Video Worksheet: The Cove

1. Who is the main “Defender of dolphins in the documentary and why did he become so involved with trying to save dolphins?

Ric O’Barry is the main defender of dolphins in the documentary. One of the dolphins that he trained became so depressed that she committed suicide by closing her blowhole to suffocate. She died in his arm. Finally seeing that the captivity and training of dolphins was cruel he dedicated his life to stop cruelty to dolphins.

11. What is the main point of this movie?

The main point of this movie was to uncover and record what was happening in the cove and release it to the media for everyone in the world to see.

13. Biomagnification occurs with many pollutants present in organisms of living things. Explain what this means.

Biomagnification occurs when pollutants are first introduced into an ecosystem. Primary consumers consume plants that have been tainted with the pollutants. This in turn affects the other consumers of the food chain and food web as they eat the primary consumers, increased accumulated pollutants in their bodies.

21. The two divers who are part of the crew experience something horrible when they first see the cove. What happens?

They witness a baby dolphin who has escaped the cove while sustaining wounds and swimming towards them. However, the wounds were too severe and the dolphin died.

23. If you go to Marineland are you contributing to the dolphin slaughter? Explain why or why not.

Yes, if you go to Marineland you are contributing to the dolphin slaughter.This is because Marineland needs dolphins. So cities such as Taiji sell them to Marineland. During this process, not all the dolphins are chosen to become entertainers. Some of the dolphins that have been captured by fisherman are also killed for their meat to be sold in Japan. So as long as people go to Marineland (i.e. showing demand for dolphin entertainment), Marineland and other similar amusement parks will have a demand for dolphins and the supplier will sell the dolphins and kill them as well.