Hello 👋 

Welcome to Weekend Rounds! Have you heard the one about the bear with no teeth? He was a gummy bear 😏 

Forgive us, but it wouldn’t be Father’s Day without a dad joke or two.

Here’s what we’re grilling up and serving today:

• 🐋 What is going on with the orcas?

• 🎧️ Listen of the week

• 🐶 If dogs were people…

• 🚀 Quick hits

🐋 Attack of the orcas!

If you’re tapped into the latest in orca news like we are, you’ve likely seen that something interesting scary peculiar is happening in the world of killer whales.

The more understandable news is that a pod of 30 whales comprised of 11 different families was recently spotted off the off the coast of California. They appeared to be doing nothing more than playing and having a good time. A marine biologist at Monterey Bay Whale Watch called it, “the best sighting I’ve seen in my 35 years of killer whale research. Just extraordinary.” We wouldn’t normally lead the newsletter with something like this, but given concurrent events in the orca world, it’s enough to catch our attention…

Here’s the high-level rundown: there have been an increasing number of orca attacks caught on film, where the whales work together to strategically attack and try to sink boats including sailboats, yachts, and commercial vessels. The attacks seem to have begun in May 2020 and have increased steadily since then according to published work in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

You would be forgiven if your first thought was, ‘are they really trying to sink the ships or are they minding their own business our in the open ocean and humans are intruding on their territory?’

However, the evidence is mounting to prove that this is a purposeful and coordinated mission:

• Since 2020, orca attacks have successfully sunk three ships and damaged around 250

• Incidents have been reported off the shores of France, Portugal and Spain meaning that multiple separate pods are partaking

But why? Let’s take a look at some of the leading theories:

The orca uprising

This is our favorite theory, even if it’s the most unlikely. The idea that orcas are living up to their ‘killer whale’ moniker and fighting back against humans after years of abuse is compelling (and admittedly, kind of rad). After all, whales have plenty to be angry about. They never antagonize us on land, but we have a habit of making our presence known in their territory and creating years of abuse by way of capture, murder, and taunting.

It’s a popular theory that has picked up steam and generated thousands of memes and pop art.

Even Merriam-Webster’s got in on the fun:

Just a fad

Orcas are very social animals and their ability to pick up seemingly random behaviors from one another has been documented before. In 1987, a female orca in Puget Sound began wearing dead salmon like a hat. Within a few weeks, two other pods had started donning salmon caps, but after about six weeks, the hat-wearing stopped just as quickly as it started and hasn’t come back. It appears to be a late 80s fashion fad… like the orca version of acid washed jeans.

It’s possible that the latest round of puzzling behavior is nothing less than these social creatures mimicking each other and creating short lived fads.

Learned behavior

If the orcas are simply mimicking each other, and not on a mission to take down capitalist human lifeforms, is it possible to identify where the behavior started? Researchers are hypothesizing that it may have started after one orca, named White Gladis, was injured in a chance encounter with a boat, and taught her pod mates to strike back. Since we know orcas can pick up behaviors, it could have then easily spread to nearby pods.

Thanks to Scientific American, CNN, The Atlantic, Futurism, and Live Science for shedding light on the orca uprising and informing this summary.

🎧️ Listen of the Week: My Industry is in Crisis

This week on Work Appropriate, Dr. Karen Fine joined host Anne Helen Petersen to discuss the crisis of the veterinary industry, which we all know is facing many challenges, such as high costs, low salaries, heavy student debt, lack of control, and consolidation.

Dr. Fine, a veterinarian and author of a new book called The Other Family Doctor, shared her perspective on the mental health issues that affect veterinarians, shared some of the strategies and resources available to cope with grief and stress, such as writing a memoir, finding support from colleagues and friends, and seeking professional help. They also answer some questions from listeners who work in the vet industry and want to know more about the realities and realities of their profession. Dr. Fine hopes to provide some empathy, understanding, and hope for those who work in the vet industry and want to make it better.

It’s nice to see the issues we face be shared on a larger platform than just podcasts by vets, for vets.

📧 Send it ‘round

In celebration of Pride Month, we’re giving away pronoun stethoscope clips to the next 5 people to share Weekend Rounds with 3 colleagues, once those colleague sign up with your referral link below!

They’ll get the same weekly dose of veterinary good vibes that you’ve grown accustomed to, and you’ll be able to encourage more inclusivity in healthcare by showing clients and colleagues your personal pronouns. That’s a win-win.

🐶 Dog People

AI has struck again with some visually striking “art.” Dog people. Give yourself a few minutes and explore this thread. My favourite is the Pom.

🚀 Quick hits

Dead animals on Bulgarian beaches [Euro News]

The ethics of AI in veterinary medicine [DVM 360]

AAHA Endocrine Guidelines [AVMA]