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A puppet in a mask and flippers wonders why blue whales have pushed the limits of evolution to become the biggest animal ever, in a new video produced by a student from The University of Western Australia.

The puppet is the alter ego of a young researcher at UWA's Oceans Institute, Asha de Vos, and stars in the short documentary Why are blue whales so enormous? on the internet.

Asha is completing her PhD on the unique non-migratory blue whales of Sri Lanka and her work has already been featured in documentaries by the BBC, the New York Times and the Channel Seven network in Australia.

In the documentary, Asha's puppet character dives with the mammal that can grow as long as a basketball court, has a heart as big as a car, and can weigh as much as 40 elephants.

"There are two main things that drive my fascination about this species of blue whales," Asha said.

"First, the fact that they are the largest animal to ever roam the planet - very hard to miss, really - but we know so very little about them.  Second is the fact that they are so enormous, yet feed exclusively on some of the tiniest organisms in the ocean: krill.  Neither of these things appears to make much sense and I was excited to have the opportunity to explore this second enigma through the video."

The engaging and entertaining documentary is designed for high school students but children of all ages and adults will enjoy it.

"Puppets in this animation mean that it becomes instantly accessible to a real broad spectrum of people.  At the end of the day, if a small child walks away knowing that blue whales eat krill, I feel like I have made some contribution to their education," Asha said.

"Some of the ideas are more complex and therefore would appeal more to an older age group.  Overall, I think it's a really fun way to learn something you would never learn in a classroom and I am looking forward to it being used as a teaching tool around the world."

Earlier this year, Asha was appointed a senior fellow with the international TED program, which focuses on ‘ideas worth spreading'.  She wrote and narrated the five-minute animated video, produced by Cognitive Media in the UK as part of the TED Ed initiative, which produces videos and materials for teachers around the world to adapt and use in the classroom.

After the video was made, the almost life-size puppet of Asha was presented to her and she intends using it in her future educational activities.

Caption: Whale tale ... UWA Oceans Institute researcher and TED senior fellow Asha de Vos with the puppet of her used in the animated video Why are blue whales so enormous? . (Image: Ryan Lash)

Media references

Asha de Vos (UWA Oceans Institute)  (+61 4) 50 140 192
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783