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The next showing of "The World
of Whales" begins in five minutes.
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Here I go.
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Good morning, I'm your guide
this morning. I'm Dr Gillian Taylor.
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I'm assistant director
of the Maritime Cetacean Institute.
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The Cetacean Institute
is the only museum devoted to whales.
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We have a great deal to offer,
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but that is small compared
to what we don't know about whales.
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One commonly held misconception
is that whales are fish.
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They're not.
They're mammals like you and me.
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Warm blooded, breathing air and
producing milk to nurse their young.
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- Do whales attack people?
- No.
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Most whales don't have teeth,
they have a gum-like tissue
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that strains tiny shrimp for food,
and that is the limit of their hostility.
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Unfortunately, their principal enemy
is far more aggressive.
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- You mean man?
- To put it mildly.
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Men have always harvested whales
for a variety of purposes,
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most of which can be synthesised.
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100 years ago, using hand-thrown
harpoons, man did plenty of damage.
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But that is nothing compared to what
he has achieved in this century.
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Mankind has hunted whales
to the brink of extinction.
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Virtually gone is the blue whale,
the largest creature on Earth.
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Despite all attempts to ban whaling,
there are still countries and pirates
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currently engaged in the slaughter
of these creatures.
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Humpback whales, once numerous,
now number about 10,000 specimens.
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Those that are taken
are no longer fully grown.
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In addition, many of the female whales
are killed with their unborn calves.