Eavesdropping on orcas: love, grief, and family

This past summer, I was in Alaska in a little coastal town called Seward - a gorgeous spot on the Kenai Peninsula tucked between the ocean and some giant glacier-covered mountains. I met a guy named Dan Olsen, who records killer whale calls using an underwater hydrophone. 

Olsen gets all kinds of information from his recordings. The calls bring the underwater world of orcas alive. But there's a lot more going on in these clicks and whistles than you might think. Like, how their dialects, their languages, evolve, and even become part of orca family "culture.”

Jay Julius, a member of the Lummi Nation, says there's something deeper going on in the conversations among orca pods in the Pacific Northwest.

The orca story is one of human misunderstanding and generational trauma. But it's also a story of celebration, family, and a sense of place. Exploring their chatty underwater world might just help us understand how they are communicating… and what they are trying to say.

Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datum:
Duur:

Gerelateerde podcastafleveringen

Meer afleveringen van The Wild with Chris Morgan

  • Grizzlies coming back to the North Cascades

    If you’ve been a longtime listener of THE WILD then you know that I’ve been a champion of bringing back grizzly bears to the North Cascades of Washington here in the mountains near where I live. On April 25, 2024 that dream has taken a...

  • Broadcast: In search of silence

    On this special one hour of THE WILD with Chris Morgan, I'll explore natural silence, and how being quiet out in the natural world and having places to do that can be pretty transformative. I'll also spend time in the trees with a...

  • Broadcast: Leave it to beavers

    On this one-hour special of THE WILD with Chris Morgan, Chris explores the mighty beaver and its role in reshaping our landscapes and entire ecosystems. Then we plunge into the waters along the pacific coast to follow a sea lion’s...

Meer afleveringen van The Wild with Chris Morgan

Meer afleveringen