I am the Founder and President of The Whale Video Company. My first experience with whales was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 1969. While on a US Navy ship (USS Bainbridge DLGN-25) east of Hawaii, I spotted a pod of dolphins surfing near the bow. This first amazing view of cetaceans effortlessly playing on the bow of a ship moving at 25-30 knots was a wonderful event to be part of a 19 year olds life. On another cruise near Guam, a pod of whales appeared about 1/2 mile from the boat. No one on board knew what species they were seeing. My interest in whale watching began anew in the mid-80’s and the whales themselves ignited a passion to learn more and a desire to protect them from harm.
After 25 years of filming and review of 8,000 hours of videotape, I am able to share images of the most astounding animals ever born, on land or in the water. Humpback whales have unique personalities and are very curious. It is this last personality trait that endears them to so many new people each year.
We spent more time on the water videotaping the daily lives of whales than any company in the world; more than National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet combined!
Our videographers documented sightings on 17,096 whale watching trips (68,000 hours on the water and 300,000 nautical miles covered.)
The end result is a video archive totaling 8,000 hours of footage of dozens of species of whales and marine life, eighty percent covering individually identified humpback whales with names.
These special humpback whales are the subjects of several whale adoption programs in the US and UK.
Many people supporting these programs have requested DVDs of their adopted whales. When the DVDs are available they will be showcased on each named whale page.
We are producing DVDs of every adoptable humpback whale. Each DVD will introduce the adopted whale, family members and the common behaviors that make humpback whales the favorite of whale watchers. Many will contain a unique behavior or unforgettable encounter.
- Dan Knaub, Founder and President