Educational Media Reviews Online

The northern right whale spends winters near Florida and summers in the feedings grounds off the northeastern coast of North America. When the hunting of this whale was banned in 1935 scientists estimated than only 60 animals survived. While their numbers have increased to an estimated 350 individuals, the northern right whale remains one of the most-endangered large-whales.

Keepers of Memory is the second installment from Jean Lemire and offers film footage of equal quality to that in his first offering—Whale Mission: The Last Giants. Researchers have identified many of the remaining right whales by their physical markings and have collected DNA samples that are allowing them to construct a whale family tree. Scientists now have data on at least three generations of whales and the genetic diversity they are seeing leads one researcher to hypothesize that there may be an additional population of right whales that they have yet to encounter. Right whales continue to be threatened by human activity because they spend a great deal of time socializing at the surface and are subject to ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement. One piece of good news is that an international shipping lane was relocated in 2003 to keep ships away from areas frequented by whales. Whale footage is interspersed with interviews and in the end viewers will learn a great deal about he biology of the right whale and will also see a glimpse of how scientists aboard the Sedna IV go about collecting their data, which is sometimes a “wait and see” effort. The underwater footage of right whale courtship is spectacular. I recommend this film for high school, public and college libraries.