Alexandra Morton - Listening to Whales. What the Orcas Have Taught Us [2002][A]

Book Description
Publication Date: April 30, 2002
In Listening to Whales, Alexandra Morton shares spellbinding stories about her career in whale and dolphin research and what she has learned from and about these magnificent mammals. In the late 1970s, while working at Marineland in California, Alexandra pioneered the recording of orca sounds by dropping a hydrophone into the tank of two killer whales. She recorded the varied language of mating, childbirth, and even grief after the birth of a stillborn calf. At the same time she made the startling observation that the whales were inventing wonderful synchronized movements, a behavior that was soon recognized as a defining characteristic of orca society.
In 1984, Alexandra moved to a remote bay in British Columbia to continue her research with wild orcas. Her recordings of the whales have led her to a deeper understanding of the mystery of whale echolocation, the vocal communication that enables the mammals to find their way in the dark sea. A fascinating study of the profound communion between humans and whales, this book will open your eyes anew to the wonders of the natural world.

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Orca researcher Morton describes her more than 20 years studying the movements and sounds of orcas, the mammals, actually dolphins, commonly known as killer whales, or, regionally, blackfish. After getting her ears wet cataloguing the recordings John Lilly (the author of Man and Dolphin) made of his controversial language experiments with dolphins, Morton turned her own hydrophone on the captive orca pair Orky and Corky, at the now closed Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verde, Calif. Inspired by Jane Goodall as an important but rare model, she soon decided to find wild orcas to record launching her lifelong study of the animals in the coastal waters of British Columbia. She has faced down the inherent difficulty of finding the elusive creatures she studies, the periodic economic uncertainty of life in a remote place and the death of her husband in a diving accident. Throughout her warm, energetic memoir, she relates her work to the strides made by other marine biologists, consistently balancing her open curiosity about the vagaries of mother nature with solid scientific inquiry. In later chapters, her focus turns to the impact of salmon farms on the coastal ecosystem. Morton's rich descriptions of individual orca movements, and how each relates to the species as a whole, course alongside her passionate defense of the ecological balance of the region; she infuses both with just the right amount of personal reflection to make this an engaging tale of a woman's commitment to science and a life well lived.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Morton has spent nearly 20 years studying the language and behavior of the orcas, or killer whales, that roam the waters of British Columbia. The author of two children's books on whales, she is a field scientist in the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Although she does not possess an academic degree in science, she writes eloquently of the orcas' social groupings, strong mother-child bonds, migration patterns, and interactions with humans. Morton also graphically describes the effects of fish farming, logging, development, and whale-watching expeditions on the environment. Her book is primarily of value as an autobiographical document of a determined and highly self-motivated woman rather than a work of scientific popularization like Serge Dedina's Saving the Gray Whale or Dick Russell's Eye of the Whale. Readers will be impressed by the physical hardships of field work, the moving account of the death of her marine photographer husband in a diving mishap, and her stories of rearing her children on shipboard and in an isolated coastal community. Suitable for all public libraries. Judith B. Barnett, Pell Marine Science Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Since the 1970s orcas, or killer whales, have fascinated us. These huge black-and-white dolphins had been feared for millennia, but when they were first captured and their intelligence discovered, they became the darlings of both science and the people. Morton fell under the spell of dolphins after reading pioneer John Lilly's works, and after dropping out of school, she managed to talk her way onto his research team. Pioneering investigations into acoustical communication among orcas led her to the wilds of British Columbia and the research that would fill her life. Describing how the whales are recognized--by the shapes of their fins and their markings and by analyzing their calls, unique to each whale and to each family group--Morton gives the reader a clear view of how she conducts her research. Morton weaves a tremendous amount of whale science into her narrative, teaching the reader what she has learned in years of fieldwork. This is biographical natural history at its best. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Reviews
“[Morton’s] descriptions of [the whales’] lives and their haunting underwater communications are so vivid that they will remain with you long after you have read the last eloquent page.”—JANE GOODALL

“[A] WARM, ENERGETIC MEMOIR . . . An engaging tale of a woman’s commitment to science and a life well lived.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“AN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK ABOUT AN EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN. . . . This is a species that has learned to live in tolerance with each other, and to share in the resources of their world so that all can survive. Would that our species could learn to do the same.”—Hamilton Spectator

“A PASSIONATE MEMOIR BY A TRUE FIELD BIOLOGIST.”—Natural History

“FASCINATING . . .
[Morton’s] writing reflects a deep respect for whales in general and killer whales in particular. The reader will find her regard contagious.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“This book will immerse you in a magical underwater world. It will bring you face to face with some of the most intelligent and mysterious creatures on earth. Alexandra Morton is a meticulous scientist, but she is not afraid to let her love for the whales illuminate her writing, nor her distress and anger at the harm we are inflicting on their world.”—JANE GOODALL

“One of the world’s premier orca researchers . . . Morton has emerged as a champion for the welfare of whales and the preservation of their habitat. Listening to Whales is an unusual and involving tale of a life committed to interspecies communication.”—The Olympian

“[Morton] is field scientist in the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. . . . Readers will be impressed by the physical hardships of field work, the moving account of the death of her marine photographer husband in a diving mishap, and her stories of rearing her children on shipboard and in an isolated coastal community.”—Library Journal

“Morton’s descriptions of individual orca movements, and how each relates to the species as a whole, course alongside her passionate defense of the ecological balance of the region; she infuses both with just the right amount of personal reflection.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Moments of quiet triumph illuminate this absorbing tale.”—Christian Science Monitor

(Selected as One of the Best Books of 2002)

“ABSORBING, MOVING . . .
[Morton’s] book gives us invaluable insight into complex, wonderful creatures. It’s an eloquent testament to one woman’s efforts at interspecies communication.”—The Calgary Sun

“Lyrical . . . Hopeful . . . Listening to Whales is a fascinating journey into the heart of a research scientist captivated by these magnificent creatures.”
—Miami Herald

“Leaves one questioning what we have done to our water-based, spy-hopping, family-loving cohabitants of this planet—and if we have not in the process diminished ourselves.”—The Georgia Straight magazine

“Remarkable . . . An extraordinary tale . . . Fascinating reading . . . Full of both poignant and distressing moments . . . One of the chief pleasures of her book is the straightforward quality of her prose; one finds oneself halfway through the book in the blink of an eye.”—The Grand Rapids Press

“As she wisely points out, what the whales need to survive—clean water, clean air, forests, and salmon—happen to be what we need as well.'—Sierra magazine

“Remarkably diverting . . . In plainspoken prose, Morton relates her work afield . . . She writes of her personal life with unembroidered ease as well, which is extremely powerful.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This is biographical natural history at its best.”—Booklist

About the Author
Born and raised in Connecticut, Alexandra Morton began her career in marine mammal research in 1976, when she moved to California to work for noted dolphin researcher, Dr. John C. Lilly. Since 1984 she has lived on the isolated central British Columbia coast, where she studies and records the language and habits of the various pods of orcas that swim the waters there.