Last Friday evening, I did my first-ever talk in Japanese at the National Museum of Nature and Science, located in Ueno Park in Tokyo. My presentation was about sperm whales, and was the last in a series that accompanied a special exhibit about mammals, organised in conjunction with Asahi Shimbun and WWF Japan.

The talk was in the main exhibition hall, adjacent to a large life-size display of a sperm whale head with a giant squid in its mouth. My photo of a real sperm whale with giant squid in its mouth was located in front of the display.

Notice the sophisticated pointer I used.

A lot of people showed up (thank you!), perhaps the most for any of the talks held in conjunction with this exhibition (which says a lot about the high level of interest here in marine mammals).

Given that I had never made a public presentation in Japanese before, I was somewhat nervous, but I got into the groove fairly quickly and didn’t stumble too much (I think).

I did struggle for proper word choice a few times, but fortunately, Yamada-san from the museum’s Department of Zoology was on hand to help me through difficult topics like explaining the inner workings of a sperm whale’s enormous head.

After the talk, I answered a few questions, said hi to friends who were kind enough to drop by and listen to me ramble, and then went out for a couple of beers + great food with Yamada-san and a few other people from the museum.

All-in-all, a terrific evening.

I’d like to extend special thanks to Tamura-san from Asahi Shimbun for inviting me to do the talk, and also to the National Museum of Nature and Science for taking a chance on my Japanese language proficiency!

The best (and only) shot of a blue whale I have

９月２４日（金）国立科学博物館にて、１８：００から３０分マッコウクジラについて講演する予定です。

国立科学博物館の特別大哺乳類展（朝日新聞とWWF Japan協賛）は、７月１０日から９月２６日まで開催されており、すでに８月中旬で、入場者２０万人以上に達しています。

現在、僕が小笠原で撮影したマッコウクジラがダイオウイカをくわえている写真が展示されています。この瞬間を撮らえた写真は世界初です。

マッコウクジラとダイオウイカ

今回のトーク内容は、小笠原とドミニカ国で撮影した写真と映像を見ていただきながら、世界の一番大きな肉食動物と一緒に泳いだ経験、例えば、クジラが発するソナーの感覚、自分のフィンをかじられた瞬間、十数頭に囲まれた経験、ドミニカで出会った「スカー」という特別に触れるマッコウクジラの話などを予定しています。

もちろん、全部日本語で話すつもりです。僕の日本語を動物研究部脊椎動物研究グループ長の山田格さんが助けてくれると思います。

ギャラリートークは無料ですが、博物館の入場に１、４００円がかかります。しかし、金曜日の場合、１７：００以降に二人で入場すると２，０００円です。詳細はこのページを見てください。

皆んなのお越しをお待ちしています。

The National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo has been holding a special exhibition on marine mammals in conjunction with the Asahi Shimbun and WWF Japan.

The exhibition started on 10 July and winds up on 26 September. As of the middle of August, over 200,000 people have visited the exhibit!

Female sperm whale with giant squid in its mouth.

My photograph of a female sperm whale consuming part of an Architeuthis giant squid is on display as part of the exhibit, and I am scheduled to give a talk on what it’s like to be in the water with sperm whales on Friday, 24 September, from 18:00 to 18:30.

Since the museum is in Tokyo, I’ll be doing my best to give the talk entirely in Japanese (gulp). Fortunately, Tadasu Yamada from the Division of Vertebrates in the Department of Zoology at the Museum will be on hand to help translate when I exceed the limits of my Japanese vocabulary.

I’m not exactly sure how the talk will go, but I’m planning to take along some sperm whale images and video clips from my recent trips to Ogasawara and Dominica.

If you can make it to the talk, I’ll tell you what it’s like to be in the water next to the largest living carnivore on the planet, to have your fin chewed by a sperm whale, to get ping-ed by sperm whale sonar, to watch a large group of socialising whales, and even to stroke an unusual sperm whale named Scar that seems to seek out human attention.

My talk is free, but there is an admission charge of 1,400 Yen to get into the museum. There’s a special rate of 2,000 Yen for two people together if you enter the museum after 17:00 on that day.

If you happen to be in Tokyo on 24 September, please drop by and say hello! Details are on this page (in Japanese).

I just received this snapshot of my photo of a sperm whale eating giant squid from a friend who visited the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo earlier today. The photo is from a trip to Ogasawara, Japan in October 2009.

My photo on display at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo

The special exhibit about marine mammals will continue until 26 September. I haven’t been able to see the exhibit yet, but I’ve received a lot of positive feedback.

If you’re in Tokyo and have time, it might be worth dropping by.

Incidentally, the same photo is also on display at the Natural History Museum in London, though friends tell me the sperm whale section is dark and difficult to find.

Thanks Michiyo-san!

Update 26 July: I received a couple more photos of the exhibit from another friend:

Crowd looking at the sperm whale exhibit

Another view of the display with my sperm whale photo

Thanks Wakae-san!

…just a quick update from the Ogasawara Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where I’ve been for the past week or so with a few friends photographing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).

In short, we’ve had really good luck, encountering sperm whales on most days, as well as seeing a bunch of other interesting stuff, like Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), pan-tropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), deep-water octopus parts (left overs from sperm whale meals…I think from a seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus)), and even a few beaked whales (from the surface only).

The highlight so far has been an encounter with a group of six sperm whales (five adult females and a baby), with one of the adults chewing on a giant squid. Yes…I know it sounds unbelievable, but we have photos and video to prove it!

In fact, our trip has been such a success that we’ve extended our stay, so I won’t be back to regular communication until after the 25th of this month. My access to the internet is restricted, so I don’t anticipate posting again while I’m here.

For now, following are a handful of sample images, starting with a sperm whale profile:

An image of Eric Cheng photographing a blob of left-over deep-water octopus parts probably left uneaten by a sperm whale:

And a friendly whale at the surface turning to take a look at us:

Note: Photographs taken under permit.