It's not that I'm a shill for the National Geographic television channel, but the KATU NEWS report that a dead California gray whale had washed upon the beach just south of Newport this weekend coincided with the airing of a 2007 documentary concerning gray whales and its predator, orcas, or killer whales.
The episode, about the 2004 Mother's Day attack in Monterey Bay by orcas on a gray whale cow and its one offspring, is the typical well-done affair we've come to expect from the NG, mixing eyewitness interviews with taped footage of both actual and recreated scenes, the presence of a number of boats witnessing the event naturally increased the coverage of something no one had ever seen before.
The KATU report tells of finding the tongue of the beached whale intact, which means orcas had no role apparently in the death of this whale, an issue that is addressed in the documentary as to why orcas go for the tongue.
I found myself, watching the show, much like the whale watchers on board that day did, at first intrigued and then riveted to the spot as the orcas battered both of the whales for hours.
As for removal of the creature on the coast, we surely have come a long way from the days of using dynamite.......right?
SITE WITH EXCELLENT PICTURES FROM 2004
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VIDEO
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