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Of all the oceans, |
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the Pacific is by far the largest, |
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stretching almost a third of the way round the globe. |
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It's so huge that the current in the South Pacific takes several years to complete just one cycle. |
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In an ocean this vast, many animals have to travel huge distances to survive. |
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None more so than the sperm whale, one of the greatest voyagers on the planet. |
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Every year, |
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thousands of bull sperm whales, |
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some from as far as Antarctica, |
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come to the tropics to breed. |
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After 15 years away, |
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fattening themselves up in colder climes, |
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they are now back and big enough to compete for a mate. |
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These warm, |
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equatorial waters make ideal nurseries. |
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At just a week old, |
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this white calf already weighs over a tonne. |
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For the next six years he will stay by his mother's side, |
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relaxing in these tropical waters where killer whales,his only natural predator,are rarely found. |
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But it was in these peaceful stretches of ocean that, |
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200 years ago, whales met whalemen. |
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