1. 1
Good morning, boys and
girls. This is Russ Reed with
Nature News. This morning
we have Shamu, the killer
whale, with us. He has
agreed to answer some
questions. Shamu, these
boys and girls are in Mr. Small's class. Let's see who has
a question for you.
2
Shamu: Okay.
3
Russ: It looks like Samantha has a question for you.
Go ahead.
4
Samantha: How did you get your name?
5
Shamu: The people at Sea World gave me my name.
It means "friend of Namu" or "She-Namu." It is the stage
name for all killer whales that work at Sea World parks.
6
Russ: Did I hear you say "killer whale"?
7
Shamu: Yes, you did, but you are safe. We don't kill
humans.
8
Tony: What do you eat?

2. 9
Shamu: Seals, walruses, sea lions, fish, and things
like that. Sometimes we eat whales. My favorite thing to
eat is squid. Squid is so juicy!
10
Beth: That is so yucky!
11
Chris: You said you eat whales! Aren't you a whale?
12
Shamu: No, not really. We are dolphins, the biggest
dolphins in the world. We are related to whales, though.
13
Alexis: Will you get any bigger?
14
Shamu: No, I won't. I'm an adult. I am twenty-two feet
long.
15
Dan: How much do you weigh?
16
Shamu: I weigh thirteen thousand pounds. They say
some killer whales get a bit bigger, but not much.
17
Abby: Where do you live?
18
Shamu: We live in all the oceans of the world. Most of
us like the colder parts of the world. We travel a lot.

3. 19
Ethan: Why do you travel so much?
20
Shamu: We travel to find food.
21
Olivia: Can you breathe underwater?
22
Shamu: No, but I can hold my breath for up to twenty
minutes. My blowhole has to be out of the water for me to
breathe.
23
Joe: What's a blowhole?
24
Shamu: It's a hole on the top of my head. I use it for
breathing when I am on top of the water.
25
Hannah: Does water get in it when you dive?
26
Shamu: No. There is a flap of skin that covers it when
I dive.
27
Andy: How fast can you swim?
28
Shamu: We are really fast. I can swim up to thirty
miles per hour. Most of the time, I just cruise, though.
Then I swim about two to six miles per hour.
29
Russ: Whoa! Those were some good questions, boys

4. and girls. We are out of time now. Shamu has to get ready
for his show. Thank you all for watching our show.
Goodbye!
30
Shamu: Goodbye, boys and girls.

5. The Shamu Show
1. Who is the host of Nature 2. What does "Shamu"
News? mean?
Russ Reed Killer whale
Shamu Big whale
Donna Friend of Namu
Abby Raven Ocean traveler
3. About how long do male 4. About how much do adult
killer whales get? male killer whales weigh?
Two hundred feet Twenty pounds
Twelve feet Two hundred pounds
Two thousand feet Two million pounds
Twenty-two feet Twenty thousand
pounds
5. Where do killer whales 6. Killer whales prefer to live
live? in warm water oceans.
False
True
7. Why doesn't water get into 8. How fast can a killer whale
a killer whale's blowhole swim?
when he dives? Up to forty miles per
hour
Up to fifty miles per
hour
Up to thirty miles per
hour
Up to twenty miles per
hour