[National Geographic Whales 01] (sound)

[Music] the heartbeat bolt was dropped its antenna triggered into position from the bay it looked successful but at the recording stations there was disappointment contact had not been made the telemetering boat was ready to function but something had gone wrong possibly the Harpoon heads had not become embedded now the task was to retrieve the telemetering boat pull in the nylon insulated wires and examine the Harpoon heads Donald Douglas signals failure to the helicopter crew the heartbeat boat was towed ashore her delicate instruments to be made ready for the next attempt an impromptu conference concerned itself with why the first effort failed tomorrow would be another [Music] day each day beginning at Sunrise the whales were pursued again during the Expedition 11 missions were flown on all of them the Army copter was Aloft should an emergency occur it would Aid in rescue operations this giant gray thrust low set eyes above the surface plunged and the chase was [Applause] on the helicopter moved into position for a decisive shot a hit both harpoons were embedded in the whale now it was up to the Telemetry boat this time there was contact and the delicate vibrations picked up by the Harpoon heads were transmitted to the Dorado by the heartbeat later the vibrations now transformed into visible irregular lines were studied only a heart specialist would know if they represented intrinsic action of individual muscles either of the heart or elsewhere in the body of the whale and on the bulletin board that day it was possible to write contact made on one of the most successful missions Donald Douglas occupied the firing platform and manned the guns the whirling blades showered dust over the camp then came the search the copter remained at low altitude and the bayana was standing by a Target was sighted and was centered in the sights of the Harpoon guns but the wey gray would not cooperate a pair of whales suddenly surfaced perhaps one of them would remain top side long enough for the copter to attain Close Quarters the surprised giant lunged forward and the Telemetry boat was quickly dropped the signals received aboard the Dorado were strong an acknowledgement of the tensil Integrity of the wire leads as the whale continued its effort to escape every 10 seconds the telemetering boat was sending a Time signal which was recorded on the pulse tracings at the receiving [Music] stations it was an exceptionally good contact one of five obtained for over an hour the harpoons remained in the [Music] whale it was the longest continuous contact of the Expedition supplying tracings for analytical studies for months to come [Music] on February 16th operation heartbeat was concluded on schedule although the Expedition didn't achieve the overall goals desired much valuable data were obtained aside from the technical phase operation heartbeat provided data for future guidance in the development of equipment techniques and approach methods in the continuing search into Mysteries of the heart these men plan to return at some future date these Waters undoubtedly will again feel the prow of the Dorado and the air the blades of helicopters and one of the largest mammals of them all will make their annual visit to scammon's Lagoon as in all research efforts time is needed the conclusive answers about Maman physiology May well lie in these shallow Waters and in the gray Giants who know this Lagoon as their winter breeding grounds for for e