The Orca Behavior Files

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Good evening, everybody, and welcome to Calling All Creatures. I'm
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your host, Lori, and tonight we have a great podcast
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planned out. We are talking about orcas with Monica Wheeland Shields.
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I hope I said all of that correctly. She's the
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director of the Orca Behavior Institute, and she is nice
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enough to be on with us tonight because this is
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kind of their busy time right now, so I'm glad
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she was able to find time to come talk to
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all of us about orcus tonight. So thank you for
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being on tonight, Monica. I appreciate it.
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Yeah, thanks for having me, and you pronounced money and
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perfectly great. Great.
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I try, I really do try so for listeners out there,
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you know that are just maybe just now learning about
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orcas for the first time and may not know a
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lot about them. What makes an orcas so unique compared
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to some of the other whales out there.
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Yeah, one of the big things about them is their
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family structure, where they live in these long term family units.
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In some cases, male and female offspring are staying with
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their mom for their entire lives. And these tight knit families,
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you know, make for a very interesting kind of society
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and the development of.
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Cultures and something that we don't see in.
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Very many wild animal species, let alone other whale species.
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Another thing about them is that they're distributed in every
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single ocean of the world, so it's not like you
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can only see them, you know.
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In Arctic waters.
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They are found in tropical waters as well, so pretty
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much anywhere in the world where you are, if you're coastal,
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there's a chance.
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That you could see in Orca.
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And then the third thing, it's kind of an intangible
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I don't really know what it is.
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If it's the fact that they have tall.
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Dorsal fins or they're black and white markings, but they
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just have this incredible charisma of it seems to immediately
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draw people in.
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You know, whales and dolphins are fun to watch no.
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Matter what the species, but something about orcus in particular
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is just inspiring.
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I know when some of my friends heard that I
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was we were doing this podcast, they're like, oh, I
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got to make sure I listened to that because they
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really like orches. So yeah, they are really cool.
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Uh, it's definitely not a hard cell. People are just
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sort of innately fascinated with them.
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Yep, exactly exactly. And you know, since we were kind
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of on the topic and you mentioned it, can you
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just go ahead and explain what an orcapod is and
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how this family relationship shapes their lives.
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Yeah.
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Well, like I said, they live all around the globe
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and everywhere that you find them, they're in these distinct
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populations that are specialized feed on what's available in that area.
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So as a species, they're the undisputed top predator in
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the ocean. Pretty Much anything in the ocean, whether it's
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a you know, a great white shark or a large
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whale species, or any of a wide variety of fish species,
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it's probably on the menu for an orca somewhere in
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the world. And so because they occur in all of
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these different populations, we find some subtle differences in you know,
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their habitats, their behaviors, and their social lives.
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So, like I said, the core.
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Relationship in kind of any killer whale society is between
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a mother orca and her offspring. So they're primarily matrilineal
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in that sense, where it'll be a female and her
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offspring in some cases multiple generations after that, all traveling together.
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But depending on what their prey is, they may be
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better suited to being in a large or small group.
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So in some cases, I'm here in the Pacific Northwest
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off the cost of Washington State, we have a mammal
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eating killer whale population where they prefer to be in
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smaller groups, and so the primary unit is mainly a
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female in her immediate offspring. We'll see typically like three
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to six orcas traveling together. We have another population of
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fish eating killer whales, and because historically salmon that they're
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feeding on here were very abundant, they typically occur in
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much larger groups. We might see twenty thirty or forty
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of them traveling together.
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And it's with those orcas that we typically talk about.
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Pods, where it's several related matrilines that are traveling with
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one another together. And sort of the definition of a
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pod as it applies to orcas is a group of
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whales that travels together more than fifty percent of their time.
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But like I said, there's kind of some subtle variations
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on the social structure depending on where you are in
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the world.
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Okay, okay, So would it be kind of safe to
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say that these different different groups of orcas, I mean, besides,
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you know, being either mammal or fish eating or whatever
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that they may have, like their own types of traditions
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or cultures or even maybe their own language or do
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that is at all kind of about the same across
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the world between.
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Them, No, it's definitely different.
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So they have their own, you know, hunting strategies, some
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of which are sort of passed on within families, and
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so those are definitely specific to these different populations, and
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their vocalizations are are different as well. We don't know
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if it's truly different languages or just different dialects, but
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vocally you can tell different populations of killerwells apart just
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by the sounds that they're making, even if you never
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see one of them. So they're yeah, they're They're definitely
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known for kind of their their social and cultural traditions
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that are unique depending on where you find.
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Them in the world.
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Okay, well, yeah, so that kind of makes sense. So
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then they're all going to be kind of different. So awesome,
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And then you had mentioned that, you know, they are,
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I guess you might say, one of the top predators
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of the sea. So as I was looking some stuff
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up for tonight's podcast, I saw that sometimes orcas might
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get called wolves of the sea. Do you think that
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nickname is kind of accurate for him or is that
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something that someone just looked throughout there.
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It definitely is in terms of their hunting strategies, and
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I can I can.
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Definitely see the.
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The parallel there where you think of a pack of
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wolves that like cooperatively takes down a prey species that's
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you know, much larger than they are, and orcas will
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do that as well, where it's a very coordinated attack
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on whatever it is that they're going out of. So
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in that sense, I think it's a fitting description, But
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there's some pretty striking social differences again in between orcas
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and w where wolves primarily have like an alpha male
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and female that you know, wolves will stay together, and
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a lot of people when they see an orca family group,
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they'll see a big adult male. The orcas are the
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males are distinct because the dorsal fins can get up
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to five or six feet tall.
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And the original thought by a lot of.
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Researchers and still by members of the public today is like, oh,
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that must be the dominant male, But more often than not,
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that's the adult son traveling right next to his mom
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and she's the one calling the shots. So a little
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bit different there than how a wolf back operates.
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So then do the male whales only come into play
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when it's like the mating season and then they're just
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kind of off on their own, and then it's just
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the mom in the in the offspring.
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Well, they will stay with her as an adult. So
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the adult males will still be traveling with their moms
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in most cases, and they're part of that core family unit,
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and so they are taking care of their younger siblings, their.
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Nieces and nephews.
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They you know, we see adult males babysitting calves that
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are family members of them, and they do participate in
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the hunts as well. So they are only opportunities to
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mate though, because they're always with their immediate family homes.
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When they meet up with other family groups of the
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same type of killer wal and so when that happens,
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they will, you know, they will intermix and socialize and
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meeting might occur. But if the female orca that he
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breeds with has a calf, that calf will stay with
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her in her family group and he will go back
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and spend.
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The rest of his life with his mom and his siblings.
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And so the fathers don't really play a direct role
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that we know of in the raising of their own calves.
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They are more involved in their natal family group, in
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whichever group they were born into.
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Well that's interesting to know. Yeah, that is quite a
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bit different than I guess wolves exactly.
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Yeah, so not an alpha male, an alpha female, justin
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all the female when it comes to orcas, right.
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Right, So whole intelligent art orcas? And what are some
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examples that you could give us of some of their
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you know, probable solving or social skills that they have.
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I think we don't even really comprehend fully how smart
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orcas are. It's you know, it's a difficult task to
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measure intelligence in another species, and we look for things like,
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you know, language or tool use or or things or
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culture is another one, and we can see evidence of
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those all in orcas. But in terms of some specific examples,
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I think the fact that they are able to figure
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out how to kill and eat every species in the ocean.
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You know, we have seen, for example, a single female
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orca make quick work of an adult great white shark
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because she knew to flip it upside down so it
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would stop.
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And not be able to breathe anymore.
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We see them, you know, wash learn how to create
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like surges of waves to wash seals off you know,
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ice in Antarctica. So they're definitely pro problem solvers when
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it comes to figuring out how to get.
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You know, whatever prey item it is that are after.
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But another one for me is that they're you know,
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they're these top predators. So they obviously have incredible physical
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capacity to do what they do in the ocean, but
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they are very rarely aggressive with one another, so we
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don't see like territorial fights or like males competing for
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females or anything like that. And so within their societies,
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they undoubtedly have conflict. You know, any social living species
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you know, will have some type of conflict, but they
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seem to have a way to resolve it that doesn't
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involve violence. And however, it is that that they do
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that and that they navigate that I think is a
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sign of real intelligence because it's certainly something that that
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humans have figured out how to do yet.
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Right, I was just gonna say, maybe we should be
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studying these orcas a little more and learning this stuff exactly.
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I think there's a benefit to that for sure.
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Yeah, no kidding, So so I know, you know, because
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we were talking about orca is you know, being able
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to pray on great white sharks and stuff? Now is there?
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Because I know great whites can get to be quite large.
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What happens if you say haven't, I mean, well, I
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guess you know, you probably don't normally just come across
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the loan orca whale. They're usually at least in their
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maybe mother and offspring pods. Because I was gonna say,
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what happens if you happen to have or an orca
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run across the great white that just happens to be
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a little bit bigger than them? I mean, does the
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orcst still stand a pretty good chance because of their
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knowledge about flipping home?
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Or yeah, they do.
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But like you said, they are typically in social groups
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of some sort, and so there are places in the
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world where they are, you know, killing large baileen whales,
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like whether it's humpback whales or gray whales or in
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some cases even blue whales that.
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Are much much larger than them.
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But because of their cooperative hunting techniques, you know, they
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kind of take turns so they don't all get tired out,
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and they have different roles that they play within a hunt,
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so they're definitely able to figure out how to take
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down prey that is much larger than them, if if
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they're one of the populations that focuses on those larger.
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Species, you know.
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I was actually and it's funny because you were talking
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about them making the wave surges to watch the seals
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off the ice. I was actually watching at the documentary
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and they were learning why I think there was a
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mother teaching offspring, but they were learning to ride the
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waves part way in on the beach to try to
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grab the seals that didn't get it away fair enough,
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and then how to get back out after they did
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that if they you know, had to try again. So
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it was pretty interesting to see them teaching and learning
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that skill exactly.
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And it's it's how regardless of you know, what type
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of work you are, it's pretty much how you learn
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you know what to eat and how to eat. It
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is you will observe from your mom how you know
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what techniques your family uses, and you'll specialize those over time.
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And some of those, like the almost intentional beaching where
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they're you know, grabbing seals or sea lions off the
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beach is a high risk behavior because if you mess
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it up, you might end up, you know, stranded on
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the beach yourself. And so it takes a lot of
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precision and practice and learning to hone a lot of
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these techniques. And so again another sign of orca intelligence
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and in their training and kind of you know, dedication
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to honing these behaviors by learning from one another.
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Yep, yep, I know. I found it fascinating that they
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were doing that. I was just like wow, and then yeah,
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I mean because there was a couple of times there
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I was really wondering if it was going to be
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able to get back off.
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The beach or not.
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So right, yeah, they were able to. So, so obviously
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I think we all kind of know, you know that
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whales communicate with each other a lot of times with
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like their clicking and their tonal songs and stuff like that.
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I'm assuming orcas kind of communicate with each other basically
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in the same way.
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Have you guys.
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Learned as much about the orcas communication listening to them
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as maybe you have listening to some of the other whales.
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Yeah, So they make three different types of sounds. They
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make echolocation, which is like the click trains that are
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sort of their biosnar and so that is how they
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navigate throughout their environment and fine prey cases, because underwater
277
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it can be pretty dark and murky and so vision
278
00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:09.279
isn't as useful, so a lot of times they're using echolocation, you.
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Know, so sound rather than sites to sort of find
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their way through the ocean world.
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The second type of call that they make is a whistle,
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and whistles are kind of the most common social vocalization
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in a lot of dolphin species, and orcas are technically
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the largest member of the dolphin family, so they do
285
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make whistles, but not quite as frequently as some other
286
00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:38.720
dolphins do. But their primary social vocalization is something that
287
00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.679
we call a discrete call, and it's a short like
288
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one to two second tonal call that has a distinct
289
00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:50.720
structure that is again unique to these different family groups.
290
00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:54.399
So all whales are making these short calls, but they
291
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have different patterns depending on different groups that you're a
292
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part of, and those also seem to be so passed.
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00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.120
Down from from one family to another, so we.
294
00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.919
Know that the different dialects that they're vocalizing with are
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00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.960
some type of a badge of social identity that you know,
296
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tell anyone else in the ocean, you know what type
297
00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.200
of killer well you are, and maybe even specifically which
298
00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:20.519
which specific family that you are a part of. But
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00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.759
in terms of what they're communicating about and how their
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00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:29.399
communication system works, we have basically made no progress in
301
00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.919
you know, in deciphering what they're talking about.
302
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Their their brains.
303
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Are amazingly complex and are wired for processing acoustic information.
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I think in a way that that humans can't even
305
00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:48.039
comprehend because we're so vision dependent most often, and we've
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00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.759
you know, we've tried making seeing if we can link
307
00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:52.840
you know, oh, is there is there a specific call
308
00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.080
that means there's fish over here, or specific call that means,
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00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:59.120
you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna breach out of the
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00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:01.320
water now, or something like that, and there just has
311
00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.000
not been any success in sort of creating those one
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00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:07.839
to one links between specific calls and specific behaviors. So
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00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:12.119
in terms of how their communication system functions, we actually,
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00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.799
you know, know a lot less than we do for
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some other wild animal species. But I think that's a
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00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.839
testament to how complex it is.
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00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:23.680
You know, I would at least think, I mean, if
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they're maybe out there hunting, obviously you would think that
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00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:29.880
some of their calls and stuff I would think would
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00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.599
be directing each other in their hunting and techniques and
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00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:36.920
stuff like that to get their prey I mean imself.
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00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:41.880
But then we have our mammal hunting killer whales here,
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who you know, hunt cooperatively in groups, and a lot
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00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:47.640
of times if we drop a hydrophone, which is an
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00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:50.079
underwater microphone to try.
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00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.279
And listen to them, often they're completely silent during a hunt.
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00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:57.079
And so it just, you know, it begs the question
328
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of how does each whale know what their role is
329
00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.400
to play and and how are they coordinating if if
330
00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.799
they aren't communicating at times? So far far more questions
331
00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:10.119
than answers when it comes to work us.
332
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:12.759
Yeah, I mean then that would that would kind of
333
00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:17.799
lead me to wonder about genetic you know, passing things
334
00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:22.680
down actually genetically from one generation to another possibly so
335
00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:27.599
that I mean, maybe I don't know, maybe a certain
336
00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:30.559
genetic orcat plays this role, you know, and I don't know.
337
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.440
It just it's like you said, it's more questions. It's
338
00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:34.799
it's interesting to think about.
339
00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:38.240
Yet we see all this social learning, which kind of
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00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.599
you know, contradicts the you know, genetic sort of instinctive
341
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:46.880
theory about it. But one theory of how they're coordinating
342
00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:48.960
during hunts and and that sort of thing is that
343
00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:54.079
their unique black and white coloration actually might help them
344
00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:57.480
see body position relative to one another when they're in
345
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.079
close proximity like us doing you know, a seal or
346
00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:01.599
a sea.
347
00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.920
Lion or something like that. So because they're mostly white.
348
00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:07.240
On the bottom and black on their backs with some
349
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.559
white patches, they can probably tell you know, what's the
350
00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:14.039
orientation of the other orca and you know, what direction
351
00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:15.880
are they coming at the prey and how can I
352
00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:16.720
assist from this.
353
00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:18.279
Side and that sort of thing.
354
00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.119
So in those cases when they're cooperatively pursuing prey together,
355
00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:24.119
they might be close enough to actually.
356
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.799
Use vision over sound. That's that's my best theory anyway.
357
00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.079
Yeah, yeah, well it's interesting. Like you said, there's a
358
00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.559
lot more questions to be asked, I guess out there,
359
00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.079
and maybe one day breakthrough will be made and you
360
00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:42.559
you know, researchers like you guys will figure more out
361
00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:44.839
when it comes to their language and they're talking and
362
00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.559
stuff like that. So yeah, yeah, it might be interesting
363
00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:51.680
to see what they're thinking sometimes, But then again, maybe
364
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:52.839
you don't want to know what they're.
365
00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:58.559
Thinking exactly careful what you wish for.
366
00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:04.319
I know, silly two legged beings up there. So something
367
00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.799
that's kind of been catching my attention a little bit
368
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:11.160
in the headlines has been about for some reason, it
369
00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:16.799
seems like the Orcas are interacting more and with and
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00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.440
damaging boats and stuff a lot more than what they
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00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:23.880
ever have in the past. Do you know what's kind
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00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:25.680
of going on with that? I mean, is it just
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a matter of fact of you know, something like everything else.
374
00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:31.319
You know, we we're just encroaching a lot more on
375
00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.119
their territory than what we used to. So things have gotten,
376
00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:38.599
you know, more in that aspect, so now we notice
377
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.119
it more or do you think there's something else going on?
378
00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:44.519
I think there's something else going on.
379
00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.720
So we've already talked a little bit about how there's
380
00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:51.240
different populations of Orcas around the world, and this is
381
00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:56.039
something that's occurring in a very specific geographic area, mostly
382
00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:59.839
a strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Spain, and
383
00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.359
it's only occurring within that population of Orcas. And so,
384
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.119
you know, we have people that come out here to
385
00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:07.400
Washington State and have asked, you know, is it safe
386
00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.720
to get on a boat because we've read about these attacks,
387
00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:13.039
and the the orcas here are not involved in.
388
00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:13.359
That at all.
389
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.000
It's it's something that has started and has spread in
390
00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:19.640
that one population in that area. So even though there
391
00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.839
were there were memes and things out there about the
392
00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:25.559
you know, the Orca uprising and all of that, right,
393
00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:28.799
not actually a global.
394
00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:32.559
Uprising, uh so, just just occurring in that one place.
395
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:37.559
And uh while while it feels like I'm sure in
396
00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:41.240
attack to the people on those boats, I've seen videos
397
00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:43.880
of this behavior, and from the whales perspective, to me,
398
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:45.119
it actually looks like.
399
00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.319
A type of play. Uh So.
400
00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:51.240
Being being smart and intelligent and social and and all
401
00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:54.079
the things that they are, they're curious about things in
402
00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:56.839
their environment and they will play with objects in their environment.
403
00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.640
And for whatever reason, orcas in the straight up Gibraltar
404
00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:06.440
are focusing in specifically on rudders of sailboats, and I
405
00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:12.119
think it's probably fascinating to them because it's something that moves,
406
00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:16.799
It probably has resistance when the captain is trying to
407
00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:19.519
maintain steering when the whale is playing with it, and
408
00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:24.279
so it probably becomes even more engaging, maybe.
409
00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.559
A little bit like tug a war, you know, with
410
00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:28.000
a dog or something like that.
411
00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.920
So they just seem to be fascinated by these moving
412
00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:34.640
parts on boats, and in a lot of cases their
413
00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:38.799
manipulation of it is actually pretty gentle. But because they're
414
00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:42.720
big and you know, there can be cables attaching rudders
415
00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:44.880
for steering and all of that, sometimes it results in
416
00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.119
damaging the vessels. So I don't think by any means
417
00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.400
that they're out to attack the boats or try and
418
00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:54.880
sink the boats or get the people on board or
419
00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:57.599
anything like that. I think some of the vessels are
420
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.440
being disabled just as a result of the behavior. But
421
00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:03.640
but from the whales perspective, it definitely looks like a
422
00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:04.640
type of play.
423
00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:09.279
Okay, So so then people probably don't need to be
424
00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.640
too concerned about getting on a boat and going out
425
00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:18.960
and sailing or doing their things. No, there's not going
426
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:21.880
to be some pod of orcas coming up to try
427
00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:27.400
to destroy their boats because yeah, yeah.
428
00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:29.839
And again, like I'm I'm certain for the people that
429
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:32.960
have experienced this that it's it's scary because these are
430
00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:36.359
large animals, they're predators and they're starting to mess with
431
00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.079
you know, your mode of transportation, and otherwise you're pretty
432
00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:42.799
vulnerable out there in the ocean and so it it
433
00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:43.440
feels like.
434
00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:45.319
An attack to you know, the people that have.
435
00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.319
Experienced this, But that's that's not the motivation from from
436
00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:53.160
the whales at all. In fact, you know, one one
437
00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:55.200
thing I always like to tell people about orcas is
438
00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.680
that there has never been a documented case of a
439
00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:02.519
wild orca killing a human and so it never seems
440
00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.720
to be their motivation. Even when there are people in
441
00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.720
the waters, we're just not on the menu for them.
442
00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.039
So that kind of down And now that you've said that,
443
00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.000
now I've got another interesting question with that being said,
444
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.240
So no reports that we know of of a wild
445
00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:25.039
orca attacking or killing a human being, So then what
446
00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:29.440
do you think there has been of attacks from the
447
00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:33.279
captive orcus on people, obviously because we've seen them in
448
00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:36.440
the news. So what do you think is the difference
449
00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:39.319
between that because of the captivity that they're in.
450
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:46.119
Yeah, exactly, I think those orcas have experienced extreme mental
451
00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:51.039
trauma and potentially even like a psychotic break or something
452
00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:53.720
like that that you see an orca in the wild.
453
00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.759
You know, they're long lived, they can live as long.
454
00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:57.400
As humans do.
455
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:02.480
They're in these permanent in some cases family groups, and
456
00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:05.359
they can swim up to one hundred miles or more
457
00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.759
every single day. And you take a whale out of
458
00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.960
their family and put them in you know, what's essentially
459
00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:14.920
a bathtub and ask them to spend their whole life there.
460
00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:18.480
Put them in some cases with whales from other populations
461
00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:22.240
that are not their type of orca, ask them, you know,
462
00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:25.359
to perform tricks and all of that. And you know,
463
00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.640
year after year we've seen that some of these whales
464
00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:31.319
just don't handle it very well and in some cases
465
00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:35.839
become aggressive. And so all of the cases of orca's
466
00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.119
directly leading to the death of a human have all
467
00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.799
occurred in captivity, and I think are probably just due
468
00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:46.400
to the really the torment that they're subjected to in
469
00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:47.839
those situations.
470
00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.960
Yeah, it's probably good that a lot of those organizations
471
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:57.079
like SeaWorld in them they're actually not keeping that work
472
00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:59.559
is and stuff anymore in captivity. A lot of them
473
00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:01.119
have i have stopped doing it.
474
00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:06.640
So, I mean, yeah, SeaWorld has stopped their captive breeding program,
475
00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.599
which is great, and so they do still have orcas
476
00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:12.839
they're gonna you know, a lot of those animals are
477
00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:14.319
now dependent on human care.
478
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.240
In some cases, we're born in.
479
00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:19.200
Captivity and you know, couldn't even necessarily survive in the wild,
480
00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:22.920
so they you know, they they still haven't care for
481
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.640
those animals.
482
00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.839
But I do think that that's something that's.
483
00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:30.680
Starting to phase out, at least in North America, which
484
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.400
is which is good and a reflection of you know,
485
00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:35.680
how much we've learned about them as a species in
486
00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.240
the last several decades.
487
00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:40.680
Right right, So, I mean, and there's been a really
488
00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:44.319
big turning point I think here, especially when it comes
489
00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:50.039
to animals and captivity for things like Safety World or
490
00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:53.160
the circuses and stuff like that. You know, a lot
491
00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:55.680
of those places are starting to get more and more
492
00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:01.319
away from because so many people have finally decided that,
493
00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:05.839
you know, animals are sentient beings and and intelligent and
494
00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:08.400
you know it's not right to treat them and keep
495
00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:11.880
them in captivity like this and do the things exactly.
496
00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:16.880
So yeah, and you know, some some species do better
497
00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.640
in captivity and you know, can thrive in that environment,
498
00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:23.440
and certainly like animals that are injured and rehabbed and
499
00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:26.200
might not be fit you know, for life in the
500
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.480
wild again can be you know, incredible ambassadors for their species.
501
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:33.480
Like it's you know, certainly you know, the facilities that
502
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:37.079
are operated ethically can still you know, play a really
503
00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:40.839
important role in education and conservation. But I think especially
504
00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:45.160
for some of the really you know, large wide ranging species,
505
00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:47.400
it's just you know, captivity is just not a.
506
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:51.480
Good fit, right right, yep, exactly. So it's good to
507
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.039
see that some things are changing. That's it's always a
508
00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.839
little bit of a step forward at least progress.
509
00:27:58.440 --> 00:27:58.680
Yeah.
510
00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:04.759
Yeah, So just one quick last question about the orcas
511
00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:08.200
that have been attacking the boats over there by Spain.
512
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:14.160
Why do do you guys researchers think that these particular
513
00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:17.440
orcas in this particular location are actually going after these
514
00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:21.720
boats but not in other pods or other locations. What's
515
00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:25.119
I mean? Is it just because there's more sailboats.
516
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:31.839
Or it's it's probably that one whale discovered this behavior,
517
00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:35.759
because sometimes they will, you know, especially like juvenile whales
518
00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:38.359
will be more curious about things in their environment, and
519
00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:40.720
they'll pick things up that they're not supposed to pick
520
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:45.680
up or mess with stuff, and you know, in some cases,
521
00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:48.359
in most cases really it's harmless. But in this case,
522
00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:50.519
I have a feeling it was you know, probably a
523
00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:56.119
juvenile whale that targeted a sailboat, and because they socially
524
00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:59.240
learned from another others either you know, directly we're taught
525
00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:01.559
this behavior or saw it and thought it looked like
526
00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:04.839
fun and so wanted to try it. And so one
527
00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:10.000
thing that we see in some Orca cultures is the
528
00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:13.960
equivalent of like a fat where there's something that's like
529
00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:16.920
trendy that catches on that all the whales start doing
530
00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:18.799
and they learn it from one another, and then after
531
00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:20.519
a while it kind of goes out of style and.
532
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.960
They stopped doing it.
533
00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:25.200
And the most famous one here in Washington was back
534
00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.319
in the nineteen eighties, the so called salmon hats, where
535
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:30.279
our fish.
536
00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:31.000
Eating killer whales.
537
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.880
When they caught a fish, they started surfacing it with
538
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:35.400
it balanced on their heads.
539
00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:38.400
And one whale did this.
540
00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:41.680
And all the other whales started doing it, and it
541
00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:44.359
was really popular for like two years, and then it
542
00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:47.319
went out of fashion, I guess, and they stopped doing it.
543
00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.519
And so I really think it's something similar to that,
544
00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:53.720
where one whale discovered this unique thing and the others
545
00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:54.240
wanted to.
546
00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:55.920
Try it, and you know, it caught on.
547
00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:00.759
But again, because they're in these you know, distinct population everywhere,
548
00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:03.039
it hasn't spread beyond that one population.
549
00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:05.359
It's just spread within that population.
550
00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:08.400
They're off the coast of Spain, and we are seeing
551
00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:10.160
some evidence that it might be going.
552
00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:11.640
Out of style over there.
553
00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:13.640
That I think it was two years ago that it
554
00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:17.359
was kind of the peak of the vessel work interactions,
555
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:21.200
and now it's declining. It still occurs, but not nearly
556
00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:24.519
as often, so hopefully it's you know, I think it's
557
00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.839
best for it for the whales and the.
558
00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:29.880
People obviously if this particular fat fades away.
559
00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:32.680
But that's how I think it unfolded and why it
560
00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:34.799
only spread there and not all around the world.
561
00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:39.720
Well, yeah, I mean it sounds like human being. Same thing.
562
00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:42.160
We have our fans and our trends, and it lasts
563
00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:43.640
for a while and then we get tired of it
564
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:45.759
and it goes away, and then we do something else
565
00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:47.400
and exactly.
566
00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:49.759
Yeah, workers are much the same way.
567
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:51.960
That's funny, salmon hats.
568
00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:52.559
That was great.
569
00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:57.400
Yeah, it had to have been pretty funny to see him
570
00:30:57.480 --> 00:30:57.759
doing that.
571
00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:02.559
Yes it was before my time, but I've seen photos
572
00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:05.039
and yeah, I can only imagine what it would be
573
00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:05.400
like to.
574
00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:12.000
See Oh my goodness. Okay, So considering of course that
575
00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:17.119
orcas are you know, such large prey animals. What are
576
00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:20.359
some of the biggest threats that they're actually facing the
577
00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.240
wild orchid populations today.
578
00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:26.759
Well, again, it kind of depends where in the world
579
00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:32.240
you are, because every you know, orcas is leaving living
580
00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:35.559
a unique life depending on where the world they are.
581
00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:39.599
So in some cases they are they're interacting with vessels.
582
00:31:39.640 --> 00:31:42.440
In other ways where they're actually you know, taking fish
583
00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:45.920
off longline fisheries or something like that, where they're interacting
584
00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:48.720
with fishing gear and that can you know, pose a
585
00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:51.640
risk of entanglement. So in some parts of the world
586
00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:56.359
there's concerns about that. Here in the Pacific Northwest, our
587
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:02.000
fish eating orcas are actually on the endangered species list
588
00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:05.480
in both the United States and Canada, and one of
589
00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:08.880
the primary reasons for that is declines of the salmon
590
00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:13.079
runs that they would historically depend on. So protecting prey
591
00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:17.880
species for these different populations is sometimes of great concern.
592
00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:21.839
And then toxic contamination in the water is another one
593
00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:26.480
where the pollutants that you start as these microparticles in
594
00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:28.720
the ocean kind of work their way up the food chain,
595
00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:32.359
and being at the top of a food chain, work
596
00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:35.920
as end up carrying these pretty high concentrations of toxic
597
00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:42.240
contamination and chemicals sometimes which can then affect their immune
598
00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:46.400
system and fertility and things like that, and so that
599
00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:47.519
could be another concern.
600
00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:52.319
And I think the final one I'll mention is ocean noise.
601
00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:56.200
I mentioned how acoustic these animals are to navigate through
602
00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:59.319
their environment and to communicate with one another, and all
603
00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:02.640
of the big you know, shipping traffic, ferry traffic in
604
00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:06.559
some cases like military testing activities, oil exploration.
605
00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:08.000
Anything we're doing that.
606
00:33:07.960 --> 00:33:11.519
Puts really loud and persistent sound into the water can
607
00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:14.079
definitely affect local workap populations as well.
608
00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:16.240
So they're facing a lot.
609
00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:19.279
Yeah, it sounds like it. My goodness, that's quite a bit.
610
00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:26.680
So let's talk a little bit about Orca Behavior Institute.
611
00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:30.359
What is it exactly? You know, what work is it
612
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:33.160
that you guys do at the institute, How are you
613
00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:38.599
helping to protect orcas and how did you actually get
614
00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:40.160
involved with the institute.
615
00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:45.799
Well, the Orca Behavior Institute is a nonprofit based on
616
00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:49.839
San Juan Island, Washington, and our mission is to inspire
617
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:54.960
conservation of wild killer whales through non invasive research, bold.
618
00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:57.240
Advocacy, and science based education.
619
00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:01.960
So we were originally inspired to kind of start our
620
00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:04.920
work eleven years ago when we were seeing these dramatic
621
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:08.079
changes in the fish heating and mammal eating populations that
622
00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:11.360
we have here off the coast of Washington, where the
623
00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:14.079
fish eating killer whales that used to be spending all
624
00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:17.440
their time here we're now spending more time elsewhere and
625
00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:21.199
their population is declining, while the mammal eating killer whales
626
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:24.880
used to be more uncommon here and now we're spending
627
00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:28.320
more time here and their population is growing. So we
628
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:31.760
have kind of this compare and contrast between a thriving
629
00:34:31.800 --> 00:34:36.239
population of killer whales and a struggling population, and we
630
00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:39.039
wanted to help start collecting some sort of some long
631
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:42.400
term data on their behavior and how they're utilizing their
632
00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:45.000
environment to help kind of understand.
633
00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:48.239
What's going on and why these shifts are happening.
634
00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.079
You know, the primary factor again seems to be the
635
00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:55.920
prey availability of you know, less fish than there used
636
00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:58.199
to be, more seals and sea lions than there used
637
00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:03.440
to be. But we want to keep collecting this kind
638
00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:08.119
of accurate and up to date data on habitat use
639
00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:10.000
and behavior and.
640
00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:12.599
Social associations and communication.
641
00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:14.519
And all of these things we've talked about and make
642
00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:17.920
sure that that information is being communicated both to.
643
00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:22.199
The public but also to management agencies and policy.
644
00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:24.280
Makers to help make sure that we're doing everything we
645
00:35:24.320 --> 00:35:28.920
can to help the endangered orc as recover and to
646
00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:31.039
make sure that the orcas that are doing.
647
00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:32.880
Well can continue doing well.
648
00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:36.639
I actually was a co founder of the Work of
649
00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:40.840
Behavior Institute, so helped create this organization as somebody who
650
00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:43.760
lived here in the San Juan Islands and had a
651
00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:47.320
science background and was watching the whales on a regular
652
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:51.440
basis and seeing these changes that were happening here with
653
00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:55.480
these two populations, and so our first motivation was to,
654
00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:59.039
like I said, start start collecting some data and doing
655
00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:01.599
some research into into what was happening here. And then
656
00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:06.360
it's expanded since then to kind of offering educational classes
657
00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:09.239
and you know, advocating for policies that protect the marine
658
00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.920
environment and things like that.
659
00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:15.920
Nice, do you have anything going on like right now
660
00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:18.559
that you might want to tell the listeners about.
661
00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:22.400
Well, regardless of where you live.
662
00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:25.599
We offer some fully virtual classes, and we have some
663
00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:28.280
new classes coming up this fall that are now open
664
00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:31.239
for registration. So if folks want to kind of dive
665
00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:33.599
into this world a little more and learn a little more.
666
00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:36.679
We have a Whale book Club that we do twice
667
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:41.079
a year where we read some books on different aspects
668
00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:43.519
of orcas or other species of whales and get together
669
00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:46.360
to discuss them, as well as do like movie watch
670
00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:49.199
parties and craft projects and things like that. And so
671
00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:52.159
that's a kind of a fun winter activity. And then
672
00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:55.840
we also just opened registration for our Marine Mammals one
673
00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:58.800
oh one class, which is a series of six virtual
674
00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:02.800
lectures that goes in depth with experts on some of
675
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:05.320
our common whale species here on the West Coast. So
676
00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:07.840
we talk about both our fish eating and mammal eating
677
00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:11.440
orcas in that class, as well as humpback whales, gray whales, seals,
678
00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:14.840
and sea lions. So lots of opportunities to learn more.
679
00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:15.760
Folks are interested.
680
00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:19.079
Oh that's pretty cool, pretty cool. So do they just
681
00:37:19.159 --> 00:37:21.400
have to, like, say, go to your website in order
682
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:26.639
to get into the virtual classes and stuff like that.
683
00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:28.679
And I was gonna say, you might as well give
684
00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:31.239
your website info out too, because if you guys take
685
00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:33.880
any kind of if you're you know, uh five A
686
00:37:33.960 --> 00:37:36.400
one C three based and stuff, if people want to
687
00:37:36.400 --> 00:37:39.800
help out or you know, do donations or anything like that, So,
688
00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:43.119
why don't you your information out for people.
689
00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:48.360
Yeah, so we are at Orcabehavior Institute. Dot org is
690
00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:51.800
our website. You can find us on social media as well.
691
00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:57.360
We're active on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Blue Sky h
692
00:37:57.480 --> 00:38:00.519
So you just look for Orca Behavior Institute and we
693
00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:03.760
should come right up and we share you know, these
694
00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:06.239
opportunities to participate in.
695
00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:06.960
In virtual classes.
696
00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:10.039
We're also sharing updates from the field and you know,
697
00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:12.599
photos and videos of the whales that we're seeing out here,
698
00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:15.800
as well as action alerts where it's important for you know,
699
00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:18.440
people to chime in to help with things that will
700
00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:19.599
relate to orca protection.
701
00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:22.800
So if folks want to give us a follow on
702
00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:24.559
social media, we'd appreciate that as well.
703
00:38:25.360 --> 00:38:28.760
Nice. So, say, if someone you know does want to
704
00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:33.360
kind of help out support orcat conservation or get involved
705
00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:38.119
in citizen science, do you have like the information that
706
00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:40.840
on your website as well that people could maybe check
707
00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:43.000
out to see how they could get involved, or do
708
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:45.599
you have a couple of tips you could throw out
709
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:49.039
there real quick before we wrap the podcast up tonight.
710
00:38:50.519 --> 00:38:53.480
Yeah, we do have some you know, additional details on
711
00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:55.920
our website, and of course kind of depends where.
712
00:38:55.639 --> 00:38:56.599
In the world you are.
713
00:38:57.159 --> 00:39:01.599
If you're here on the West Coast, there's definitely opportunities
714
00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:04.639
to be involved as a community scientist. A lot of
715
00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:08.599
the sightings tracking that we do and that other organizations
716
00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:12.199
are involved with as well, that occurs all throughout the
717
00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:16.079
coast is done by community members who you know, see
718
00:39:16.119 --> 00:39:19.599
and document whales that they encounter and report them and
719
00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:23.039
help us track these populations and kind of monitor these
720
00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:26.599
trends over time. So there's definitely opportunities, you know, to
721
00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:30.000
participate as a community member in the science aspect if
722
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:33.559
you are out in this area. But in terms of conservation,
723
00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:38.360
it's definitely something people can support anywhere. One of the
724
00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:41.320
really big things that I like to mention for folks
725
00:39:41.400 --> 00:39:44.239
is it's really important to know where your seafood comes
726
00:39:44.239 --> 00:39:46.800
from and make sure it's being caught in a sustainable
727
00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:53.000
fishery for our endangered fish eating whales. Specifically, I Alwayo
728
00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:57.599
recommend that people don't eat farmed Atlantic salmon. Actually eating
729
00:39:57.599 --> 00:40:01.800
wild caught salmon is better because the the aquaculture industry
730
00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:06.519
for salmon is actually really having a negative impact on
731
00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:10.079
wild salmon populations. So having a little research into the
732
00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:12.320
seafood that you're eating and making sure it comes from
733
00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:15.679
a sustainable source is a fairly simple action that you
734
00:40:15.719 --> 00:40:17.599
can take no matter where in the world you live.
735
00:40:19.320 --> 00:40:22.920
Great information to have and didn't not know that that
736
00:40:23.079 --> 00:40:26.840
was impacting the wild salmon like that. That's that's always
737
00:40:26.960 --> 00:40:28.800
good to know. So good advice.
738
00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:28.880
You.
739
00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:34.000
Yeah, and if the seafood isn't labeled, I you know,
740
00:40:34.119 --> 00:40:36.760
just ask whether it's at a restaurant or a grocery store.
741
00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:37.920
It just lets you.
742
00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:40.480
Know whoever's buying the seafood know that you're paying attention
743
00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:41.679
and that you care about.
744
00:40:41.480 --> 00:40:42.559
Those types of issues.
745
00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:45.960
So you know, they should certainly know where their seafood
746
00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:47.480
is coming from if they're selling it to you.
747
00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:50.079
And so yeah, just ask the question, is this wild
748
00:40:50.119 --> 00:40:51.800
caught salmon? Yeah?
749
00:40:51.880 --> 00:40:54.119
Yeah, that's very good advice. And you know, and it's
750
00:40:54.119 --> 00:40:56.760
funny that you said that because I like to watch
751
00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:02.280
Gordon Ramsey's kitchen nightmares. Some of these restaurants are like, oh, yeah,
752
00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:04.800
we're serving fresh seafood and it's not fresh seafood, but
753
00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:07.960
they have a seafood market, like right down the street
754
00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.119
from them that has fresh seafood. So yeah, it was. Yeah,
755
00:41:12.199 --> 00:41:14.239
some of these things that you watch on TV. It's
756
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:17.519
it's like, oh my gosh, it's amazing what someone so Yeah,
757
00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:20.159
but so good advice. Yes, find out what you're eating
758
00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:20.960
before you eat it.
759
00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:23.760
Yeah, not bad advice in general.
760
00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:27.920
You know where your food is coming from, right exactly.
761
00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:30.960
You probably would like to know those things before you
762
00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:36.000
ease it some of these places. So my goodness, Well, Monica,
763
00:41:36.039 --> 00:41:40.840
that's kind of wrapping up the podcast for tonight. I
764
00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:43.960
learned a lot more about orcas than I knew before.
765
00:41:44.039 --> 00:41:46.119
I hope all the listeners out there did. It was
766
00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:50.159
great to you know, hear about them and to hopefully
767
00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:53.400
lay some people's fears to rest that they can get
768
00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:57.039
out a boat in that fear getting attacked by an orca.
769
00:41:57.800 --> 00:41:58.119
Yeah.
770
00:41:58.159 --> 00:42:00.400
Absolutely. If there's one take home message, that's.
771
00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:03.000
A one yes exactly. There you go, guys. You can
772
00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:05.679
go out on your boets well and maybe just wait
773
00:42:05.719 --> 00:42:08.000
a little while if you're over there by Spain, because
774
00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:10.320
they might be they might be getting over their bad
775
00:42:10.440 --> 00:42:12.760
over there, but give them just a little while longer. So,
776
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:17.920
but thank you so much for being on tonight. I
777
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:20.639
am just going to go ahead and announce my next
778
00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:24.760
upcoming podcast and you're welcome to stay in and listen
779
00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:26.760
to that if you'd like. But you're also welcome to
780
00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:28.679
jump off at this point because I know people have
781
00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:33.360
busy life and have things to go do. So again, though,
782
00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:35.719
I do thank you for being on and letting us
783
00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:39.000
learn more about ORCAS and about what the Behavior Institute does.
784
00:42:39.920 --> 00:42:41.280
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
785
00:42:41.559 --> 00:42:46.920
All right, and you have a great night, all right, everybody.
786
00:42:47.039 --> 00:42:51.320
So now, the next upcoming podcast that we're gonna have
787
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:58.000
I I just got off is September third. I am
788
00:42:58.079 --> 00:43:02.639
going to have Michael Schneider on with me, and he
789
00:43:02.920 --> 00:43:08.320
is the founder of Pilots to the Rescue. Pilots to
790
00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:12.960
the Rescue. Michael did his first animal rescue mission in
791
00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:21.079
twenty fifteen, so basically he has been rescuing dogs in
792
00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:26.760
overcrowded animal shelters and then he takes them to rescues
793
00:43:26.760 --> 00:43:30.559
and things like that there aren't as crowded, and I
794
00:43:30.679 --> 00:43:37.000
have good luck getting dogs adopted out, so yeah, and
795
00:43:37.039 --> 00:43:39.559
now he has lots of people helping him out and
796
00:43:39.639 --> 00:43:44.679
bigger planes. So he's been flying dogs since twenty fifteen
797
00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:49.159
and rescuing him from shelters and finding him nice new homes.
798
00:43:49.239 --> 00:43:52.559
So I'm looking forward to having him on to talk
799
00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:56.400
about Pilots to the Rescue and well you can learn
800
00:43:56.440 --> 00:44:01.920
more about his organization and what they do and how
801
00:44:01.960 --> 00:44:05.280
things have been going over the years and what direction
802
00:44:05.400 --> 00:44:08.440
they're going to be taking in the upcoming years to come.
803
00:44:08.519 --> 00:44:14.440
So anyway, I'm looking forward to talking to Michael right now. Unfortunately,
804
00:44:14.599 --> 00:44:16.920
I can't tell you I'm going to have on for
805
00:44:17.119 --> 00:44:22.840
the podcast on September seventeenth. I have not been able
806
00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:26.719
to fill that spot yet, but I am working on it.
807
00:44:26.800 --> 00:44:30.239
I have a couple leads and so hopefully I will
808
00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:32.920
get it filled. And unfortunately, you're just going to have
809
00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:37.360
to keep an eye out on the Facebook page to
810
00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:40.440
see what's going to come up and what we're going
811
00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:43.519
to talk about on that date. So I apologize, but
812
00:44:43.639 --> 00:44:45.679
I just haven't been able to get anyone to schedule
813
00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:49.280
in for that. So anyway, with that being said, I
814
00:44:49.280 --> 00:44:51.920
hope you guys all enjoy tonight's podcast. I hope you
815
00:44:52.199 --> 00:44:56.320
enjoyed learning more stuff about Orcus from Monica. It was
816
00:44:56.320 --> 00:44:59.320
a great podcast and I really appreciated that she came
817
00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:02.000
on tonight and don't forget to come on back and
818
00:45:02.119 --> 00:45:05.440
listen in on September three to my podcast with Michael
819
00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:09.400
Schneider and talking about his organization, Pilots to the Rescue
820
00:45:09.440 --> 00:45:12.880
and all the great work that they do. So all right, everybody,
821
00:45:12.920 --> 00:45:15.440
you all have a great night, and come on back
822
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:17.440
in a couple of weeks and listen to the next one.
823
00:45:18.159 --> 00:45:18.559
Bye now