Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
My Research and Projects
Sit with Him
Sit with Him is the name of a ten-minute-play written and directed by me and produced with the help of the Summit Theatre Company. SWH is a fictionalized piece following the real-life events of July 28th, 2021, on San Juan Island, when 35 year old male K-21 Cappuccino was seen in the worst body condition ever recorded in a living killer whale. He was near death. The play was performed as part of the Weather the Weather showcase in May 2022. It was my honor to create it.
Monterey Bay, November 2021
During the fall break of my senior year of high school, my family and I traveled to Monterey Bay, California, and got to experience the amazing local wildlife. The aquarium is of course amazing, and we could see many shorebird species and sea otters from shore, but the best part of our trip was our tour of the bay with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, where I met their lead naturalist, Colleen Taltry, who couldn't have been nicer. On the trip, we saw CA171B Fatfin and CA169 Tofina, as well as a pair of lunge feeding humpback whales, and so much more. It was totally incredible.
Friday Harbor, March 2021
Over the spring break of my junior year of high school, I (fully vaccinated and masked) traveled to Friday Harbor, Washington, with my family. It was my first time back to the islands since I started studying whales. I got to visit The Whale Museum and the Center for Whale Research Education and Outreach Center.
I also got to visit places I'd only read about, like Lime Kiln, Cattle Point, False Bay, Haro Strait, the and Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was surreal. I went whale watching over at Maya's Legacy Whale Watching and we saw a gray whale out on the south end of Lopez Island. I didn't see any killers, but I knew they were there. They're always there.
My Research
As you can see on this website, I do quite a bit of research, with articles, catalogues, etc. However, on a day to day basis, I mostly work with photographs of wild whales in the Salish Sea, Southern Residents and Bigg's Transient killer whales. I have a photo database, which I have maintained since August 2019. The database has about 5,500 photos in it at the moment. I source my photos from Orca Network's reports, the Center for Whale Research's encounters, and from All Aboard Sailing and Orca Spirit Adventures. I use the following organizational system.
Orca Network photos: Whale alphanumeric designation, adoptive name, month abbreviated, day, year. Example: J56 Tofino Jan 1 2021.
Center for Whale Research photos: Whale alphanumeric designation, encounter number, month abbreviated, day, year. Example: J56 Tofino #1 Jan 1 2021
All Aboard Sailing photos: Whale alphanumeric designation, AAS, month abbreviated, day, year. Example: J56 Tofino AAS Jan 1 2021.
I also use colored tags to catalogue whale behaviors. That key is as follows.
Red: Spyhopping
Orange: Eye patches
Yellow: Breaching
Green: Dorsal fin only
Blue: Pectoral slaps
Purple: Tail Slaps
Gray: kelping/hunting/pink snaking
Currently, this database exists on my laptop and on a backup thumb drive. I update the database almost every day. This is the most key facet of my research. If you would like to see it, message me and we can talk. I would love to share it, but it is my baby, and I would like to protect my hard work!
K44 Ripple breaching next to J27 Blackberry. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu.
National Science Honors Society
Recently, I was asked to be a guest speaker at a meeting of my school's chapter of the National Science Honors Society. This was a huge honor, and I prepared a presentation & slides. It's small, but I was so excited to have the opportunity. This presentation was given on January 4th, 2020, and you can watch it below!
I recorded this with the microphone in my laptop, so the audio isn't magnificent, but it works for my purposes. I also have an OR accent, so if you're not from the United States, I am sorry about that, haha.
J37 Hy'shqa. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu.