Tales from the deep

University of California Press; 201 pages

Sperm whale mothers live into their 70s and suckle each of their young for up to 13 years. Grey whales undertake one of the longest migrations of any mammal on earth, travelling nearly 13,000 miles 21,000km from Mexico to the Arctic and back again, covering 90 miles in every 24 hours. Right whales have one of the smallest brain-to-body-size ratios of any cetacean, the longest penis in the animal kingdom averaging more than seven feet or 2.3m and testes with a combined weight of one tonne.

Facts such as these pepper 8220;Watching Giants8221;, Elin Kelsey8217;s engaging portrayal of the lives and culture of whales. Focusing on the many species of whale that are found in the Gulf of California 8212; Jacques Cousteau8217;s 8220;aquarium of the world 8212; the author, an environmental consultant, splits her book into 20 bite-sized chapters. These range from meditative essays on the scale of whales8217; lives through to hard scientific reporting.

Throughout she illuminates such diverse topics as the meaning of menopause in sperm whales whales, like humans, are among the few species where females live decades beyond their reproductive years; the role of teenage killer whale 8220;baby-sitters8221;; and the discovery that whale carcasses provide nutrition for over 400 species, including bone-eating zombie worms that feed on their fatty marrow. She describes how humpbacks build 8220;nets8221; of bubbles to catch fish 8212; a form of communal tool use; and how blue whales find dense patches of krill by listening to differences in the ambient noise of the ocean.

Many of Ms Kelsey8217;s insights depend on her contacts with scientists researching the lives of cetaceans. But studying whales has been likened to researching humans solely by watching them in their driveways. 8220;What we know of whales8221;, writes Ms Kelsey, 8220;we extrapolate from the tiny glimpses researchers get at the water surface, and even then, only by looking in the same old places.8221;

She is doubtful that man will ever fully understand whales which operate on a scale too large to be comprehended by human senses. But fascination with these magnificent creatures continues. Whale-watching is now one of the fastest growing segments of the world8217;s biggest industry, tourism.

copy; The Economist Newspaper Limited 2008