Joining us on this episode is Trevor Branch, a professor at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, to discuss his paper, "Most “flight” baleen whale species are acoustically cryptic to killer whales, unlike “fight” species." The discussion details how baleen whales can be categorized as either "fight" species or "flight" species, based on their responses to killer whale attacks, their vocalizations and other behaviors. We discuss which baleen whales belong in the flight club and which fall into the flight club and why.
He also shares with us information from another paper he authored on a related topic that unravels the mystery of the missing blue whale calves.
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a whale watching tour, please reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book!
You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com. And remember, stay safe out there.
Links from this episode:
- Most “flight” baleen whale species are acoustically cryptic to killer whales, unlike “fight” species: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.13228
- Unravelling the mystery of the missing blue whale calves: https://fish.uw.edu/2025/02/unravelling-the-mystery-of-the-missing-blue-whale-calves/
- Trevor Branch: https://fish.uw.edu/faculty/trevor-branch/
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