beaching whales | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

The ZDF movie “Das Geheimnis der Wale” (The Secret of the Whales) was flighted on the largest German TV station over the last two evenings, and a large part of the filming was done in Hermanus and Cape Town a year ago. The movie is set in New Zealand.

The movie tells the story of humpback whales beaching. Johannes Waldmann is a highly regarded whale researcher who is studying whale communication, and suspects that whales beaching is due to underwater sonar activity. A thriller movie, it tells the story of a group of oil exploration businessmen who want to rid an area of whales, so that they can explore for gas. They use sonic booms to move the whales out of the sea in the area, but the whales beach, attracting attention and demonstrations against the gas exploration company’s plans.

While the focus of the movie was humpback whales, Southern Right whales were also shown, and often mentioned. This whale species is most often seen in Walker Bay from Hermanus.

German colleagues Veronica Ferres and Mario Adorff, with international actor Christopher Lambert, were the top names of the cast. Whilst the cast and crew were predominantly German, South African actress Lee-Anne Summers (daughter of Sean Summers, ex-Pick ‘n Pay boss and Tannenbaum Ponzi scheme “investor”) had a small part, as did ex-Miss South Africa Jo-Ann Strauss. Cape Town locations for the movie were the Cape Town International Convention Centre (making a believable airport exterior in New Zealand), Hout Bay (with its distinctive Sentinel mountain forming a frequent backdrop), the V&A Waterfront quays, the Whale Well in Queen Victoria Street, and the Royal Cape Yacht Club. An unidentifiable pristine beach was used to film the whales beaching (Since publishing this post, Paul – see comments – has identified the beach to be Kogel Bay, between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi Els). Local crew were used in part, and Hermanus residents were used as “demonstrating” extras.

After the first half of the movie was flighted on Sunday evening, a ZDF documentary speculated on the reasons for whales beaching. A number of theories were presented: whales can dive down too deep, and suffer from decompression like humans do when they come up for air too quickly, disorientating them, and making them beach; due to climate change the oceans are cooling, releasing more oxygen into the oceans, and thus attracting more sealife, and also whales, to shallower waters; sunspots can also affect the whales, and occur every 11 years – they affect the earth’s magnetism, and therefore the whales’ inner compass, disorientating them.

What is a shame is that the lovely scenery shots will not be recognised by the average German TV viewer as having been done in Cape Town and Hermanus, but will be identified as being new Zealand, due to the story-line. Even the documentary quoted Australian researchers, pertaining to the frequent beachings off Tasmania, and those from the Canary Islands, with no mention of whale beaching in South Africa.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Captain Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has incensed South Africans in calling for a ban on South African wine sales until Mike Meyer, of Marine and Coastal Management, labelled by Watson as the “Butcher of Kommetjie Beach”, be sacked.

Watson is so passionate about saving whales that he takes the Japanese head on every year in the Antarctic waters off Australia.

He was reacting to the slaughter of 44 pilot whales on 30 May at Long Beach in Kommetjie, under the directive of Meyer. Marine and Coastal Management, the Dolphin Action Protection Group, the NSRI and SPCA, along with hundreds of volunteers, tried to help the whales back into the stormy ocean, but only 14 made it back to sea, the others rebeaching. These are the whales that Meyer had shot with a rifle, a traumatic event for the volunteers and members of the public present.

Criticism of the events of the day are that the public did not assist the whale rescue operation by wanting to have a look at what was going on, and by not accepting instructions; no clear directives were given to the volunteers and public, as no one seemed to be in charge of the rescue operation; and that the volunteers were not well trained enough. Better volunteer training and a clear disaster plan should be prepared in the event of future whale beachings, say the parties involved in the whale rescue.

Watson’s call for the ban has been described as a “vicious and personal attack” on Meyer, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is supporting Meyer’s decision. The Cape Argus, reporting on the Sea Shepherd wine ban threat, wrote as follows: “Most of his statement about Meyer is too defamatory to print”.

Watson slates both Meyer and Marine Coastal Management, and its handling of the whale beaching on Long Beach. “Meyer simply called himself a scientist and proclaimed the animals doomed, and thus gave the order for execution. This man does not possess a single scientific degree. He is a bureaucrat, not a scientist, not a vet, and not even a former student of marine biology or any discipline involving marine species. In short he is an unqualified sadistic thug and an embarrassment to the government and the people of South Africa.” said Watson.

Watson has visited South Africa, and has been a speaker at a Whale Festival in Hermanus. His full statement can be read on http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-090602-1.html