SCIENCES

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World

by Mark Leiren-Young
Greystone. Sept. 2016. 208p. notes. index. ISBN 9781771641937. $24.95. NAT HIST
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Moby Doll was a killer whale captured from the Pacific Ocean by the Vancouver Aquarium in 1964. During the 87 days the creature lived in captivity, researchers learned about orca behavior, diet, and physiology. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of British Columbia protested the capture and holding of whales as inhumane, and supporters of the then-new organization Greenpeace gained ground. Leiren-Young, a passionate environmentalist, is a Canadian journalist and screenwriter who skillfully weaves whaling history and information about the growth of scientific knowledge of the whale life cycle and social behavior into this account of the people and politics of the Vancouver Aquarium in the 1960s and 1970s.
VERDICT This well-written book will appeal to general readers interested in the topic; however, Philip Hoare's The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea and Alexandra Morton's Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us present more comprehensive treatments of the subject.
Reviewed by Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston , Aug 01, 2016
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