Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Whales are the largest animals in the world. You may have seen pictures of whales, swimming in the ocean. But their size is still surprising! Some whales can grow up to thirty metres long and weigh several thousand kilograms. And they can eat more food in a day than a person will eat in five years!
Voice 2
It is difficult to imagine that anything could harm such a large animal. But today, many kinds of whales are in danger of disappearing. They are not in danger from other animals in the ocean. No, they are in danger from a living thing that lives only on land - humans!
Voice 1
Many people have never even seen a whale, because whales live deep in the ocean. So how can people cause so much harm to whales?
Voice 2
For many years, the largest danger to whales was whale hunting - whaling. Whaling is a part of many cultures, including ancient cultures. But in the 19th century, whaling greatly increased. Many more people chased and killed whales for their skin, fat, meat, and teeth. All the parts of a whale were worth a lot of money.
Voice 1
At first, whaling seemed like a good way for people to earn money and find food. But soon, too many people started hunting whales for money. Many different kinds of whales began to greatly decrease.
Voice 2
Blue whales are the largest kind of whales. Because of this, people often chose to hunt them. But by the 1960’s, Blue whales had almost disappeared completely. People had killed so many Blue whales that scientists feared that there would not be any left in the world.
Voice 1
So in 1966, Blue whales became a protected animal. A new law made it illegal to kill a Blue whale. Today, scientists think that there are around twelve thousand [12,000] Blue whales. The population is still small, but many people are hopeful that the Blue whale will survive.
Voice 2
But in 2007, many Blue whales started acting strangely. During the month of August, the whales are supposed to swim north. One large group of whales travels up the coast of the Americas to Northern California. But this time they did not. Instead, they stopped near southern California, in the southwest corner of the United States.
Voice 1
One boat owner, Dan Salas, now takes people out to see the blue whales. He said,
Voice 3
“Something has changed in the ocean. These blue whales should not be here anymore, feeding off the coast of southern California.”
Voice 2
For many people, it has been a chance to see a blue whale for the first time. After seeing a whale, one woman said,
Voice 4
“I think this may be the best day of my life!”
Voice 1
But Salas is surprised that there are still so many whales to see.
Voice 3
“On many trips, we saw more than five or six whales at one time. We have never seen that before.”
Voice 2
Many experts worry that something is wrong. These whales have been swimming to the same places for many years. So if they are staying in a new place, something must have changed their behaviour.
Voice 1
Some scientists believe that the problem may be caused by global warming. The temperature of the earth’s oceans is rising. This is affecting the krill, a small sea animal. Krill are an important food supply for many ocean animals. And they are the main food for Blue whales. But, because of the changing temperatures, krill are living further south. And many krill have died. So many whales do not have enough food to eat.
Voice 2
So what does this mean for the whales? Are they in danger again? Some experts think they are. Grey whales are almost as large as Blue whales. And many years ago, they, too, almost disappeared because of whaling. But in recent years, many scientists thought that their numbers were growing. They said that the Grey whales were saved.
Voice 1
However, in 2007, a new study showed that in many areas, Grey whales were dying. They were once again in danger.
Voice 2
How could something like this happen? People almost never hunt these whales. So what could possibly cause them to die off so quickly?
Voice 1
The BBC asked Liz Alter, an environmental expert, why she thinks this is happening.
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“I think that when we see large problems in the whale population ... we should be looking to long term climate changes in the whales’ feeding grounds.”
Voice 2
Scientists, once again, think that the problem may be global warming - the same reason that Blue whales are acting strangely. Warming ocean temperatures make it difficult for Grey whales to find food. Some experts think that the warm temperatures even make it more difficult for the whales to have babies.
Voice 1
We do not know the exact cause of global warming. But most experts agree that humans are one of the largest causes. So even without hunting whales, humans may be putting them in danger.
Voice 2
Christians believe that it is peoples’ job to take care of the earth. God created all living creatures, including the whales. They are a special part of his creation. The book of Psalms, in the Christian Bible, is a book of beautiful poetry. Many of the poems speak about God’s great works - the amazing things that God has done and made. Psalm 104 says:
Voice 1
“How many are your works, O Lord! In your wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, filled with animals-too many to number. Living things both large and small. There, ships travel, as does the whale, which you created to live there.”
Voice 2
And Psalm 8 says:
Voice 1
“You made people the rulers over the works of your hands, you put everything under their feet. All sheep and cows, and beasts of the field. The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all creatures that swim the paths of the sea!”
Voice 2
The earth is a wonderful gift from God. And, God has asked us to care for the earth. Caring for the whales is just one more part of that idea.
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