Erica Wirth is a 26-year-old American naturalist and captain working in California. She also is the founder of a successful podcast, Breaching Extinction. Here is her story. Erica earned a dual degree in Environmental Studies and Psychology I attended Eckerd College, earning a dual degree in 3.5 years. Eckerd was my dream college, and I...

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A new paper by Dr. Andy Foote just came out; it encourages people to stop calling North Atlantic killer whales “type 1” and “type 2”. These two types were defined by Dr. Foote himself during his PhD research. Let’s find out why we should stop talking about two types in the North Atlantic. A male killer...

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How long do whales live? Whales have some of the longest life spans in the mammal kingdom. In fact, several whale species have been recorded to live over 100 years old! Which whale lives the longest? Do captive whales live longer than their wild counterparts? How can we calculate the age of wild whales? Let’s...

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We all have in mind these targeted and organized research projects, where scientists go into the field and collect specific data. But not everything in the scientific realm is as predictable as that. Some events, such as cetacean strandings, are unexpected and may only happen a few times per year. Still, there can be a...

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This week, we are partnering with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), aka the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international conservation. They just launched a new tool for conservation called the Joint Cetacean Data Program (JCDP). By accessing the portal, researchers can now obtain tons of sighting...

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Happy World Oceans’ Day, everybody! To celebrate, we are reflecting today on the humpback whales’ recovery and current threats. On this site, we’ve previously discussed both Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and international conservation efforts to protect whale populations after their decimation by the commercial whaling industry. Today, I wanted to bring these two together and...

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In our world, we say size does not matter. However, we find animals in the wild kingdom with various large parts: elephants have large trunks, baboons have oversized butts … and male southern right whales have massive testes. This article will explain the unique features of whales’ reproductive systems and explore the potential reasons for...

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This month we wanted to switch things up! Let’s welcome our first otariid, the California sea lion. Don’t let the name fool you, this species ranges as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico. Come waddle your way through this post to find out more! Two California sea lions resting — Credit:...

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Our friend Leanne Rosser from Japan just made a disturbing yet fascinating discovery: she observed a potential dolphin infanticide event (the killing of an infant) in the population of Pacific white-sided dolphins she studies in Mutsu Bay, Japan. In this post, she tells us about this event she witnessed, as well as the reasons behind...

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A new study presented a method to reconstruct killer whales’ diets using the lipid composition of their blubber. By measuring these lipids, called fatty acids, in the killer whales’ fat and those in their potential prey, scientists can estimate the abundance of each prey species in the whales’ diet. This new method may hold the...

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