A Man Among Orcas

Orca
n : predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas [syn: killer whale]

Picture: Courtesy of David Reichert

David Reichert and Friend

Wildlife filmmaker David Reichert befriends an elephant seal during shooting for A Man Among Orcas. The Crozet Islands are so far removed from human civilization that many of the animals living there have never seen a person before. With no reason to fear this peculiar, two-legged creature, the seals reacted to David with nonchalance and even curiosity.

Checking my email at 5:30pm, I found a new message from V, my first roommate when I started graduate school. She wanted us to watch a documentary on Animal Planet about a wildlife photographer filming orcas (and other wildlife) in the Crozet islands. Then she said, “That photographer happens to be my brother.” She apologized for the late notice. She was in Australia. Things were a little crazy before she left. She sent the email at 5:19pm EST, and the premiere of the documentary was 7pm.

I hurried to finish my work and got home in time for the program. I’ve heard from V that her brother is a photographer and makes films, but today is the first time that I saw his work and saw him working. The documentary started from David’s preparation back home in Jackson Hole, WY, for the trip to Crozet Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Eleven suitcases were packed including three cameras and underwater housing, among other things. Everything has to be in the best working condition. David would stay on the island for 4 and a-half months.

The Crozet Islands are a volcanic archipelago belonging to the subantarctic island system. It is extremely and constantly windy and no trees can grow there. The weather changes dramatically and it rains almost everyday. However, the islands host a lot of wildlife found in this remote area of the world. David settled down among the king penguins, elephant seals, sea birds, and orcas. This documentary reminds me of “March Of The Penguins”, which I really love. But unlike the best documentary of the Academy Awards, David’s documentary did not overly portrait penguins as humans (such as “love is the only thing that concurs all”). He simply showed us how beautiful these king penguins were, and how cute their chicks were. But they, as cute as they are, are still below in the food chain for the orcas.

Another prey for the orcas are the elephant seal. I have to say that I find male elephant seals ugly. I especially don’t like their trunks that earned them their name. But I do like their pups. With their big watery eyes, long whiskers, chubby bodies, and wrinkly skin, they easily win my heart over. One pup’s mother abandoned him early, because she herself was starving. Desperately seeking another mother for nursing, the pup was only turned down and thrown out every time. The poor pup looked at David for help. But the human being had no way to help it through. This was just like one of those heartbreaking moments in “March Of The Penguins”. Nature is sometimes so cruel.

Orcas live in small, close-knit family units called pods. A pod usually has a matriarch, who can live up to 90 years (Wow!). They hunt together and sometimes they would deliberately strand on beach in order to catch prey. To get close to the orcas, David waded through the marsh, climbed up the cliff, and found the best observation point. David also dived to shoot footages of orcas. It was amazing to see him only feet away from the pod of killer whales. Maybe he really gained their trust by observing them for months.

I am always fascinated in programs of Nature. This one is very special, because it features V’s brother. It reminds me of not only how hard life is for the animals out there, but also how much the filmmakers had to endure to make documentaries. The trip from Wyoming to the Crozet Islands took David 3 weeks. After that it was 4 and ½ months among the animals. This is hard work. I really enjoyed the program. My many thanks to David and V.