In this two-hour program, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his team of explorers travel to both the Northern and Southern hemispheres as they seek out killer whales in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They discover that people and orcas share surprising similarities, even similar needs, and they relate their findings to the captivity and release of Keiko, from Free Willy fame, who captured the world's imagination and whose survival depended on pioneering efforts to reintroduce Keiko into the wild. The team also learns how some of the threats to killer whales now intersect with human lives. During the expedition, intriguing detours arise, leading to critical examinations of our environment, of the food on our dinner tables, even of our own health.

Call of the Killer Whale Viewing Guide: Humans are the dominant species on land; orcas are the dominant species in the ocean. Learn how orcas' amazing behaviors, capabilities and social structure differ based on where they live. Included are clips recommended for classroom use and theme-based Viewing Questions to engage students while they watch the program.

Ocean Adventures Lesson Plans: Extend the learning of your students with these lesson plans that accompany the Web-original videos listed below.

• Orca United Nations: Study the vocalizations, hunting techniques and social behaviors of four communities of orcas and discuss whether, due to their differences, they can be considered to be different cultures.
• Parasite Perils: In this activity, students collect and analyze data adapted from recent research that explores the correlation between the presence of fish farms and mortality rates in wild salmon runs adjacent to the fish farms.

Ocean Adventures Web-Original Videos: Use this short (5-minute) video to engage your students in learning about behavioral adaptations.

• Orcas Hunting: Learn how populations of orcas around the world have incredibly specialized methods for hunting their prey.

Download Library: Download pictures of orcas and other marine animals for use in classroom projects.

Educator Web Links: Expand your curriculum with recommendations from the Ocean Adventures education team.

All Ocean Adventures Educational Materials: View all of the lessons and activities Ocean Adventures has to offer.

PDF File Format
These Ocean Adventures lessons and other materials are available as printer-friendly PDFs (Portable Document Format). To download and view the lesson plans as a PDF, you may first have to get Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for free on Adobe's Web site. The Reader is available for most computer platforms, and once downloaded the lessons may be viewed on-screen as well as printed out. Get Acrobat Reader software (at adobe.com)