Diving Companions: Sea Lion, Elephant Seal, Walrus (English and French Edition) - Hardcover

A fascinating tour through the oceans of the world in which Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997) and his renowned team of scientist-adventurers and divers aboard Calypso share their experiences with three colorful species of marine animals. Starting off the coast of Capetown, the team captures two sea lions and keeps them aboard Calypso in their own pool,; then dives with them in enclosed areas, hoping the make them "diving partners", the establish mutual trust that will endure even after the sea lions are returned to the open sea. Next Calypso sails halfway around the world to the island of Guadalupe, off Baja California, where rare elephant seals gather during the mating season. The crew spends a period of time among these shy animals, whose long, trunklike noses give them their name, observing their living habits and finding that behind their forbidding exteriors they are endowed with originality. Finally, the team moves north to the frozen reaches of the Arctic, to witness the springtime migration of walruses as the lumbering mammals hitch rides for hundreds of miles on floating blocks of ice. Highlighting their adventures with 126 dramatic photographs in full color. Captain Cousteau and Philippe Diolé bring wonder, humor, and constant affection to their far-flung tale of three appealing "Diving Companions". Philippe Victor Diolé (1908 - 1977) was a French author and undersea explorer. With Jacques-Yves Cousteau he co-authored 7 of the 8-volume series The Undersea Discoveries of Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1970-1975) and co-authored The Whale (1987), which was released posthumously.