The Orca Whisperer | Roberto Bubas | TEDx Rosario

Roberto presents to us his incredible relationship with the orcas of Patagonia, and invites us to think about the influence we all have on our planet.
Roberto was born in Esquel, Provincia del Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina, on the 20th of August, 1970.
Conservation Officer in the Coastal and Marine Protected Areas and Ranger in the Protected Area of the Provincial Península Valdés, in 1992 Roberto began his research project on the orcas of North Patagonia.
Resident guest at the Center for Whale Research in the United States, he has gathered over 3,500 hours of observation of the orcas in Patagonia, in the North Pacific and in the Antarctic Ocean. His data has contributed to the creation of a law for the protection of this species in the Argentinian Sea.
He was chosen by the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation to be part of a program on environmental education (Osaka, 2010).

His work is intended to help future generations, and the purpose of his study is to raise awareness about the environment through a return to those values that encourage human beings to become once again a harmonious component of their natural surroundings.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Good evening.

And thanks to TEDX for inviting

this ranger from Chubut,
way far in the South,

thanks for listening to him sharing things
with you and with so many bright minds

today, on this occasion.

Today, on the board, I read,

"Before I die, I want to ride an orca."

Who wrote this?

(Laughter)

There! A hand went up!

May I encourage you to stand up?

(Applause)

Because if you don't, you won't find
the courage to ride an orca.

(Applause)

I believe that when I was a kid,

I must have written
something similar in my dreams.

And I think, in a way, it was granted.

I'd like to share with you a few images

where the orcas
will introduce themselves a little,

and a bit of the work
I've been carrying out for over 20 years.

For over 15 years.

And then I will tell you a bit
about this idea that Hernán mentioned

to transform this world
into a slightly better one, right?

(Music)

(Orcas vocalizing)

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)

No doubt that orcas
are very powerful animals,

the most intelligent in the ocean.

Their brains are highly evolved,
their social structures are complex,

and they have an incredible
capacity to adapt

to the changing conditions
of the marine environment.

Different orca populations
around the world

display pattens of behavior

that respond to the dynamics
of the resources

they have specialized in exploiting.

And their feeding strategies

create true cultural traditions

that are passed on
from generation to generation.

In many areas of the world,

orcas have developed
stunning hunting methods,

which reveal a high level of intelligence.

But it's the orcas of North Patagonia,
here in our country,

particularly the residents
of the Chubut province,

who display the most spectacular
feeding strategy,

and the most specialized ever:

they intentionally beach themselves

to capture young seals and elephant seals
close to the water's edge.

This hunting method
is not natural for orcas;

their intentional beaching,
that we just watched in the video

is not innate when they are born,

in fact, it is a behavior
they acquire by learning.

And the mastering of this technique
requires a prolonged learning process

that the adults teach to their young ones.

The main conclusion to my observations,

after over a decade,

is the fact that this remarkable
hunting behavior

is only displayed
by eight animals, by eight orcas.

And out of these eight,
only five, only five females,

are responsible to pass on
this technique to future generations,

to pass down this knowledge.

They are responsible to transmit a culture
we don't find anywhere else on the planet.

We are talking about five of our females,
Argentinians, who display -

there are eight animals
who employ the technique,

and five females who teach it.

I mean, in the whole world,
it is with these five females

that lies the responsibility
to keep this feeding culture alive.

As a ranger and a naturalist,

now I know that, above all else,
with the concerns of a humanist,

I tried to provide an initial contribution
to the knowledge of these orcas

with whom I've had the privilege
to live side by side for over 15 years.

Motivated by my personal conviction
that natural events

can and must be shared
from a different perspective

than the usual anthropocentric view,

my message contains
not only my intention to contribute

to a better understanding
of the ecology of the species,

but also the intention to create,

through the history
of the lives of the orcas,

motivations that will encourage us
to rediscover a place of balance

in the fragile and complex
general scheme of life on this planet.

As I was trying to solve technical issues,
at the beginning of my study,

I had no camera, no binoculars.

All I had was pencil and paper,
and a lot of time,

so I approached the orcas in the water.

Much to my surprise, the orcas of Chubut
not only offered me a peaceful closeness,

but also their friendship.

Once I overcame my initial astonishment,

we then developed a connection

that turned my initial investigation

into one that went way beyond
the limits of formal research.

As for me, it could not just be
about collecting data

and analyzing them in light
of logical thought,

but rather, first and foremost,
to search for a core idea

that would develop my daily discoveries
into a sense of higher significance.

I can say that, in all these years,

the orcas have become
my family in the sea,

and, most likely, for them,
I am their human friend on the shore.

And even if this way of thinking
might be considered -

and, in fact, it has been -

alien to the strict scientific protocols,

I reinforced it

with an inner certainty that, one day,
it could turn into a greater contribution

for the whole world.

In over a decade,
I have filled several notebooks

on various aspects of their life.

But, even more important,

we have shared sunrises,
sunsets, moonlight,

playing with seaweed
or splashing in shallow waters.

I believe that, rightfully so,
it was thanks to these moments

that I found some of my answers,

and, with them, a small,
fleeting understanding

of the place that orcas and humans

occupy in the amazing scheme,

in the amazing plan of life.

Just like humans, orcas occupy
one of the highest places

within the scheme of living creatures.

However, unlike us today,

their behavior focuses around
the same essential truths

on which humanity focused in the past:

hunger, fear, cold, heat, survival.

A better understanding
of their life stories,

at times, brings us closer
to reuniting with our own,

and finally we find it appropriate

to start correcting the direction
of our existence as human beings.

In the meantime, one thing we do know:

orcas and humans share this journey,

in a world where everything
is intimately connected.

In this sense, perhaps the tie
that developed between me and the orcas

means more than a curious example
of empathy between two different species.

Maybe, before anything else,
it is a symbol that allows us to remember

that in this world we're not separate,
nor above the other living creatures,

that we share the same home,

and, therefore, we can't dismiss
a definitive truth.

What might happen to the orcas
or to any other living creature,

sooner or later, it will happen to us.

Thank you.

(Applause)