cetaceans

Join me for a conversation with Caroline Willis from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. We discuss the impact marine tourism has on coastal environments and marine species like whales and dolphins, and what we as visitors can do to minimise our impact.

Caroline also tells us about the work the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has been doing since the 1990s, their various citizen science projects and initiatives to encourage responsible marine tourism in Scotland.

Visit our website to find the full show notes incl. the transcript and links to resources mentioned in our conversation.

Find out how to support our show and unlock bonus content.

Help us spread the word about Wild for Scotland! If you hear something you like in this episode, take a screenshot and share what you like about it on your Instagram stories. And tag us @wildforscotland so we can say thank you!

Join our email list for weekly resources and glimpses behind the scenes.
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Also check out my Scotland blog Watch Me See!

Join me for a conversation with Caroline Willis from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. We discuss the impact marine tourism has on coastal environments and marine species like whales and dolphins, and what we as visitors can do to minimise our impact.

Caroline also tells us about the work the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has been doing since the 1990s, their various citizen science projects and initiatives to encourage responsible marine tourism in Scotland.

Visit our website to find the full show notes incl. the transcript and links to resources mentioned in our conversation.

Find out how to support our show and unlock bonus content.

Help us spread the word about Wild for Scotland! If you hear something you like in this episode, take a screenshot and share what you like about it on your Instagram stories. And tag us @wildforscotland so we can say thank you!

Join our email list for weekly resources and glimpses behind the scenes.
Follow us on Instagram @wildforscotland
Also check out my Scotland blog Watch Me See!

In the Earthkeepers podcast, we often talk about learning how to listen well—to the land, to the family of creation, and to Spirit. How, though, can we listen to our relatives who live under water? Our guest in this episode is Joe Olson, who has designed and built hydrophones – underwater microphones that he tailors specifically for hearing the voices of dolphins and whales. In fact, Joe recorded the voices of the whales at the opening of this episode. In this episode, we turn the tables and record Joe’s voice!

Guest: Joe Olson 

• Cetacean Communication , principal scientist 
• Cetacean Communication Instagram
• Cetacean Research Technology founder and past president

Mentions: 

• Springer 
• Namu 
• Namu Song
• Tokitae 
• Friends of Tokitae 
• Lummi Nation 
• WorldPop:  Facebook , Instagram, Twitter 

Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
Support the Earthkeepers podcast 

Keywords: hydrophones, cetaceans, sound, water, noise pollution, orca whales, culture, conservation, animals, captivity, animal rescue, music, connection 

Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
Support the Earthkeepers podcast
Check out the Ecological Disciple

Part Two of our series on the whaleship Essex brings us from Nantucket all the way around Cape Horn to the Pacific whaling grounds, and the climactic showdown with 'the largest and most terrible of all created animals.' 

Sources:

Dolin, Eric Jay. Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. W.W Norton & Company, 2008.

Ellis, Richard. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean's Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature. University Press of Kansas, 2011.

Heffernan, Thomas Farel. Stove By a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex. Wesleyan University Press, 1990.

Pappas, Stephanie. "Why Has a Group of Orcas Suddenly Started Attacking Boats?" Scientific American, 24 May 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-has-a-group-of-orcas-suddenly-started-attacking-boats/

Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea. Penguin Books, 2000.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. "'Every Wave Is a Fortune': Nantucket Island and the Making of an American Icon." The New England Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 3, Sep 1993, pp. 434 - 447.

The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex: The True Story that Inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Warbler Classics, 2022.

Shoemaker, Nancy. "Oil, Spermaceti, Ambergris, and Teeth." RCC Perspectives, no. 5 (New Histories of Pacific Whaling), 2019, pp. 17 - 22. 

This week begins our multi-part episode on the whaleship Essex, famously 'stove by a whale' in 1820, leading to an epic tale of survival, determination, and just a bit of cannibalism.

Part I focuses on the history of whaling industry in (first) Britain's American colonies and (then) the young United States, with special attention to the island of Nantucket. 

Sources:

Bouk, Dan and D. Graham Burnett. "Knowledge of Leviathan: Charles W. Morgan Anatomizes His Whale." Journal of the Early Republic, Fall 2008, pp. 433 - 466.

Dolin, Eric Jay. Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. W.W Norton & Company, 2008.

Ellis, Richard. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean's Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature. University Press of Kansas, 2011.

Jacob, Karl. "Nantucket's Bid for Survival During the War of 1812." Nantucket Historical Association, 2023, https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/nantuckets-bid-for-survival-during-the-war-of-1812/

Lu, Donna. "Nearly 200 stranded pilot whales die on Tasmanian beach but dozens saved and returned to sea." The Guardian, 22 Sep 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/22/nearly-200-stranded-pilot-whales-die-on-tasmanian-beach

Michaels, Debra. "Lucretia Mott (1793 - 1880)". National Women's History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/lucretia-mott

Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea. Penguin Books, 2000.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. "'Every Wave Is a Fortune': Nantucket Island and the Making of an American Icon." The New England Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 3, Sep 1993, pp. 434 - 447.

Shoemaker, Nancy. "Oil, Spermaceti, Ambergris, and Teeth." RCC Perspectives, no. 5 (New Histories of Pacific Whaling), 2019, pp. 17 - 22. 

What would you do if a whale landed on top of you—and you lived to tell the tale? That’s exactly what happened to wildlife biologist and filmmaker Tom Mustill in 2015, when a breaching humpback whale came crashing down on his kayak in California’s Monterey Bay—an event that was caught on video and quickly went viral. And what Tom did was to embark on a multi-year journey to better understand the inner life of the majestic sea mammal that had come so close to ending his own life. Why do whales breach? Do whales communicate? What is the meaning of their songs? These questions and more led him into the fascinating world of animal communication, enabled by the latest breakthroughs in technology that are enabling us to gather and analyze unprecedented volumes of data. The resulting book, How to Speak Whale: A Voyage Into the Future of Animal Communication, is an extraordinary and engaging read, filled with groundbreaking new research and insights.

As a lifelong lover of animals, I count this book among a handful of seminal works that have, over the past decades, powerfully changed my own understanding and reshaped our collective perception of a particular animal species and also of animal life in general. We still have so much to learn about inner lives, the cultures, and the intelligence of the other sentient beings with whom we share our planet. And as we learn, we must grapple with profound, even existential questions about our own place in the web of life, our impact, and the ways we relate to our fellow creatures. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore some of these big questions with Tom Mustill on this episode of Thinking Ahead.

What's your favourite animal? It doesn't matter really — because this talk is about to change your mind.

Carol Palmer, who's based in Darwin, studies marine megafauna. Yes, dolphins and whales live in the waters of northern Australia! And she's about to convince you that the most charming animal on the planet is the false killer whale.

This week we're joined by marine biologist Charles Nye to talk about the coelacanth! We had a great time chatting with Charles about this fascinating creature, his research on eDNA metabarcoding and cetaceans, and palaeoart!

Make sure to follow Charles on Twitter and check out their palaeoart on Instagram and Twitter.

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Beyond Blathers is hosted and produced by Olivia deBourcier and Sofia Osborne, with art by Olivia deBourcier and music by Max Hoosier. This podcast is not associated with Animal Crossing or Nintendo, we just love this game. 

'Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!

A shortcast with two volunteers (Tina and Kez) from international marine wildlife conservation organization Sea Shepherd UK recorded at the #StoptheGrind demo in Trafalgar Square on the 16th of October, a demo organised in response to the massacre of a superpod of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins by Faroe Islanders last month.

Sea Shepherd UK website (seashepherd.org.uk/)
Sea Shepherd UK Twitter feed and Facebook page
Sea Shepherd UK Operation Bloody Fjords

Beaked Whales are an elusive species that we know very little about. In fact, they are so mysterious that scientists might have just discovered a new species of Beak Whales in 2019.

First, let's talk about how humans are the worst. SNL said it best with their cold open starring Kate Mckinnon seeing if anything still 'works' in America. Long story short, America is broken, we can’t have nice thing anymore, and maybe vote instead of committing treason. 

Beaked whales are cetaceans that are are largely unknown marine mammal. This is due to their deep-sea habitats, small populations, and general shyness. Beaked whales are moderate in size, especially when compared to Blue Whales, and are most known for their deep-sea diving. They regularly dive deeper than 500 m (1,600 ft) and use echolocation to search for food. They have been recorded diving 2992 m (9816 ft) in depth, a record for mammals. The deepest humans have ever dived is 332 m (1082 feet).  Due to their elusively behavior, we're not even sure how many different species there are out there and there is still much to be discovered about this glorious species.

Listen to learn more about this mysterious mammal that is important for not only marine ecosystems, but for the climate of the entire planet. 

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Join Dr Davina Derous from the University of Aberdeen School of Biological Sciences as she talks about her career to date, beginning in human nutrition and now biological research, and explains how her research investigating the metabolism of whales and dolphins could influence future conservation efforts for these animals. 

Learning about the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California with Keith Matassa – Director of Zoological and Conservation Programs & Krysta Higuchi – Events and Public Relations Coordinator. PMMC rehabilitates and releases marine mammals and inspires ocean stewardship through research, education, and collaboration. They collaborate with many organizations and universities, such as NOAA, the Coast Guard, Police, Life Guards, UC Davis, UConn, Tufts, Sea World, and more. Check out pacificmmc.org for how to help, volunteer, donate, and learn more. To help with seal sightings use the new Seal Spotter App.

Dwarf minke whales were only discovered in August 1981, so there’s still stacks to learn about them. We do know that each year they mysteriously appear on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, stay about a month, and then totally disappear again. We also know that they are incredibly curious, playful and actively seek out human contact.

As a marine biologist studying the dwarf minke, Suzanne Hillcoat’s spent hundreds of hours in the water with these little giants to research their behaviour, and she’s had countless super-close encounters with them. In this episode of Wild Lives by Faunographic, Suzanne reflects on some of her most memorable interactions with these sweet cetaceans.

(Spoiler alert: If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a whale flirt with you, you won’t want to miss this!)

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What it’s like to see the famous white whale, Migaloo, not once but twice? Or to be out kayaking in Sydney Harbour when a southern right whale brings her calf over to say hi? In this episode of Wild Lives by Faunographic, naturalist guide Annie Skarratt joins acclaimed photographer Jonas Liebschner to take you into thick of the whaley action right in the heart of Australia’s biggest city.

Our humpback story is a happy one. When the culling of humpbacks stopped in the 1960s there were just a couple of hundred of these gentle giants left in our East Coast population. Today, the numbers have bounced back to over 30,000 – it’s a rare, feel-good conservation success story that we’re rightfully proud of. Both Annie and Jonas have years of experience with these giants of the deep – and they have the extraordinary stories of close encounters to prove it! And if you’ve ever wondered where to go in Sydney to see them, this episode has plenty of suggestions.

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In this episode of Wild Lives by Faunographic we chat to the legendary whale naturalist Vicki Neville. Her expertise has seen her become widely renowned as The Whale Whisperer, and in fact a documentary of the same name was recently made about her adventures with the humpbacks of Hervey Bay, on Australia’s Fraser Coast.

For the past 21 years, Vicki has spent a squillion hours both in and out of the water  with these giants of the deep – and her stories of her close encounters will leave you breathlessly inspired.

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