Jessica Farrer–a marine biologist who serves as Research Director at The Whale Museum, and part of the team of scientists working temporarily in Antarctica Peninsula, profiled in “Expedition Killer Whale,” a new installment of the PBS series “Nature”—recalls growing up landlocked in Colorado, moving as soon as possible to Washington state.
Speaking in a “Talking Animals” interview from aboard a ship while crossing the Drake Passage en route to Antarctica, Farrer recounts the genesis of her passion for creatures of the sea (in an Instagram post, she wrote “I’ve always been a fish nerd”), noting a pivotal, early scientific experience was analyzing the scat of harbor seals, while another early job was assessing catches at an Alaskan fishery.
Mentioning that she began traveling to Antarctica in 2009, Farrer outlines the various types of killer whales found in the area, notably including the B1 Killer Whales (also known as pack-ice killer whales) that constitute the focus of “Expedition Killer Whale.”
Unique to Antarctica, with a population numbering about 100 whales—a figure that’s dwindling each year—Farrer describes how pack-ice killer whales are singular, particularly for the way they hunt, capture, and share their prey: a small group of them join forces and carry out what appears to be a pre-determined strategy (and revised on the fly), swimming in formation to create huge, precise waves that can wash a seal off floating hunks of ice.
This is called “wave washing.” Scientists have long been fascinated by this hunting technique, and “Expedition Killer Whale” represents the first footage documenting this unusual behavior.
Her aim in joining this odyssey was a desire to learn more about Antarctica’s top predator, its prey and the ecosystem. She shares her experiences having done so in a distinctive way: collecting and
analyzing the whales’ poop, in order to help determine information about their health and environment, including what impact climate change may be having.
Farrer provides an overview of The Whale Museum, a 40-year-old, multifaceted nonprofit organization in Friday Harbor, Washington for which she serves as Research Director. ,
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