28 January, 2000

One of the people I briefly met while in Mac Town was Norbert Wu. Norbert is a marine biologist and world famous underwater photographer. This season, Norbert is filming Orca. To do this, he and his crew are diving with the Orca. Since these whales are the top predator of the Antarctic waters, this may seem a little crazy. Apparently, Norbert has thought this through and feels safe. There are no documented instances of Orca actually killing a human, furthermore, Dr. Wu believes the whales he dives with are resident animals that feed on the giant Antarctic Cod. They are not interested in eating humans, though they certainly could. While in the water, the whales keep some distance between themselves and the divers. Much is yet to be learned about the Orca. They do not seem to fit the stereotype. We were able to view some of the film this group shot this season for a Nature program to be aired next year. It was amazing to see the whales up close and under the ice.

On the trip to Beaufort Island, we saw lots of Orcas.