
Link to Episode on YouTube Here!
Episode Sources:
⇢Black, Nancy A, et al. “Mammal Hunting Killer Whales off Monterey, California: A 30-Year Synthesis.” Fascinating Life Sciences, 1 Jan. 2023, pp. 283–333, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_8.
⇢Ford, John KB, et al. “Dietary Specialization in Two Sympatric Populations of Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) in Coastal British Columbia and Adjacent Waters.” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 76, no. 8, 1 Aug. 1998, pp. 1456–1471, https://doi.org/10.1139/z98-089.
⇢Saulitis, Eva, et al. “FORAGING STRATEGIES of SYMPATRIC KILLER WHALE (ORCINUS ORCA) POPULATIONS in PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA.” Marine Mammal Science, vol. 16, no. 1, Jan. 2000, pp. 94–109, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00906.x. Accessed 20 Nov. 2019.
⇢Filatova, Olga A., et al. “Call Diversity in the North Pacific Killer Whale Populations: Implications for Dialect Evolution and Population History.” Animal Behaviour, vol. 83, no. 3, Mar. 2012, pp. 595–603, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.013.
⇢Filatova, Olga A., et al. “Social Complexity and Cultural Transmission of Dialects in Killer Whales.” Behaviour, vol. 154, no. 2, 2017, pp. 171–194, https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003417.
⇢Hanson, MB, et al. “Species and Stock Identification of Prey Consumed by Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales in Their Summer Range.” Endangered Species Research, vol. 11, 11 Mar. 2010, pp. 69–82, https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00263.
⇢Dahlheim, Marilyn E., et al. “Eastern Temperate North Pacific Offshore Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca): Occurrence, Movements, and Insights into Feeding Ecology.” Marine Mammal Science, vol. 24, no. 3, July 2008, pp. 719–729, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00206.x.
⇢McInnes, Josh D, et al. “Foraging Behaviour and Ecology of Transient Killer Whales within a Deep Submarine Canyon System.” PLOS ONE, vol. 19, no. 3, 20 Mar. 2024, pp. e0299291–e0299291, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291.
⇢Ford, JKB, et al. “Shark Predation and Tooth Wear in a Population of Northeastern Pacific Killer Whales.” Aquatic Biology, vol. 11, no. 3, 6 Jan. 2011, pp. 213–224, https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00307.
⇢Wright, BM, et al. “Dietary Specialization on Elasmobranchs and Seasonal Foraging Patterns of Offshore Killer Whales Orcinus Orca in the Northeastern Pacific.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 763, 24 Apr. 2025, pp. 171–196, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14876.
⇢Morin, Phillip A., and Frederick I. Archer. “Complete Mitochondrial Genome Phylogeographic Analysis of Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) Indicates Multiple Species.” Genome Research, vol. 20, no. 7, 1 July 2010, pp. 908–916, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892092/, https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.102954.109.
⇢Tixier, Paul, et al. “Depredation of Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus Eleginoides) by Two Sympatrically Occurring Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Ecotypes: Insights on the Behavior of the Rarely Observed Type D Killer Whales.” Marine Mammal Science, vol. 32, no. 3, 7 Feb. 2016, pp. 983–1003, https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12307
⇢Guinet, C., et al. “Killer Whale Predation on Bluefin Tuna: Exploring the Hypothesis of the Endurance-Exhaustion Technique.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 347, 11 Oct. 2007, pp. 111–119, www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v347/p111-119/, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035.
⇢de Bruyn, P. J. N., et al. “Killer Whale Ecotypes: Is There a Global Model?” Biological Reviews, vol. 88, no. 1, 9 Aug. 2012, pp. 62–80, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185x.2012.00239.x. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.
⇢NOAA Fisheries. “Killer Whale.” NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries, 14 Jan. 2025, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale.
⇢SeaWorld. “All about Killer Whales - Scientific Classification | SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.” Seaworld.org, 2019, seaworld.org/animals/all-about/killer-whale/classification/.
⇢“CWR - Orca.” CWR, www.whaleresearch.com/copy-of-about-orcas.
⇢Seward, Mailing Address: PO Box 1727, and AK 99664 Phone: 907 422-0500 Contact Us. “Orca (Killer Whale) - Kenai Fjords National Park (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov, www.nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/orca.htm.
⇢Morgan, Chris. Digital Dr. Dolittle: Decoding Animal Conversations with Artificial Intelligence, 28 Mar. 2023, www.thewildpod.org/episodes.
⇢Pardo, Michael A., et al. “African Elephants Address One Another with Individually Specific Name-like Calls.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 8, 10 June 2024, pp. 1–12, www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02420-w, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02420-w.
⇢Antunes, Ricardo, et al. “Individually Distinctive Acoustic Features in Sperm Whale Codas.” Animal Behaviour, vol. 81, no. 4, Apr. 2011, pp. 723–730, whitelab.biology.dal.ca/hw/Antunes_et_al_2011.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.019. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.
⇢Sharma, Pratyusha, et al. “Contextual and Combinatorial Structure in Sperm Whale Vocalisations.” Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, 7 May 2024, p. 3617, www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47221-8#citeas, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47221-8.
⇢Vergara, Valeria, and Marie‐Ana Mikus. “Contact Call Diversity in Natural Beluga Entrapments in an Arctic Estuary: Preliminary Evidence of Vocal Signatures in Wild Belugas.” Marine Mammal Science, vol. 35, no. 2, 27 Oct. 2018, pp. 434–465, https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12538. Accessed 4 Oct. 2021.
⇢Pilleri, Giorgio. “Adaptation to Water and the Evolution of Echolocation in the Cetacea.” Ethology Ecology & Evolution, vol. 2, no. 2, July 1990, pp. 135–163, https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.1990.9525482.
⇢Price, Jo. “What Is Echolocation and Which Animals Use It?” Www.discoverwildlife.com, 19 May 2022, www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/what-is-echolocation.
⇢Rice, Dale W. “Spermaceti.” Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2009, pp. 1098–1099, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-373553-9.00250-9.
⇢“Macrocephaly or “Big Head” | Department of Neurosurgery.” Department of Neurosurgery, 22 Jan. 2019, www.med.unc.edu/neurosurgery/services/pedsneuro/macrocephaly-or-big-head/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢Sperm Whales ~ MarineBio Conservation Society. 2017, www.marinebio.org/species/sperm-whales/physeter-macrocephalus/.
⇢“Bowhead Whale.” Ocean Conservancy, 2017, oceanconservancy.org/wildlife-library/bowhead-whale/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢NOAA Fisheries. “Minke Whale.” Noaa.gov, 2016, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/minke-whale.
⇢“The Naming of Things: The Disorder of the Order of Whale Names.” Whale Tales, 10 Jan. 2021, whale-tales.org/the-naming-of-things-the-order-of-whale-names/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢US. “What Makes the Right Whale “Right”?” Noaa.gov, 2008, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/rtwhale.html.
⇢NOAA Fisheries. “Interesting Facts about North Pacific Right Whales.” NOAA, 2024, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/interesting-facts-about-north-pacific-right-whales.
⇢“Status Summaries.” Iwc.int, 2024, iwc.int/about-whales/intro-to-population-status/status-of-whales-text-summaries
⇢“Minke Whale.” Institute of Marine Research, 2019, www.hi.no/en/hi/temasider/species/minke-whale. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
Image Sources:
⇢Whale Family Tree: Hooker, Sascha K., and Andreas Fahlman. “Studying Dolphin Physiology.” The Physiology of Dolphins, 2024, pp. 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-90516-9.00014-2. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢Dolphin Family Tree: Zaeschmar, Jochen. FALSE KILLER WHALES (PSEUDORCA CRASSIDENS) in NEW ZEALAND WATERS. 2014, www.researchgate.net/publication/280720668_False_killer_whales_in_New_Zealand_waters
⇢Sleeper Shark Images: “Pacific Sleeper Shark - Somniosus Pacificus.” Shark Research Institute, www.sharks.org/pacific-sleeper-shark-somniosus-pacificus.
⇢Killer Whale Ecotypes: NOAA Fisheries. “Killer Whale and Beaked Whale Posters.” NOAA, 2024, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/outreach-and-education/killer-whale-and-beaked-whale-posters.
⇢Sperm Whale: The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Sperm Whale | Size, Teeth, Diet, Habitat, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Oct. 2018, www.britannica.com/animal/sperm-whale
⇢Echolocation diagram: SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. “All about Killer Whales - Communication & Echolocation | SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.” Seaworld.org, 2019, seaworld.org/animals/all-about/killer-whale/communication/.
⇢Sperm whale and giant squid: “Giant Squid vs. Sperm Whale | Smithsonian Ocean.” Ocean.si.edu, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/giant-squid-vs-sperm-whale.
⇢Sperm whale cartoon adapted from: “Simple Sea Ocean Mammal Predator Cartoon Vinyl Sticker (2" Tall, Sperm Whale) : Amazon.in: Home Improvement.” Amazon.in, 2026, www.amazon.in/Simple-Mammal-Predator-Cartoon-Sticker/dp/B07K2VDS5K. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢Bowhead whale: NOAA Fisheries. “Bowhead Whale | NOAA Fisheries.” NOAA, 30 Dec. 2019, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/bowhead-whale.
⇢Right Whale: “Right Whale | Size, Diet, & Habitat | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com, www.britannica.com/animal/right-whale.
⇢Minke compared to fin and blue whales: “Fjordic Fin Whales.” Save Our Seas Foundation, 28 July 2020, saveourseas.com/update/fjordic-fin-whales/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
⇢Free Willy: “Free Willy | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere.” Moviesanywhere.com, moviesanywhere.com/movie/free-willy.
⇢Minke compared to Byrdes and Sei: Davila, Cesar Medina. “Diverse Types of Whale: Facts and Images of Each Species.” Wildlife Nomads, 13 Aug. 2025, www.wildlifenomads.com/blog/guide-types-of-whale/.