Whales and Dolphins
Assign one specific species of cetacea to each pair of students in the class. Useful examples for this purpose could include:
| Dall's porpoise | Sperm whale |
| Bottlenose dolphin | Fin whale |
| Orca (killer whale) | Pilot whale |
| Right whale | Humpback whale |
| Bowhead whale | Minke whale |
| Bryde's whale | Sei whale |
| Blue whale | Gray whale |
| Beluga whale | River dolphins (eg Amazon) |
- size and appearance
- diet and method of feeding
- social group and reproduction
- where found and migration, if any
- any special abilities or characteristics
See the Animal Liberation file on Whales and Dolphins.
Some other resources for species information include:
Whales in Danger Information Service
Students research how human activities have affected this species. Both past and ongoing effects should be included. Also effects may be deliberate (eg hunting) or incidental (eg pollution).
Students take action to minimise harm. For example, if they think harm is being caused to their species by government policy, then they should write to the government involved. If they think public actions are causing the harm, then they should design a poster or advertisement to change public behaviour.
Students present the results of their research to the class.
Constructing an argument
Students are given a seat on the International Whaling Commission and are asked to logically argue in favour of, or against, propositions put to them.
"Native peoples have always hunted whales. It is part of their culture, and they should be allowed to continue."
"There are plenty of Minke whales, so there is nothing wrong with killing a set quota of this species."
"The nations who criticise whalers are hypocrites because eating whale meat is no different to eating cows or chickens."
Students should consider:
- What facts would they need to gather before they could make an informed decision about each of these statements?
- How would they argue for or against each statement? Are the arguments based on facts or prejudices? How can you tell which is a fact and which is a prejudice?
- Are people basing their arguments on different values? What values are most important in various people's arguments? Is it possible to reconcile differing values?
- If the pros and cons of each statement are written on the board, does one side of the argument outweigh the other?
Free Willy
Show the video "Free Willy". The star of this film was a captive orca called Keiko. He is still in captivity, although efforts are being made to have him released.
Find out about the real Keiko. See the Animal Liberation file Whales and Dolphins for resources.
Organise a debate
"Cetaceans such as dolphins and orcas should not be kept in captivity".
Ideas for letters can also be found in our file Letters to write