Meet the woman whose life revolves around orca, or killer whales. This book tells the fascinating story of Dr Ingrid Visser, a marine scientist who has spent the past ten years studying these creatures. During this time she has got to know many New Zealand orca intimately; she calls them her friends and can identify some by sight. Ingrid has a hands-on approach to her study - getting into the water with them, watching them hunt and interacting in any way she can. Ingrid is the only person to work with orca in the South Pacific and has discovered many differences between their behaviour here and in the northern hemisphere. The book is packed with interesting facts about orca in New Zealand and also tells Ingrid's own personal story and the inspiring encounters she has had with these intriguing animals.

Thousands of years ago an orphan boy and his wolf cub companion challenge a demon bear that threatens to destroy their world forever. With the help of the World Spirit, Torak destroys the bear, but his beloved Wolf is lost in the ensuing avalanche. And Torak's quest is far from over. A strange, creeping sickness, silent and deadly, is threatening the Ravens. Word arrives that the Seal Clan have the cure and Torak must face a lonely journey to find it. On the Seal's Island he stumbles into a world utterly unlike his own. Here life moves to the rhythms of the sea, the Seals build shelters from whale bones and skim the waves in fast, beautiful kayaks. And here Torak is welcomed by the kindly Seal Mage, Teneris, and kinsman, Bale. But all is not as it seems - Torak must keep his wits about him to judge who might be friend or foe. As in 'Wolf Brother' Michelle Paver's sheer passion for her story set in a world of myth and natural magic, shines through in this skilfully woven, exciting and brilliantly satisfying second instalment of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness.

*Now a New York Times Best Seller* Over the course of two decades, John Hargrove worked with 20 different whales on two continents and at two of SeaWorld's U.S. facilities. For Hargrove, becoming an orca trainer fulfilled a childhood dream. However, as his experience with the whales deepened, Hargrove came to doubt that their needs could ever be met in captivity. When two fellow trainers were killed by orcas in marine parks, Hargrove decided that SeaWorld's wildly popular programs were both detrimental to the whales and ultimately unsafe for trainers. After leaving SeaWorld, Hargrove became one of the stars of the controversial documentary Blackfish. The outcry over the treatment of SeaWorld's orca has now expanded beyond the outlines sketched by the award-winning documentary, with Hargrove contributing his expertise to an advocacy movement that is convincing both federal and state governments to act. In Beneath the Surface, Hargrove paints a compelling portrait of these highly intelligent and social creatures, including his favorite whales Takara and her mother Kasatka, two of the most dominant orcas in SeaWorld. And he includes vibrant descriptions of the lives of orcas in the wild, contrasting their freedom in the ocean with their lives in SeaWorld. Hargrove's journey is one that humanity has just begun to take-toward the realization that the relationship between the human and animal worlds must be radically rethought.

Drawing on interviews, official records, private archives, and the author's own family history, this is the definitive story of how the feared and despised "killer" became the beloved "orca", and what that has meant for our relationship with the ocean and its creatures

Orca whales swim a lot during their day, so it's normal for them to encounter many things. Leveled text and full-color photographs bring these animals to life. Pairs with the fiction title With My Pod.

On February 24, 2010, Tilikum, the largest killer whale at SeaWorld, suddenly dragged Dawn Brancheau, his trainer, into the pool and killed her. Journalist Tim Zimmermann set out to find out why. His riveting account of Tilikum's life, and the history of killer whale entertainment at marine parks, dives into the world of the ocean's top predator. It chronicles Tilikum's capture and separation from his family, and the physical and psychological stress he experienced in marine park pools over some 30 years. It explores Tilikum's involvement in two previous deaths. And it details the inherent risks of using captive killer whales for human entertainment. Ultimately, Zimmermann explains how the life of Tilikum came to mean the death of Dawn Brancheau.

Drawing on their own research as well as scientific literature including evolutionary biology, animal behavior, ecology, anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, two cetacean biologists submerge themselves in the unique environment in which whales and dolphins live. --Publisher's description.