![]() She grew up bilingual in German and conversational in French. Away from her pen, Erika runs, skis and enjoys all things ocean and outdoors. She's won many first-place awards from the Los Angeles and Orange County press clubs. Ford Foundation has awarded her coverage of National Defense. She's a three-time award winner from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for telling stories of Marines in local communities. While adept at reporting hard news, she's known for telling human stories of conflict, struggle and joy. Erika has a comprehensive understanding of issues affecting South Orange County communities, including coastal access and the environment, the plight of marine mammal entanglements, water quality, development, local harbors and quality of life in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente. She's reported from Navy ships, Osprey aircraft and training ranges throughout Southern California, explaining national and international warfare tactics and military equipment. She covers military and national defense from West Coast bases to the Pentagon. Related ArticlesĮrika Ritchie is an award-winning staff writer for the Orange County Register and 10 other Southern California News Group newspapers. Schulman-Janiger said the whale, a male, has been documented in the area since 2019. Fossilised evidence of the substance dates back 1.75 million years, and it is likely that humans have been using it for more than 1,000 years. Ambergris has been a unique phenomenon for millennia. The last single sperm whale recorded in the area was off Malibu on Sept. It is produced by sperm whales and has been used for centuries, but for many years its origin remained a mystery. Sperm whales can be identified from a distance by notches in their flukes. She also keeps an eye out for returning whales. Since then, she said she’s not seen another one leaping from the water. That day was also the first time she ever saw a sperm whale. ![]() She was looking for early gray whales when the whale “rocketed up” into her view field. Schulman-Janiger said she witnessed her first breach of a sperm whale off Point Fermin in 1983. Occasionally single or paired males have been seen. “We do not see bachelor pods of male sperm whales here,” she added about the special event it was to see so many together. “To catch a breaching sperm whale is stunning,” she said after seeing photos taken by Trowbridge. Seeing a pod of several sperm whales is very unusual in Southern California and seeing one breach is even a greater rarity, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a marine biologist who founded the American Cetacean Society Los Angeles Chapter’s Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project run at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. Overall Nestor's talk shows us that the wonders of the ocean may be more accessible and relatable than we’d ever imagined them to be.With whaling less of a threat now, their population has improved. Humans can teach themselves echolocation, and in fact he introduces us to a group of young blind man who uses clicks to enable him to ride a bike through the city and tell one object from another. In languages that feature cardinal directions rather than relative ones, native speakers always orient themselves correctly in numerous studies-no compass needed. There’s even more in this talk including evidence of how some humans use extra-sensory capabilities that are employed by sharks and whales: magnetic sensitivity and echolocation. And considering the possibilities of communicating with dolphins and whales is something that Nestor feels strongly about (as he mentioned in an Ignite Talk he gave for us in 02016). When you realize how developed the brains of these creatures are, it’s not surprising that they would have something to say. In fact they send clicks (recordings of which Nestor plays onstage) which are used for communication, not geolocation. And the whales amazingly reorient themselves as if to start a conversation. They can swim within feet of these giant mammals. Nestor explains how citizen scientist freedivers interact with sperm whales and other sea life in ways that are not possible using other technologies. For experienced freedivers a “master switch” flips and they are able to handle the pressure and their body automatically ration oxygen to safely extend their time below.īut free diving is only the beginning. ![]() Nestor explains that the human body actually adapts in real time as it reaches depths where we’d expect it to be crushed. In DEEP: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells us about Ourselves James Nestor follows extreme athletes, adventurers, and scientists as they plumb the limits of the ocean's depths and uncover startling discoveries that, in many cases, redefine our understanding of the ocean and ourselves.įreedivers dive without scuba gear, holding their breath longer than had been thought humanly possible, and thus confirming the legendary feats of Japanese pearl divers.
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