The Whalenerd‘s Podcast

Episode 121 - Big Surprises

Our sightings report was a little bit shocking and has some adult humor. We talked quite a bit about what we think the killer whales off the California coast have been up to this summer. We also had some follow up information about the status of the vaquita population in Mexico. This weekend is international save the vaquita day. 

 

Episode 120 - Lettuce Talk About Manatees

After two rough winters in a row for the manatees in Florida around Indian River - we wanted to chat about the state of the response to help these animals. There has been money allocated to restore the sea grass beds in their habitat and supplemental feeding happened through the winter as well. What’s next for conservation efforts? Time will tell. 

Episode 119 - Special Guest Matthew Savoca

We had a guest this week. Dr. Matthew Savoca joined us to talk about his work with marine plastics and baleen whale prey consumption. He is currently a post doc in the Goldbogen Lab at Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University. The paper he was the lead author on in 2021 about baleen whale feeding capacity was one of the most mind blowing papers we have read in the past year.

Episode 118 - The Southern Continent with Ted Cheeseman

Ted was back for another episode with us this week. This time around we chatted with him about his background with Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris and our upcoming trip to Antarctica. This is a small preview of what is to come this winter on our expedition to the Southern Continent. Tickets are still available and you can find more information about the trip here: https://cheesemans.com/trips/antarctic-peninsula-feb2023

Episode 117 - Fin Whale Party in Antarctica

Hundreds of fin whales gather in Antarctic hotspots in large feeding aggregations. This story has been in the news cycle off and on for months now. Groups as large as 150 fin whales were observed around Elephant Island. The paper with the published results of these 2018 and 2019 surveys came out this month. Are fin whales recovering in the Southern Ocean? Things seem to be headed that direction. 

Episode 116 - The Dolphin Spa

This week we talked about Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins and their unique spa treatments. These animals in the Red Sea have figured out how to use corals and sponges to take care of their skin. This is the first time a cetacean species has been documented self medicating in the wild - fascinating!

 

Episode 115 - Introducing: Antarctica

We are so excited about our trip to Antarctica this winter! In preparation for our trip with Cheeseman's we have started to learn about the southern continent and we wanted to share some of it with you. We will cover southern hemisphere topics throughout the summer and fall as we continue to prepare for our trip. In this episode we talked about some introductory information about Antarctica and the whales that can be found there.

Episode 114 - Offshore Killer Whales of the Eastern North Pacific

We have a couple announcements this week. The San Juan Islands trip has been postponed to October of 2023 - you can still book this trip on our website. We have also been invited to Antarctia! You can join us on this trip hosted by Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris. Check out more info about the trip here: https://cheesemans.com/trips/antarctic-peninsula-feb2023

Our topic this week was the latest information about offshore killer whales of the Eastern North Pacific. The paper we covered was information from a 26 year study period. Tagged whales and survey encounters show that they have an enormous range, varying group dynamics and incredible dive capabilities. 

Episode 113 - Special Guest Dave Cade

We had Dave Cade on this week to talk to us about whale and shark tagging. Dave has worked with rorqual whales all over the globe and is currently working on a basking shark project in Ireland. He also works with humpback and blue whales on the California coast most summers. 

 

Episode 112 - Humpback Update for the US West Coast

There are so many humpback whales on the California Coast right now! So it was only fitting that we talked about a new memo from NOAA about the status of humpback whales in the Mexico and Central American Distinct Population Segments (DPSs). The numbers have been adjusted and reanalysed to better reflect what is observed in movements of whales between the regions.