Dr Sharpe in Toronto


DR SHARPE HEADED SOUTH TO NORTH TORONTO 

TALKS WHALE BUBBLE NETTING! ... Diver Magazine



Canadian educated American whale expert Dr Fred Sharpe (pictured below) was in Toronto last week to promote the new Imax film Humpback Whales. The Alaska based whale expert is featured in the new movie because of his leading-edge theories about the social feeding behaviours of this large cetaceans.

 Narrated by two-time Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor, Humpback Whales is a immersive ocean adventure that invites audiences to dive into the underwater world of these 17-metre, 45 ton mammals. Humpback Whales has been made by Freeman Films who have done many other underwater documentaries including The Living Sea, Dolphins, Coral Reef Adventure and To the Arctic.

While many of the science large format documentaries bemoan the demise of the animals they are featuring, Humpback Whales, in comparision is a good news story. Once feared as monsters, and very nearly hunted to extinction, today humpback whales are in the midsts of a slow but remarkable recovery.

The Alaska based whale expert is featured in the new movie because of his theories of the feeding behaviours of this large cetaceans. The movie has a CGI sequence based on his research into their use of a "bubble-netting" hunting practice.

According to Dr. Sharpe, bubble-netting is where whale hunting teams work together to find and scoop up fish. When "bubble netting” some of the whales in the group corral fish by blowing a constant stream of air bubbles around the perimeter of their school, trapping the fish inside. This allows the other whales to swim in from below and hoover up the confused fish! 

Humpback Whales is currently playing at the Ontario Science Centre and at museums and science centres across Canada and the United States in 3-D and 2-D formats.

 DIVER MAGAZINE  TALKED TO Dr FRED SHARPE WHEN HE WAS IN TORONTO VISITING THE ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE. SEE THE SHORT VIDEO AT:
https://youtu.be/KwrC8EBU4DM

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