Dr. Joe Gaydos: "Orca Health Database"

09/21/18 • 24 min

Dr. Joe Gaydos is a veterinarian and scientist with SeaDoc Society. He worked closely on an intervention to save J50, the sickly and starving young Southern Resident killer whale who recently died. Dr. Gaydos is currently compiling a health database for the Southern Resident orcas in order to inform both policy surrounding the whales as well as any future efforts focused on individual survival. Dr. Gaydos also sits on Governor Inslee's Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery Task Force.

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Sen. Kevin Ranker: "Extinction Is Not An Option"

Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island) sits on the task force created by Governor Inslee to save the Southern Resident killer whales from extinction. He says the whales have faced the same challenges for decades while those in charge did nothing, but he's more hopeful these days thanks to public outcry. He says "extinction is not an option."

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Sam Wasser: "Poop & Poaching"

Sam Wasser is the Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. He is a poop expert. His studies of Southern Resident killer whale scat has given scientists unprecedented knowledge of their health, such as how stress hormones affect miscarriages. He's using the same focus on poop to help curb the illegal trafficking of ivory.