Justin Cox
Velcro Star Eating a Spotted Ratfish in the ...

Check out this velcro star with a spotted ratfish locked in a full nelson! SeaDoc Society scientists Joe Gaydos and Cat Lo came across this scene during a research dive in Howe Sound in British Columbia.

Justin Cox
Training The Trainers at Camp Orkila

Thousands of fifth-graders will cycle through Camp Orkila on Orcas Island this summer to engage with our marine ecosystem. As we round the corner into Spring, the counselors who will guide those kids (5,800 total!) are deep in preparation and training. 

Last week, our team was honored to lead a low-tide beach walk at Camp Orkila to train this year’s Orkila staff. All of the counselors received a signed copy of our best-selling (and award-winning!) book for fifth graders, Explore the Salish Sea: A Nature Guide for Kids. 

Training The Trainers at Camp Orkila
Justin Cox
Rochelle Severson and Kevin Campion Cycle off ...

After a decade of service on the SeaDoc Society’s Board of Directors, Rochelle Severson and Kevin Campion will cycle off, with Board Member Ardi Kveven taking over as Board Chair.

Justin Cox
Farewell Southern Resident IPA & Thank You ...

As I write this, sitting in The Woods taproom where Southern Resident is brewed, Two Beers has donated more than $15,000 in support of the SeaDoc Society’s collaborative work to save Southern Residents. 

Not to mention the story they’ve helped tell on thousands of boxes and cans sold throughout the Pacific Northwest over the last five years. In that initial creative design phase, their team was insistent that the whales’ story and SeaDoc’s mission be clear and prominent on the packaging. 

Farewell Southern Resident IPA & Thank You Two Beers Brewing
Justin Cox
Why are Killer Whales Harassing and Killing ...

For decades, fish-eating killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have been observed harassing and even killing porpoises without consuming them—a perplexing behavior that has long intrigued scientists.

A study published today in Marine Mammal Science, co-led by Deborah Giles of Wild Orca and Sarah Teman of the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, looked at more than 60 years of recorded interactions between Southern Resident killer whales and porpoises in the Salish Sea to better understand why they exhibit this behavior.

Why are Killer Whales Harassing and Killing Porpoises Without Eating Them?

podcast

A Conversation with Markus Naugle, SeaDoc's New Regional Director (AUDIO)

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I had the pleasure of sitting down with Markus Naugle, SeaDoc's new Regional Director, during his recent trip to the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at UC Davis. We had a great conversation about his move to Orcas Island after 10 years of running an educational immersion program in Guatemala, as well as his new role at SeaDoc Society at a time when the organization is aiming to double its scientific impact in the Salish Sea. You can hear our conversation below!

Between Inspiration and the Deep Blue Sea (Podcast)

By Bob Friel

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So how did SeaDoc’s chief scientist Joe Gaydos go from studying lions in Zimbabwe to sea lions in the Salish Sea? Joe recently spoke about his fascinating journey with the hosts of True North Story, a popular podcast that features positive, encouraging tales from authors, artists, entrepreneurs, and other notables about finding their life’s purpose.

Much more accustomed to killer whale pods than motivational podcasts, Joe thought the interview was just going to be about his bestselling book, Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Instead, he found himself pressed with personal questions about how a West Virginia boy descended from a down-to-earth coal miner winds up living on a Northwest island gazing at sea stars.

Joe gamely answers the questions with his characteristic humor—the story of him as a child, bringing home an unidentified and possibly poisonous snake that got loose and bit his sister is alone worth listening to the interview! But he also gives an inspirational account of discovering his love of science and wildlife, and being encouraged to explore wild places from a very young age, and how that ultimately led to his career as a wildlife vet.

Joe also managed to steer the interview away from himself and the times he recklessly endangered family members to get in a lot of good words about the SeaDoc Society, its history, and the important work it’s doing. By the end of the broadcast, the show’s theme neatly wrapped up the lesson of how Joe Gaydos followed his passions to find his purpose in life with the message of how we’re all connected to the environment, and how vital it is for everyone to explore wild places like our Salish Sea, to get to know them, and to become passionate about protecting them.

You can listen to Joe’s podcast with True North Story online, on iTunes or through the player below.