Animal Nation - Lost Whales (DVD)

In just one decade of savage slaughter, it was believed that whalers had wiped out Southern Right Whales, but after a hundred and fifty years of near-extinction, a lost tribe of great whales has resurfaced. Researchers and filmmakers braved a sub-Antarctic winter to rendezvous with these gentle giants in a huge natural harbour sheltered from the furious storms which sweep from the South Pole across the islands, far south of New Zealand. Researchers identify whales and begin a modern whale hunt - a hunt for knowledge. Armed only with a small crossbow, they take skin and blubber samples to learn about pollution levels, family relationships, and possible connections with other groups of whales elsewhere in the world. These remote islands are one of very few places where these great creatures of the Southern Ocean can mate and raise a family. It's here that they get down to serious courting, enabling the divers to record the greatest love scene in the animal kingdom.