Big Blue (with Killers in Eden)

by Jeni Clevers, Clare Thomson / Klaus Toft - © 2007 ABC Natural History Unit

The Big BlueFor years fishermen have known of a unique spot in the ocean just off southern Australia, so bountiful that it has inspired tales of amazing catches, wild feeding frenzies and most remarkable of all, a huge luminescent blue creature of the deep. .

Now the truth behind the legend of THE BIG BLUE has been revealed.A feeding Blue Whale is a sight to behold. Its powerful body driving at speed into swarms of krill, its mouth – big enough to capture 50 tonnes of sea water and anything therein – filling like a gigantic pleated balloon, then it disappears beneath the surface, only to rise again for the next monstrous mouthful.

Killers in Eden investigates the story of the most extraordinary bond ever forged between humans and wild animals. Near the small coastal town of Eden, Australia, Killer Whales and human whalers formed an intimate partnership to hunt the largest whales on earth.

Can the legend be explained by animal instinct and natural intelligence alone, or did a true friendship develop between these two hunters of the sea?

The Cine Golden Eagle awards from Washington DC recently announced nine winners in their Environment and Natural Science section. Three of the nine were for programs made by the ABC Natural History Unit - Killers in Eden, Sex in the Bush: Rules of Engagement, and The Big Blue.

Klaus Toft won the Golden Tripod at the National ACS awards for Killers in Eden.

DVD - PAL format - 102 minutes - 16:9 format