Did you know that sea serpents are real? Well, maybe not the traditional gigantic sea-living reptiles. But a first glance at the Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) may leave you asking yourself, “What exactly am I looking at?”  In this post, we will meet a funky little dolphin species from the North Pacific!  Two...

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Understanding the life history of organisms helps us learn how they grow and develop traits that help them survive in their environment. It also reveals how vulnerable a population can be if certain behaviors and traits put them at risk of extinction. In our rapidly changing world, studying a species’ life history is important to...

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We just heard the news that a new killer whale baby was born into the L-pod of the critically endangered Southern Resident population. While we’re delighted to hear about the birth of a new killer whale calf, it’s important to be cautious. Unfortunately, newborn killer whales have a high mortality rate within their first six...

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Joëlle De Weerdt is a 35-year-old Belgian marine mammalogist currently doing her PhD in Nicaragua on humpback whales. She developed her own NGO in Nicaragua and funded her own PhD research! Here is her story… Joëlle De Weerdt Joëlle’s education I completed my studies in 5 years (3 years bachelor’s + 2 years master’s). I...

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Here is a killer whale fact for you: despite decades of intensive research, we still do not know for sure what killer whales eat in most regions of the world. Killer whales are top predators, and the amount and types of animals they eat can greatly impact a whole ecosystem. To figure out how killer...

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The death of a whale can happen at sea or onshore if the animal beaches itself. Examining the dead whales can reveal many secrets like the cause of death, but also how a whale’s body works. In this post, we will explore the lesser-known area of cetacean research, post-mortem investigations, commonly known as necropsies. We...

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Agathe Serres is a 29 years old French postdoctoral marine mammalogist currently conducting research in China. She tells us how she traveled from France to China, following her passion for dolphins. She also tells us about how she used her good adaptation skills to learn mandarin and start a new life dedicated to the conservation...

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Most of you have probably heard about resident and transient killer whales. They are the most studied killer whales in the world, and they can be found off the west coast of North America. But did you know there are killer whales in the Antarctic as well? Some scientists estimated they are around 25 000...

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The adult human brain weighs about 3 lbs, which is an incredible feat in it itself, as it is only supported by 7 vertebrae. But we really do not even come close to the biggest brain. One might think it belongs to the blue whale, as it is the largest animal on earth. One would...

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Jasmin Groß is a 33-year-old german postdoctorate research fellow. She works on humpback whale ecology at the Helmholtz Institut for Functional Marine Biodiversity, in Oldenburg, Germany. Jasmin’s education took her around the world I completed my studies at seven different universities all around the world. I did a gap year in the USA after high...

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