Today’s podcast is about whales. Not the country Wales, but the animals called whales. Whales live in the sea. But they are not fish. Young whales do not hatch from eggs, like young fish do. Young whales are born live, like human babies. Whales are mammals, like human beings are. And because whales live in the sea, we call them marine mammals – “marine” just means “of the sea”. In fact, a species of whale called the blue whale is the largest mammal on earth.

　　For hundreds of years, people have hunted whales. They ate whale meat, and used whale oil as a fuel for lamps, and to make candles. In the 20th century, commercial whaling drove some species of whales almost to extinction. Many countries now prohibit whale hunting. But whale hunting by Japan, Norway and some other countries continues. There is a lot of controversy about whale hunting – people have very strong opinions either for or against it.

　　Well, I went whale hunting this summer – with a camera. I travelled on a boat from Portsmouth in England to Bilbao in northern Spain. During the journey, the boat crosses the Bay of Biscay, which is the area between the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain. In this area, whales are plentiful. So, on the boat with me there were lots of enthusiastic whale hunters. First thing in the morning, the whale hunters went to the top deck of the boat. They set up telescopes, binoculars and cameras. They had notebooks, and pencils, and books about whales. Anxiously, they looked out to sea. Nothing. Only the waves and the sky, and a few birds. Eventually, someone saw something. All the whale hunters ran to the side of the boat. About a kilometer away, there was a jet of water. Then there was another, and another. It was a group of whales, close to the surface of the sea, blowing water out through the blow holes on the tops of their heads. But they were too far away – we could not see the whales themselves, or tell what sort of whales they were. But later in the day, we saw whales close to the boat – there is a picture of one on the website. And we saw dolphins as well, though there are fewer dolphins in the Bay of Biscay this year than in previous years.

　　My children soon got bored with whale hunting. There are more exciting things to do on the boat, they said. But I can now understand why the whale hunters, with their telescopes and cameras, are so enthusiastic. In Europe today, there are not many places where you can see big animals in the wild. But at sea you can. For a long time, there is nothing. But when, suddenly, a whale appears close to you, it is as thrilling as watching elephants or lions in Africa.