The Whalenerd‘s Podcast

Episode 92 - The Lost Whales

We are back after a week off! Everyone had great sightings since the last time we recorded and the excitement is growing for Whalenerds Weekend in just a few short weeks.

This week we talked about an article shedding some light on whales that were still killed by whalers even though they never made it to the ship for processing. It's an interesting and important aspect to consider when reflecting on the impact of whaling over our history.

Episode 91 - Right Whales Wrong Time

After our host updates from our daily adventures on the water, the nerds take you through the history of right whales. The most rotund of the baleen whales, right whales have had a tough go in the modern world. After their rebound from the whaling era, the population of North Atlantic right whales has begun to take a turn. We talk about a paper that goes through the NARW's history, population estimates, and threats they face. 

Episode 90 - Talking Story

This week we took a little different strategy than our usual episodes. Instead of talking about news or research we told some stories and talked about sightings past and present. We are so excited for the trip in October, we can't wait to make new memories together during our favorite time of year in Monterey Bay

Episode 89 - Listen In

This week we talked quite a bit about sound, mostly from the frame of humpback whales. We all have been listening to the MBARI hydrophone off and on this week (let's be honest, we listen to it all the time) and this is the time of year that the humpbacks start to making vocalizations that sound more and more like song. 

We are so excited to have Research Specialist John Ryan from MBARI speak at Whalenerds Weekend next month! If you join the trip you can enjoy a dinner with him and Wil Oestrich, and ask them questions after their presentation. In the meantime, listen to the hydrophone like we do. https://www.mbari.org/soundscape-listening-room/

 

We also talked about some recent research papers about humpback whales singing on a feeding ground in the North Atlantic in the winter time, and some potential universal components of humpback whale calls that are consistent and persistent across time and space.

Episode 88 - Dolphins preying on dolphins

We had a special guest to go along with an incredible sightings report from Monterey Bay. This week Kate Cummings from Blue Ocean Whale Watch joined us to talk about all the action on the bay this summer. We are using her company for our trips during Whalenerds Weekend in October! To check out the trip and to make a booking please go to thewhalenerds.com/trips

Katlyn has had some pleasant sea conditions and plenty of humpbacks post Hurricane Henri but the report from Monterey Bay really stole the show. Slater, Adam and Kate witnessed a pretty rare event of killer whales hunting Risso's dolphins. They break down the entire day during the episode. We also talked briefly about a paper that described a playback study of killer whale calls to pilot whales and Risso's dolphins to go along with their sighting story.

Episode 87 - Going Ropeless

This week we talked about the current state of ropeless fishing gear in the United States. Katlyn had a very interesting encounter on one of her trips recently that inspired this topic. Many strides have been made to improve fishing gear and make it safer for whales, but ropeless seems to be the way of the future. 

Episode 86 - Tursipops

This week’s theme was bottlenose dolphins! We covered news and recent papers from all over the world. Information about behaviors, communication, reproduction, conservation - and even a little drama and potential scandal! Bottlenose dolphins are much cooler and more interesting than most people give them credit for. 

Episode 85 - ¿Viva Vaquita?

This week had an exciting announcement! Tickets for Whalenerds weekend are now on sale. You can purchase tickets for this event happening in October on our website thewhalenerds.com

Our theme for this week’s episode is vaquitas. A sad but necessary topic. We talked about some research updates and recent news in regard to the fishing free zone in Mexico. The plight of the vaquita should be a lesson for all of us. 

Episode 84 - Killer Whale papers from around the world

Reunited and it feels so good! Slater, Adam, and Katlyn were all back together for this episode. We spent a lot of time catching up and introducing a few projects that are in the works! Then we covered some new publications from this year about killer whales in the northern hemisphere. 

Episode 83 - Fathoms with Rebecca Giggs

We had a special guest this week. Rebecca Giggs, author of the book Fathoms: The World in the Whale joined us for this episode. We talked about her book and part of her journey while writing it. The book is out now as an audiobook and hardback, but will be released on paperback on July 20th.