During the entire month of August, the Block Island Maritime Institute hosted online talks each week called Tuesday Talks for scientists, conservationists and artists to share their studies and research. The first Tuesday Talk commenced on Tuesday, Aug. 4 and the last talk occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The following stories below are from the four talks hosted by BIMI:
Culture helps animals get along and live
First Tuesday Talk on Aug. 4: Dr. Carl Safina
Renowned ecologist and author Dr. Carl Safina gave the first virtual talk hosted by BIMI. The talk was based on his new book, “Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace.”
“In the book I follow three species: sperm whales in the Caribbean Islands, scarlet macaws in the Amazon rainforest, and chimpanzees in Uganda,” said Safina. He shared insight into two of the three species from his book.
Sperm whales were found to carry a family-oriented culture, with the females serving as matriarchs, or leaders of the family.
“They have a babysitting culture, a female-led family – sperm whales have a social organization similar to African elephants. The females stay together for their entire lives, and males leave
