Killer Whale Talk

Tales From The Frozen South - Killer Whales, Antarctica’s Apex Predator by Leigh Hickmott - Whale Biologist

About the talk: 

Leigh will provide insight into Antarctic expedition life and sailing from South America and the Falkland Islands across the infamous Drake Passage to the frozen continent of Antarctica to study and film wildlife. Leigh will discuss the role three ecotypes of Antarctic killer whale play in the Western Antarctic Peninsula ecosystem. Antarctica’s killer whale ecotypes (essentially different species) differ in appearance, behaviour and ecology; leading to differences in their influence on food webs and importantly, variation in their conservation needs and statuses. Leigh will provide insight into the unique life of one ecotype, the ‘Pack ice’ killer whale, the challenges they face due to climate warming and the efforts required to study them in one of Antarctica’s most beautiful and threatened habitats. He will explain how they have honed a suite of cooperative skills, including manipulating water into a tool, as part of a complex hunting strategy used to access seals hauled out on ice floes.

Event Information: 

The menu for the evening can be found by clicking here. 

Tickets can be purchased via EliteLive. Adult tickets are £27.95 and children's tickets are £16.95 (please note there will be a children's menu on the night).

If you wish to be part of a table, please include you table host upon booking. 

Short Bio - Dr. Leigh Hickmott

Leigh is a zoologist and passionate science communicator. His research is centred around large-scale change in ecosystems using whales as indicators to assess human disturbance of marine habitats. By successfully combining scientific research and consulting with wildlife storytelling, Leigh has led international teams of scientists and film-makers on expeditions to document incredible and award-winning wildlife stories, including the BBC’s ‘Expedition Killer Whale’ and ‘Frozen Planet II’, Netflix’s ‘Our Oceans’ and NatGeo/Disney+’s ‘Animals Up Close – Killer Waves’. His expertise have resulted in international collaborations with colleagues from an array of universities, government agencies and NGO’s, with whom he has co-authored and contributed to scientific research content on an array of cetacean species and topics including Antarctica’s killer whales.

Leigh is based in Petersfield, Hampshire and has worked for more than 25 years in the marine mammal science and conservation fields. Originally from Sussex, he studied zoology and environmental biology at Aberdeen and St Andrews universities, beginning his career in 1998 studying bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth, Scotland. As Leigh’s career progressed his research incorporated the use of animal-borne tags to investigate the influence vocal adaptations and prey behaviour have on cetacean foraging ecology. This led to his PhD research at the University of St Andrews related to the behavioural effects anthropogenic noise, specifically naval sonar, has on marine mammals. His work takes him to all four corners of the planet and virtually from pole to pole. His Antarctic research is centred around large-scale ecosystem dynamics – using fin whales and Antarctica’s apex predators, killer whales, as indicators to assess climate change effects on Antarctic habitats.

When not working on the ocean, Leigh enjoys a variety of hobbies on the water and is a keen outdoor enthusiast and naturalist, enjoying everything from bugs in the back garden to snorkelling in Skye with his wife and son.