, without harpoons. Just binoculars, watching them jump,

watching them play. Oh, I could sit and watch them all day. Setting our sails, hunting for whales without harpoons Just binoculars up the coast in the deep blue sea I hope to see a whale and a whale to see me A friend who sees a circus with his giant acrobats Get to see a whale jump like that Splashing through waves and having such fun Putting on a show For everyone big and blue And tons of fun I never want this show to ever be done

A friend who sees the circus with his giant acrobats You never thought you'd ever get to see a whale jump like that. Setting our sails, hunting for whales, without harpoons. Just binoculars, watching them jump, watching them play. Oh, I could sit and watch them all day. Oh, I could sit and watch them all day. Oh, I could sit and watch them all day. That's Steve Pallara and his cool Beans band right here on the Children's Hour where we're

learning about whales. You can learn a lot more in our learning guide. Find it at childrenshour.org. Look for whales. There's so much to learn about whales we have to keep diving deeper. There are two different types of whales, toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales include porpoises, orcas, and dolphins. They almost look like they're smiling, but don't be fooled by their grin. These whales eat other whales, including the babies, as well as fish and sea

mammals in one bite. The other type of whale is the baleen whale. These whales have baleen plates instead of teeth. Baleen is a lot like having thousands of fingernails in your mouth, which these whales use to strain the water for krill. Baleen whales have two blowholes while toothed whales only have one. Blue, gray, humpback, bowhead, minky, and right whales are all baleen whales. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived on earth, even

bigger than any of the dinosaurs. A full-grown blue whale is about 80 to 100 feet long, and a brand new baby whale is 25 feet long. Blue whales weigh up to uh 174 tons. These huge animals eat tiny krill and plankton. We used to think that blue whales were the loudest animal in the world, with vocalizations reaching up to 180 decibels. But now we know that sperm whales are much louder. Their clicks reach up to 236 decibels. That is loud enough

to kill a diver next to a sperm whale. This is the sound of the sperm whale. Scientists believe that sperm whales and blue whales can communicate across the entire ocean. Blue whales live in all the oceans of the world, but their sounds vary depending on where they live. In order for us to listen to the calls of blue whales, recordings made by hydrophones or underwater microphones must be sped up 10 times because the frequency is too low for

the human range of hearing. This is the call of the Northeastern Pacific Blue Whale. Blue whale songs can last for hours. and we know they're different in different parts of the world. There are about 10 distinct types of songs in all of the different oceans, and each of the songs is related to a particular area. There's a New Zealand song, a North Indian Ocean song, and you just heard the Northeast Pacific song. This is an example of the Chilean song.

This is a sound of the Atlantic blue whale. Unfortunately, between hunting by humans, noise, and other pollution in our oceans, blue whales are nearly extinct. Blue whales weren't commonly hunted until after 1900, after the invention of the exploding harpoon gun and diesel-powered boats. The slaughter peaked in 1931 when over 29,000 blue whales were killed in one season. It's believed that only about 1 % of the population of blue whales is still alive today, with

the current worldwide population somewhere between 5 and 10,000 mature whales. There used to be about 140,000. Blue whales are formally classified as endangered in the United States as well as in the UN. Some blue whales are considered critically endangered, like the Antarctic blue whale. The pygmy blue whale is so difficult to count that we don't really know how it's doing. You can adopt blue and other types of whales and help researchers study these endangered animals. Go to whales.org.

the whiz pops from Sea Blue Sea with Blue Whale. You're listening to the Children's Hour and I'm Katie Stone. Long ago I went to something called Whale Camp. It was off the coast of the Baja California and it's a bay called San Ignacio Lagoon where gray whales come to have their babies. At Whale Camp we got to be with whale researchers including, at the time, a student named Melania Guerra. She was studying the sounds of the gray whales. There are six

categorized gray whale sounds already. The most common one here in Mexico is what is called pops. They sound somewhat like bongo drums underwater. We know so far that they can communicate here in this lagoon for about one kilometer, at least, probably more. But it depends a lot on the properties of the bottom and how the sound gets attenuated. Because when the sound touches the bottom or the surface, a part of the sound gets uh transmitted and

a part gets reflected. I'm also looking at how background noise is affecting gray whales because there's an effect called masking that if... There is an external sound or external noise that is in the frequency band where the whales vocalize. They're going to try to vary the call so that they can be better heard. That's equivalent, for example, if you're in

a very loud room when there's a lot of people talking. You're going to try to either have a higher pitch above the crowd or vocalize louder or something to make you stand out. I'm trying to look at what gray whales do to stand out among the noises that are present. I haven't discovered yet how they stand out, but I've discovered that there is a pattern, a daily pattern, that the background noise seems to increase at around 3 p.m. up until

9 p.m. And then it goes back down. During the rest of the night and during the morning, the background noise is a lot less strong. And again, at 3 p.m. the next day, the background noise goes back up. And we're thinking that it's a combination of the boat noise and also the evening chorus of the croakerfish.

fish tend to make a lot more noise after the sun sets. Win or win, it's a win-win Well, oh well, it's a whale, whale, whale To always amaze us, she will never fail She could throw a party on her giant tail Well, oh well, it's a whale, whale, whale 11 C's, she can choose to roll She can swim a thousand miles and never leave her home He has a group of friends that are called upon She will never fail She could throw a party on her You Yeah!

He's a good friend and a super-money- To always amaze us, she will never fail She's been so a party on a giant tail Yeah I'm off on an adventure and I'm following the whale Steady on the teller mate Taste the spray Mmm salty Following the trail to the dawning of the day She sings, she dives, she turns, and races to the sunlight. She'll breach, she'll fly,

and I'll learn. Following the whale, she sprayed from the thick of her tail. Following the whale, she sprayed from the thick of her tail. Scrub the jet while you're at it. Wait to tech and feed the cat. I'm following the way of She sings, she dives, she turns, and races to the sunlight. She'll breach, she'll fly, and I'll learn. Seaspray from the thick of her tail Follows is Levity Beat. And before that, Farmer Jason, you're listening to The Children's Hour. This

is a show all about whales. You're listening to The Children's Hour, kids public radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is making weekly learning guides for every episode, thanks to the support of the Albuquerque Community Foundation. You can support this effort too. Go to childrenshour.org and click donate. and find our learning guides under our podcast menu. Support for The Children's Hour provided by New Mexico Arts, a division of the New Mexico

Department of Cultural Affairs and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Support for The Children's Hour provided by the City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department and the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund. The Children's Hour is an educational nonprofit and you can donate your unwanted

vehicle to The Children's Hour. Learn more at ChildrensHour.org Baby beluga in the deep blue sea Swim so wild and you swim so free Heaven above and the sea below And a little white whale on the go Baby beluga Baby beluga Is the water warm? Is your mama home with you so happy? Wait down yonder where the dolphins play, where you dive and splash all day. Waves rolling and the waves roll out. See the water squirting out of your

spout. Baby beluga, oh baby beluga. Sing your little song, sing for all your friends we like to hear you.

It's dark, you're home and fed Curl up snug in your waterbed Moon is shining and the stars are out Goodnight little whale, goodnight Baby beluga, oh baby beluga With tomorrow's sun, another day's begun You'll soon be waking Baby beluga in the deep blue sea Swim so wild and you swim so free Heaven above and the sea below And a little white whale on the go You're just a little white whale on the go

Raffy, an oldie but goodie with baby beluga. I'm Katie Stone. You're listening to the Children's Hour and we're talking about whales. We're learning about whales. And maybe about 10 years ago, my friend Mary and I got to go to Baja, California, where we went to whale camp. It's where we met Melania Guerra, who we talked to earlier about gray whale sounds. Whale camp is located on a lagoon off the Pacific coast, which is the birthing waters of the Pacific gray whale.

Grey whales have come back from the brink of extinction thanks to protective whale legislation that outlaws whaling in most parts of the world. In San Ignacio Lagoon, whale mothers and their babies are protected from predators by a series of barrier islands. Nearly 300 whales were living in this lagoon when we were there, and everywhere we'd look, we'd see whales spouting, mating, spy hopping, jumping, and logging. That's when they rested the surface. Something

notable about these particular whales is how friendly they are towards boaters. About 40 years ago, a great whale approached a fisherman in these waters. The exchange lasted nearly 20 minutes, where he petted the whale and looked it straight into the eye. I got that experience with my friend Mary, too. The whales, like all mammals everywhere, love gentle touch. We got to pet a baby whale not more than two months old that was pushed toward our boat

by its mother. I felt the baleen and the baby opened its mouth and he put its tongue against my hand. Our ponguero, which is Spanish for boat driver, was Chopi. I asked Chopi how he'd come to be a ponguero and what he thought about the whales in his own backyard. Our friend Marcos Martinez translated for us. My name is Jesus Orfil Ramirez Gallegos and I work as a boat driver for the Coima Company. I've been working 10 seasons. I started at about 18 years old and everything's really good.

When I was younger, my brothers would take us on family outings to go see the whales. That's how I started learning about whales. We work about half the year, October through December, in the lobster season. Then from January until April, we work with the whale watching, and the rest of the time we do some fishing. Are there many friendly whales here in the lagoon? Yes, there are some whales that return every year. They have markings on them, so

that's how we can recognize them. The whales are very friendly. We take the school kids out to go see the whales. There's a town called San Ignacio, so the elementary school and the middle school kids, and even some younger kids, some of them five years old, we take them out to see the whales. How I got my nickname is that my younger brother, when he was about two years old, he couldn't say Orfe. So he started calling me Chopi, and now that's what all my friends call me. um

Navegando por el mar, va cantando melodías, la vallena cada día. Yes, gentlemen, every day to all humanity beating in their hearts as if it were a drum. Whale has the key to all information. Yes, gentlemen, has the key to all information. Whale, whale, whale, whale of information. Whale, whale, whale, uh y vayemos su corazón. Ella es una biblioteca que van dando por el mar. Todo el mundo la respeta cuando la siente pasar, sí, señores. La respetan

cuando la sienten pasar. Ballena, ballena, ballena. Ballena de información, la ballena. Ballena, ballena. Balleno su corazón. Sí, sí, sí, sí, sí, señores. To all humanity, yes, gentlemen! Every day, to all humanity! She is a librarian who foreign Ballena, ballena, ballena de formación, la ballena, ballena, ballena, ballenos tu corazón. Ballena, dános la llave para abrir tu corazón, porque tú tienes la clave y el

recuerdo del amor. oh Senores, tienes la clave y el recuerdo del amor. Ballena, ballena, ballena de información, la ballena. Ballena de información. Ballena, ballena, ballena de información, la ballena. Ballena de información. Ballena, ballena, ballena de información, la ballena. Ballena de información. Ballena, ballena, ballena de información, la ballena. Ballena de... Ballena Ballena is colectivo animal featuring Daniel Roa from a CD called Un Bosque Encantado

2. You're listening to the Children's Hour. We're learning about whales and whales are very talkative. They're almost musical, but to our ears, they sound strange. Listen to the musical orca. The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family, and it's a toothed whale. Orcas live in pods of about five to 30 family members, and they have complex communication. Every

pod has its own unique sounds and songs. The difference between the sounds of the orca and different families has been compared to dialects, like how a person from Virginia has a different accent than someone from England. Orcas use echolocation, bouncing sounds off of objects to determine their location and to hunt. When hunting, they use a series of high-pitched clicks to stun their prey. There are two types of orcas, residential orcas who stay in one

place generation after generation, and transient orcas who roam the seas. Transient orcas are the ones who eat baby whales, especially gray whales. Resident orcas don't eat baby whales, but they mostly eat fish and occasionally other sea mammals like sea lions or seals. There are so few orcas left in the world today that many individual orcas living in resident pods have been photographed and identified by their unique color patterns. These photos are compiled

into catalogs. And those catalogs help scientists study the habits and the lives of orcas. Orca whales are also called killer whales because of the way they eat their food in one bite. But really, we are the killers of killer whales and orcas don't want to eat humans. There are many things that people can do in their daily life to help our oceans recycle used motor oil. Don't throw heavy metals down the drain and be careful what you flush down the

toilet. Educate yourself about your household cleaners. Kids can get educated too about what's going on with whales. The Ocean Alliance is an organization that works on protecting marine life. You can learn more about what they do at OceanAlliance.org. You're listening to The Children's Hour and this is Lena from Switch On Global Telethon. Why does the right will moan? Why is this way alone? We hope this will come back What can we do? How can

we act? With big hearts without greed Big hearts that fill a need Big hearts, what can we do? Big hearts, me and you We can save the whales We can save the whales We can save the whales We can save the whales Why does the right will cry? Why does the right whale frown? there something we can do to turn this all around? We need big hearts without greed Big hearts that fill a need Big hearts, what can we

do? Big hearts, me and you We can save the whales We can save the whales We can save the whales We can save the whales Why are the lines so deep? Why are the ships so fast? They're dying in our seas. How can these whales... baby can save the whales, we can save the whales, we can save the whales, we can save the Just the right You've been listening to the Children's Hour to a show about whales. Learn more about whales

at childrenshour.org. Look for this episode, whales. We're going to go out with Claudia Robingun. Thanks for listening to the Children's Hour. We'll catch you next time. Baby, baby blue. Baby, baby blue. Baby, baby blue. uh Baby, blue Baby, where are you? Baby, baby blue Show me, show me with a flip-flop flip of your tail, baby boo will Tell me, call to me with a sing-song sing of your song, baby boo don't be low here.

Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour, Inc., a New Mexico non-profit. You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at Children'sHour.org. This episode of The Children's Hour was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with production help from Sean Loveless, Christina Stella, Sarah Gabrielli, Mackenzie Gronke, and Daniel Lentz. Our learning guides are written by Amber Scheele. You can find this one at Children'sHour.org.

Look for this episode, Wales. Find our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or go to our patreon.com slash The Children's Hour. Or ask your smart speaker to play The Children's Hour podcast. Our theme music was written by C.K. Barlow. The Children's Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American radio network. Thanks for listening to The Children's Hour, kids' public radio.