David Crooks 🏳️‍🌈Jun 16, 2023
disquiet

RIP to a great one, Dr. Roger Payne, who helped discover singing as a form of communication among whales. I had the opportunity to interview him at length early on in the pandemic for a long-form writing project I'm still in the midst of. He was sharp, funny, and generous. He leaves behind an incredible legacy of acoustic ecology. We have a richer sense of life on our planet because of his life's work.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/science/roger-payne-dead.html

Roger Payne, Biologist Who Heard Whales Singing, Dies at 88

His underwater microphones recorded “Songs of the Humpback Whale,” inspiring a movement that led to national and international bans on commercial whaling.

The New York Times
Jun 15, 2023 at 4:33pmWeb
Show threadskryJun 16, 2023

@disquiet His last essay,
"I Spent My Life Saving the Whales. Now They Might Save Us”
https://time.com/6284884/whale-scientist-last-please-save-the-species/

#gratitude #whales #whalesong #ClimateCatastrophe

I Spent My Life Saving the Whales. Now They Might Save Us

Over 50 years ago Roger Payne discovered that whales sing. Now he has an urgent plea for the world as he confronts his own mortality.

Time
Show threadMurray LangJun 16, 2023
@disquiet There was a very thin 45rpm record of that in National Geographic. That's lost, but fortunately I still have a cassette recording I made of it somewhere. Sensational stuff. The sped up singing that sounds exactly like birds chirping was a revelation to me.