Danna Staaf: On Alien Octopuses, Squid Squads and Why Baby Animals Rule

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Cephalopod expert Danna Staaf (author of The Lady and the Octopus and Monarchs of the Sea) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about the alien world of octopuses, the secret lives of squid and her two new books Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World and The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives: A Natural History of Cephalopods. “They are definitely our fellow earthlings and some of the oddest ones we share the planet with.”

Shownotes:

3:20 Meet Danna Staaf. “They are extremely intelligent animals with extremely short life-spans.”

6:12 Meet Danna Staaf’s first pet octopus – Serendipity.

12:32 “There’s this tension between the alien and the familiar in them.” And octopus decor…

13:50 “They are definitely our fellow earthlings and some of the oddest ones we share the planet with.”

15:49 How and why cephalopods lost their shells.

22:15 The difference between octopus and squid. “Squid basically evolved for swimming and for speed.”

25:10 “Cephalopods are amazing.”

27:13 “These are real animals that inspired a lot of myths and legends.”

28:35 “Squid are like the protein bars of the oceans.”

31:30 Squid squads!

32:36 Baby animals doot doot doot doot – Danna Staff’s new baby book!

34:31 “At any given moment, most of the animals on earth are babies… I find all of them to be adorable in their own ways.”

41:20 Her favourite odd octopus facts… donut brains!

42:17 “I love asking what if questions about nature and about science.”

44:20 How humans are threatening octopuses and the health of the oceans.

Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.
Danna Staff Author Photo_credit Josh Weaver
Danna Staff Author Photo – credit Josh Weaver
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Jason Colby: On the Capture of Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and How Penn Cove Almost Ended the Southern Resident Orcas

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Jason Colby (author of Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean’s Greatest Predator) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about the capture of Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and how Penn Cove almost ended the southern resident orcas and was the beginning of the end of the capture era. “It’s worth remembering that the argument at the time, if there could have been a debate at the time, it was really between whale catching and whale shooting, not whale catching and whale watching.”

Shownotes:

0:00 The voice of Toki.

4:08 Jason Colby on writing the book – or at least a very long chapter of his book – on Penn Cove.

6:05 “They eventually capture virtually all of these orcas behind nets. They estimate at the time around 90 individuals… The estimates vary but almost certainly the entire population of the Southern residents.”

7:43 “It’s worth remembering that the argument at the time, if there could have been a debate at the time, it was really between whale catching and whale shooting, not whale catching and whale watching.”

8:50 “Once they rounded them up, 90 to 100 animals, if Ted Griffin and his company would have wanted to and would have had the market to sell all 90 of them they could have done that. If they had wanted to shoot them all in the nets, they could have done that. There may have been a firearms violation, but there would be no sort of conservation law violation.”

10:30 “This must have been horrifically traumatic for these pods to be torn apart.”

11:20 How activists trying to free the orcas accidentally kill four baby orcas.

12:20 Hiding the bodies… “Whether it was illegal or not, it looks like a murder scene.”

14:20 Is Toki really L Pod or did she learn how to speak L Pod from Hugo in Miami?

20:04 “It was a generational loss.”

21:20 “If Griffin had done what the fisherman who was helping him demanded – which is to sell all of them all – you could have seen the entire population of Southern residents extinguished before we had even identified them scientifically as a population.”

23:00 How to help orcas today and the problems humans are creating for orcas today.

26:04 Toki talks.

Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.
Jason Colby from Mark Leiren-Young’s award-winning documentary The Hundred Year-Old Whale
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Howard Garrett: On the Life and Death of the Orca Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut

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Howard Garrett (Orca Network) remembering the southern resident orca Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and his nearly thirty year fight to bring Toki home to the Salish Sea. “Toki’s legacy is building, building, building by the day… She wasn’t just a circus animal. She was a member of the southern residents.”

Shownotes:

0:00 The voice of Toki.
4:57 How Howard started fighting to bring Toki home

7:50 “I really feel like she would have thrived and been thrilled and so relieved to be in her familiar waters.”

14:16 A superpod wake for Toki?

15:55 The Lummi Nation’s fight for Toki.

20:05  The origins of Toki’s names and becoming Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut.

21:44 “Her tank violated the very dismal standard of the animal welfare act…”

30:15 Getting the news that she was gone.

34:00 Toki’s legacy.

43:00 Toki speaks.

Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.
Howard Garrett at a marine conference in Vancouver in 2017
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Rowena Rae on How We Can Save Salmon, the Fish Farm Jail-Break & Unlocking the Mysteries of a Keystone Species

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Author and biologist Rowena Rae on swimming with salmon, threats to this essential species and their incredible resilience with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young. “Salmon can thrive if we just give them a chance… if people would just get out of the way, they can thrive”.

Shownotes:

3:54 On becoming a biologist and leaving biology for writing.
7:12 Introducing young readers to the story of Rachel Carson.

9:20 Introducing Rachel Carson and the importance of Silent Spring.

12:20 Swimming with salmon.

14:07 Keystone species and why they matter.

19:oo  Humans Vs. Salmon; almost everything eats salmon  — salmon as “eco-system engineers”.

23:44 How to save Chinook salmon.

26:09 The fish farm jail-break in Washington State.

28:50 On the resilience of nature and salmon, and why to have hope. “They’re tenacious, they hang on … salmon can thrive if we just give them a chance”.

31:30 How we can help salmon.

Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.

Rowena Rae – author of Salmon: Swimming for Survival

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Alessandro De Maddalena on Hunting for the Perfect Shark Photo and the Orcas Hunting Great White Sharks

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Shark expert Alessandro De Maddalena talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about hunting for the perfect shark photo, the two orcas who are hunting great white sharks in South African waters, what makes great whites great and so much more! “The reason I love sharks is that they are a perfect art form. I consider Mother Nature the greatest artist.”

Shownotes:

4:22 How Alessandro De Maddalena fell for sharks as a kid and why sharks are cooler than dinosaurs.
9:00 Why he thinks the great white is great: “the first time I was watching a great white underwater it was magic… The reason I love sharks is that they are a perfect art form. I consider Mother Nature the greatest artist.”
13:10 Perfect predators and perfect book titles.
17:01 How little sharks care about humans. “Sharks care very little about humans. In most cases they don’t care at all.”
21:40 “The fear was born with Jaws…”
27:50 “People like to be afraid. People like monsters. People also like to create monsters.”
28:44 Leading Great White Shark expeditions.
33:40 His three best moments with sharks.
37:15 The truth behind the orcas attacking sharks in South Africa. No they are not a major threat to the great white shark population!
Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.

Alessandro De Maddalena

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Alessandro De Maddalena image – featured in Mark Leiren-Young’s book Sharks Forever

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Thanatologist Kriss Kevorkian on Environmental Grief, Coping with Covid & the Importance of Laughing During a Pandemic

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Thanatologist Kriss Kevorkian (@agrievingworld) talks about environmental grief, coping with covid, why we need to laugh at tragedy and much more with Skaana (@skaanapod) host Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung). Kriss came up with the terms “environmental grief” and “ecological grief” and she developed these concepts by working with people working for the southern resident orcas.

“I help support people who are dealing with environmental grief or ecological grief, or just the grief that people are feeling from all the chaos in the world today.”

“If a corporation can have rights, I think Mother Nature should.”

Please join the virtual book launch for Orcas of the Salish Sea – for elementary school students – and the board book Big Whales, Small World – May 1 2020 at noon PST on Facebook Live courtesy of the National Arts Centre of Canada and #CanadaPerforms.

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Join the Pod…… https://www.patreon.com/skanna

Skaana home….. skaana.org

“Your Magical Week” – meditation with Rayne Benu…. digital-enlightenment.net

Facebook……….. https://www.facebook.com/skaanapod/

Twitter…………… https://twitter.com/skaanapod

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q 

Orcas Everywhere… http://www.orcaseverywhere.com


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Links:

Legal rights for the Salish Sea: http://legalrightsforthesalishsea.org/
The Climate Reality Project: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/ 
Global Earth Repair Foundation: https://globalearthrepairfoundation.org/

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Erich Hoyt on Strange Sea Creatures, Russian Whales and Cosmic Orcas

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Erich Hoyt (@erichhoyt) on his fight to end Russia’s orca trade, strange sea creatures, whale watching, cosmic orcas and more with Skaana (@Skaanapod) host Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung). Erich’s books include: Orca The Whale Called Killer; The Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises; Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises; Weird Sea Creatures and many, many more. This is our first two-part episode… in part one Erich talks about how he and the world fell in love with orcas.

“I would like to see thirty percent of the ocean designated as effective marine protected areas by 2030.”

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Join the Pod…… https://www.patreon.com/skaana

Skaana home….. skaana.org

Facebook……….. https://www.facebook.com/skaanapod/

Twitter…………… https://twitter.com/skaanapod

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q 

Orcas Everywhere… http://www.orcaseverywhere.com

Links:

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Erich Hoyt on Protecting the Oceans, Listening to Whales and the Origins of Our Love Affair with Orcas

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Erich Hoyt (@erichhoyt) – the man who wrote the book on Orcas (almost all the books) – talks about how he and the world learned about orcas, saving our oceans and more with Skaana (@Skaanpod) host Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung). Erich’s books include: Orca The Whale Called Killer; The Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises; Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises; Weird Sea Creatures and much, much more. This is our first two-part episode… in part two Erich shares his adventures in fighting the Russian orca trade, his thoughts on how to whale-watch and stories of strange sea creatures.

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Join the Pod…… https://www.patreon.com/skaana

Skaana home….. skaana.org

Facebook……….. https://www.facebook.com/skaanapod/

Twitter…………… https://twitter.com/skaanapod

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q 

Orcas Everywhere… http://www.orcaseverywhere.com

Links:

Whales Through a New Lens: Forty years ago, the world’s whale researchers met in Indiana. The now legendary, but nearly forgotten, meeting changed the way scientists and the public see whales—and it all started with a few photographs. Erich Hoyt in The Hakai https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/whales-through-new-lens/

Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises by Erich Hoyt Book Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxw1ejd_E2Q


‘I’m always optimistic, I have to be.’ Author recalls early orca research amid book tour https://www.knkx.org/post/i-m-always-optimistic-i-have-be-author-recalls-early-orca-research-amid-book-tour


White killer whales were a legend – now they are everywhere https://www.newscientist.com/article/2105254-white-killer-whales-were-a-legend-now-they-are-everywhere/

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Skaana 2020 Vision & Skana with Leah Abramson

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Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung) kicks off 2020 with a new vision and our amazing new theme song – Skana – by our special guest Leah Abramson (@abramsonsingers). Find out about her awesome album of songs for and about whales Songs For a Lost Pod.

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Join the Pod…… https://www.patreon.com/skaana

Skaana home….. skaana.org

“Your Magical Week” – meditation with Rayne Benu…. digital-enlightenment.net

Facebook……….. https://www.facebook.com/skaanapod/

Twitter…………… https://twitter.com/skaanapod

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q 

Orcas Everywhere… http://www.orcaseverywhere.com


Check out our new theme song on YouTube:

Links:

The voices of an orca pod helped Leah Abramson process grief for her lost family — in song: https://www.cbc.ca/arts/exhibitionists/the-voices-of-an-orca-pod-helped-leah-abramson-process-grief-for-her-lost-family-in-song-1.4805477

Inspired by the haunting calls of marine mammals, Vancouver musician Leah Abramson has found her pod: https://www.straight.com/music/887526/inspired-haunting-calls-marine-mammals-vancouver-musician-leah-abramson-has-found-her

This Video Of A Beluga Whale Trying To Play With A Sea Gull Is The Cutest Thing You’ll See Today: https://digg.com/video/this-video-of-a-beluga-whale-trying-to-play-with-a-sea-gull-is-the-cutest-thing-youll-see-today

Spy Beluga Plays with a Seagull: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-o4jWvMtcU 

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