When I was younger I absolutely adored the Pixar movie Finding Nemo, and I know I am not alone in that statement. Almost all 90’s kids can find a place for Finding Nemo in their heart, so naturally when they announced that they are making a sequel  “Finding Dory” I was beyond ecstatic! Even though I was twenty years old when the movie came out this past summer, I went to see it immediately and LOVED it. It turns out that this animated aquatic sea life movie has   real facts and ideas placed all throughout the film. During the movie one of the sea life characters, a beluga whale (Bailey) voiced by Ty Burell, had the ability to see using just his head and screeches. This idea blew my mind and I had no idea what was going on, so I decided to research this tool the beluga whale apparently has.

The ability to see by using their head and screeching that the beluga whale possessed is called   echolocation. Echolocation is a tool that whales use by sending high frequency noises, such as moans or screeching, far distances causing vibrations to ricochet off other objects and echo back to the whale. Echolocation is more commonly known as “whale songs”, which is when whales sound like they are singing but it is just the high frequency sounds. Apparently not just beluga whales have this handy tool, but other animals and creatures as well. For example, bats rely solely on echolocation as their vision tool because they do not have any sight. With this being said, if bats did not possess echolocation continuing life would be very heard for their species.

In the movie, Bailey the beluga whale, used echolocation as tool to help Dory find her way around the Marine Life Institute. The echolocation allowed her to visualize any predators that may be near Dory to warn her. In real life, a whale or other creatures, would use echolocation primarily for hunting. This handy tool allows whales to locate a food source and head in that direction, just by using their forehead! Also whales use echolocation to help them maneuver with ease around the vast big ocean. This tool allows a creature to see very far or very close depending on their current situations.

As humans it is hard for us to completely understand echolocation because we do not posses the tool ourselves. Echolocation has been said to be other worldly and allow a different view of the world (ocean) for any creature that has this tool. The term other worldy is meant to be thought of being able to see a three dimensional world. I found this to be very interesting because we are all on the same earth but each creature can have a very different view of the world around us thanks to things like echolocation. You can read more about this topic on sites just like this!

I encourage everyone who has not yet seen Finding Dory to do so. This movie is not only entertaining but educational as well. Hopefully when you watch this film you question some of the ideas just like I did. Overall, I am thrilled that they made a sequel to one of my favorite childhood movies, Finding Nemo, and most importantly the fact that I was able to learn something from it too!

References

• Altman, By Bridget. “5 Scientifically Accurate Things About Finding Dory.”Marine Science Today. N.p., 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.
• “Whales, Dolphins and Sound.” Department of the Environment and Energy. Australian Government, n.d. Web.
• Family, By. “National Marine Mammal Laboratory.” National Marine Mammal Laboratory. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.
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