The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas

by Hanne Strager, Paul Nicklen (Foreword/Photographer)

Experience the hauntingly beautiful world of orcas, and discover the stories that unfold when humans enter oceans alongside them.

Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award by the NOBA Foundation, Honorable mention for the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Awards by the Northland College

When intrepid biology student Hanne Strager volunteered to be the cook on a small research vessel in Norway's Lofoten Islands, the trip inspired a decades-long journey into the lives of killer whales—and an exploration of people's complex relationships with the biggest predators on earth. The Killer Whale Journals chronicles the now internationally renowned science writer's fascinating adventures around the world, documenting Strager's personal experiences with orcas in the wild.

Killer whales' incredible intelligence, long life spans, and strong family bonds lead many people to see them as kindred spirits in the sea. But not everyone feels this way—like wolves, orcas have been both beloved and vilified throughout human history. In this absorbing odyssey, Strager traces the complicated relationship between humans and killer whales, while delving into their behavior, biology, and ecology. She brings us along in her travels to the most remote corners of the world, battling the stormy Arctic seas of northern Norway with fellow biologists intent on decoding whale-song, interviewing First Nations conservationists in Vancouver, observing Inuit hunters in Greenland, and witnessing the dismantling of black market "whale jails" in the Russian wilderness of Kamchatka. Through these captivating stories, Strager introduces us to a diverse cast of characters from Inuit elders to Australian Aboriginal whalers and guides us through the world's wild waters, from fjords above the Arctic circle in Norway to the poaching-infested waters off Kamchatka. Featuring astonishing photographs from famed nature photographer and conservationist Paul Nicklen, The Killer Whale Journals reveals rare and intimate moments of connection with these fierce, brilliant predators.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Nature, Natural History, Wildlife, Science Nature

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2023

About the author

I am a biologist and science writer - and a passionate reader. After graduating from the Aarhus University, Denmark, I studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a Fulbright Scholar.

Many years ago I cofounded a whale center in northern Norway and I remain involved in cetacean research and conservation. I have served as the director of exhibitions at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and has twenty years’ experience making science and natural history accessible to the general public.

I have been awarded the Copenhagen University Natural Sciences Faculty’s prize for science communication.

Reviews

[Persephone's Pomegranate]

You had me at 'orcas.'

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engrossing read about killer whales and human relationship with them in Norway, Iceland, Australia, Russia, Greenland, and the Pacific Northwest.

Some of these populations aren't written about often, so I was thrilled to learn a bit more about them - and Hanne Strager doesn't disappoint in this aspect.

In the context of orca literature published before, too, The Killer Whale Journals is really refreshing, relying predominantly on Strager's experience and interviews.


Further reading about killer whales in Norway:
Norwegian Killer Whales

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hanne Strager is an amazingly talented storyteller. This book takes you around the world sharing accounts of different peoples and cultures relationships with orcas. I love non-fiction books that are written in such an engaging way that they wrap you up inside them. This book is as much an anthropological and sociological study as it is biology, ecology, and animal behavior. It’s a page turner and gives such interesting perspective on the relationships people can build with nature/animals. At 229 pages, it’s a quick read. I highly recommend it!

[Inês Filipa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not recommend this book enough.. It was very weird in an amazing way the way I came across this book.. I was writing a proposal for a corse about the killer whales of the straight of Gibraltar when, while searching for literature and admitably procrastinating a bit.. I stumbled across this piece and without even thinking wether or not to.. I had already ordered it.. It was due 3 days later.. And that wait was very difficult.. Even if I still had no idea what the book was about.. Read nothing about it.. No review.. But I had a feeling.. The day after ordering it I had to prepare a 3 minute pitch for the fake grant me and my colleagues were applying to.. The put h went very well and once I got home.. The best finally for that day was to find out that the book had arrived.. Haven't read a book so quickly in years.. It was just waht I needed.. But besides this.. The incredible thing.. As I was reading my first reaction was to the description of first seeing a whale or dolphin.. Spot on.. Then, one of the last sentences in chapter one (if I am not mistaken) was almost exactly what I had Said to end my pitch with the day before.. And now juts as I was finishing the book.. To my surprise and appreciation.. The stars of my pitch were mentioned.. And once again.. The angle of the description of the encounters was very similar to mine.. Don't really know what to make of this coincidences or what ever they can be called.. Other than the fact that I really want to meet the auther and work with killer whales..
P. S. Cried way too much

Thank you for this amazing piece

[Juny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro es una joya oculta que no puede ignorarse ni olvidarse una vez descubierta. Es una de las mejores obras que he tenido el privilegio de leer. La historia es fascinante y adictiva y te atrapa desde la primera página. Strager tiene un talento especial para conectar historias y para crear un mundo tan detallado que te sientes parte de él. Hacía mucho tiempo que no me sumergía tanto en un libro.

El libro habla de las orcas, mostrando su belleza y su poder, y documentando su compleja realidad. Parece que viajas por el mundo, visitando lugares como Noruega, Australia, Rusia, Canadá y Groenlandia, y se te presenta la vida de las orcas y la relación que los humanos han tenido con ellas, tanto en el pasado como en el presente. Strager comparte historias que abren un mundo nuevo, mostrando la belleza oculta en el océano.

Las orcas, a menudo incomprendidas y juzgadas precipitadamente, se presentan bajo una nueva luz en este libro. Las historias generan respeto, comprensión y admiración por estas criaturas y su entorno acuático. Sin duda, este libro merece cinco estrellas. Es un regalo para quienes sienten la llamada del océano y desean aprender más sobre las orcas y nuestra relación con ellas.

- - -

Nota: Como advertencia para algunos, el libro trata principalmente de nuestra relación histórica con las orcas contada a través de las historias y experiencias de la propia autora y de otras personas, pasadas y presentes, más que de «ciencia rigurosa» sobre estas ballenas. Por supuesto, también hay ciencia, mucha ciencia, en el libro. Aun así, Hanne Strager no decepciona con su forma de contar estas diferentes historias.

[Superstine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spekkhoggere er og forblir favorittdyret mitt.
Denne handler mer om menneskers forhold til spekkhoggere enn om selve dyret. Lærte mer enn jeg trodde! Kunne gjerne hatt mer om spekkhoggere i fangenskap, men tror det var utelatt med vilje

[Freja H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinerende og smukke dyr💙 Min drøm er at se spækhuggere i naturen en dag

[Bethany Shimasaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a treat to read. Strager highlights and talks about killer whales from multiple different countries and communities in an engaging and informative way. She makes these stories personal and pulls from her own experiences and the experiences of those she meets. As someone deeply embedded in the whale watching community in the San Juan Islands, it was fascinating to read about other killer whales in Norway, Iceland and Russia that mirror our SRKWs but also are unique communities of their own. The horrors inflicted on killer whales is not isolated to one place. Our history with these animals is shameful but the best and most important step is how we move forward with education, understanding and conservation. Hopefully and ideally we are making their world and ours a better place for the future.

[Ina Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved reading this book!

[Kieran Saucedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know I wanted to drop everything and become an Alaskan whale researcher until I read this book. Pure whimsy.

[Lærke Mathilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virkelig spændende bog! Den er selvfølgelig super god hvis man er interesseret i spækhuggere, men Hanne Strager er også bare en rigtig dygtig historiefortæller, så bogen er fyldt med smukke naturbeskrivelser og lærerige samtaler. Og fotografierne er jo bare prikken over i’et.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading this on the beach of tenerife and really liked reading about the whales. I also liked the authors personal experience as to say "the human part" of the book. Would recommend it to any lover of nature :)

[Simon Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have liked to like it better. Thought it would be more about orcas than about the relation between humans and orcas (I know it says in the title). But still we learn a great deal about that facsinating animal.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strager eloquently travels the world and demonstrates that while situations may be unique, the connection we feel to these charismatic creatures is universal and they're worthy of our respect and care, not our fear.

[Asha Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this hoping for a bit of expansion on this video (that I've watched several times) and it's exactly what I got.
Very enjoyable and illuminating.

[Michaela Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more narrative about the author's research than I expected, but I still learned a lot! I read on vacation after being enthralled by news stories of orcas sinking mega-yachts, and my husband asked me to please stop telling him whale facts.

[Melanie Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little long / more historic than necessary but still great journalism and fascinating stories about these incredible animals

[Jessi B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more subdued read for summer, I throughly enjoyed each chapter which has filled me with more knowledge and awe for theses beautiful creatures I already adored.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of all the orca books out there and this one is definitely going on my favorite shelf.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love orcas. I grew up in an environment where their iconography had long been packaged as charasmatic performers and cute, cuddly toys - a far cry from the monstrous portrayals such as Leviathan or of voracious, vicious beasts that was the common image of these creatures just decades before my birth. Throughout the world, and throughout time, human relationships with whales has been complex and oscillating; there has never been a fixed portrayal.

This book is a fascinating overview of these relationships. How they have changed, how they are changing. Can you believe that before the first Shamu leapt through a hoop at Seaworld that the US military had been commissioned by the Icelandic government to literally bomb killer whales? Yes. Hundreds, if not thousands killed from helicopters and planes. Can you believe that in the same era that a fisherman could get a dollar for a bucket of bald eagle legs, Norweigan whalers were selling killer whale meat to English fur farms? Can you believe that, even today, in Greenland killer whales are slaughtered solely to be turned into dog food?

This book made me furious. It made me despair. The pointlessness of all these wasted lives. How much we know and understand that killer whales have long lives and intergenerational cultural connections that we have been and are wiping out. That they are sick with pollutants that destroy birthlines and riddle them with cancers, that images such as a mother orca holding the corpse of her child for weeks in an act of profound grief will only become more commonplace if nothing is done. Over and over again, killer whales were blamed for issues caused by overfishing. The human made problem externalised.

The book also made me weep with hope. The acts of kindness that humans have been able to extend to killer whales - impoverished villages choosing to save a clutch of beached orcas, the urgent desire to reunite an orphaned calf hundreds of miles from home with its pod, the people of Kwakwaka'wakw Nation singing to the whales they've considered family for centuries & the whales in turn breaching and spy-hoping in recognition. The stories of orcas even assisting whalers and fishermen, the tacit understanding between predators. The Russian people protesting at the exploitation and capture of killer whales destined for aquariums, the changing tide of attitudes around the world.

The brutal destruction that mankind can wreak is beautifully contrasted by the difference our love and affection can make. There is no broad brush approach taken here, and Strager tries to take a measured understanding even of the whale-killers. I appreciated her attempt to connect with even those she vehemently disagrees with, in part to lay the seeds that may someday become co-operation rather than animosity, but also because so often the issue is not so simple. Countries and peoples that have once called for orca culls now celebrate their presence, and this change is as much economic as it is cultural. It broadened my own understanding and allowed me to see things in a way that wasn't just emotive or demonising.

Killer whale populations are fragile. I truly hope this is not the last epoch for them, that we will be able to appreciate them not just in ten thousand year old line-drawings or beautifully catalogued photographic collections. So many systemic issues must be resolved first, and love will not be enough. This book does not provide answers as such - but nevertheless, it is a beautiful report on the species and our connection with it, and, perhaps, through that connection so too can change come through.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was solid and interesting (and at times sad) to read. If there’s one consistent message I’ve learned, humans impose their knowledge, experience, and hunger for money at the expense of animals. The whales are eating all the fish, we need to kill the whales so we can make money on fish. Animals eat until they have enough; humans do not stop even when they have enough. There is always more, more, more. More money to make, more mouths to feed. I want to trust there is a middle ground where humans and animals can live in a balance, without excessive taking from one side or another. I want to believe that animals are part of a natural balance, and it is humans who throw the balance into extremes, sometimes with no going back. I really enjoyed this book that blended personal stories with historical stories from different perspectives and locations around the world. I feel so bad for animals that have been hunted and killed on the verge of extinction, and sometimes to extinction.

[caroline! · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really excellent depiction of killer whales in the anthropocene, interspersed with fascinating dialogue with strager herself and the many scientists and other individuals whose path she crosses. i was very excited to learn more about orca populations that aren’t talked about a lot, although i was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more information about the whales specifically. i read this with interest, as the relationship between the public and these magnificent animals is tenuous and captivating, but that just isn’t my favorite thing to learn about any animal. that being said, strager has led a fascinating life. if i see half as many whales in my lifetime as she i will die the happiest person in the world.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging read about an amazing species. I'm surprised by how much I learned through reading. The chapter on Twofold Bay was amazing! As this is a 'nature memoir,' there is a higher emphasis on personal experience than plain fact-finding. Some chapters are more human focused than orca focused. Despite this, it's a great, well-written tale about our relationship with the world's largest predator.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killer Whale Journals is a balanced and non-judgemental account of people's differing attitudes towards orcas, that, refreshingly, takes in experiences from around the world. Read my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2024...

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great, in-depth look at some of the killer whale populations we commonly hear less about. A very well researched and well-written book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

[Kailani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most amazing animal on the planet.

[Hailey Boehner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Alyssa Trinkl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Killer Whale Journals by Hanne Strager takes you on a journey through waters across the world, meeting killer whales and those who have loved and loathed them.

Over decades, Strager travels to corners of the world, from Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Russia and the Pacific Northwest to find out more about our relationships with orcas and how it’s evolved. Each place carries their own lore, their own past and future with killer whales. Some of it was acutely familiar to me — the Russian “whale jail” was a story I knew well as well as the tale of Springer being reunited with her family in the PNW; while the nonchalant hunt for killer whales in Greenland took me by surprise. Even as a kid, when I watched Free Willy 3, everyone said, “no one kills killer whales, for sport or for food.” There was so much I didn’t know that Strager shed a light on.

Strager doesn’t exactly establish a clean timeline. She notes how she first gets interested in whales and comes aboard a research ship, but it’s hard to keep track of when different things occur, and because of that, the journey felt a little jumpy to me. I didn’t know what led her to one place or another. (It might not bother a reader who is more interested in the whales over the person, but as I enjoy learning about both, I was hoping to better understand Strager’s career too.)

I also had a hard time figuring out the thesis behind Strager’s book. What was she saying about our relationships with killer whales? The simple fact that it’s… complex? It can’t be understood by one story, one location, one pod? Can we not pass judgement on the relationship among these predators, because of the history of each place?

I felt completely gutted thinking of killer whales being brutally shot at in Greenland, because of assumptions that they were “killing other prey,”knowing how easily they can wiped out, and knowing that we have so much more to learn about them. But Strager didn’t push these individuals in her interviews. She respected their viewpoints because it was what they knew; she was on their turf and letting them tell their story. I understood that, but I also had to think she must feel fiercely protective of them after all her time spent.

She approached so much of her time researching and learning— the interviews and perspectives — with a very scientific viewpoint and not a lot of emotion. I wish I could’ve heard a little more of her emotional connection. Maybe that’s just me, but if you’re writing a book about these beautiful creatures, I gotta believe there is one.

Overall, The Killer Whale Journals was insightful and left me wanting more. I ended up adding more books on my TBR list about stories she mentioned, and my only wish is that everyone can come to value killer whales the same way the people do in the Pacific Northwest.