The First Expedition · This Fall

Sperm Whales

A creator, a whale champion, a sperm whale family unlike any other on Earth — and a new way to be there with them.

The Story

Fewer than three hundred whales. One family. Their own language.

Fewer than 300 sperm whales live in the waters off Dominica. They are a single extended family — grandmothers, mothers, daughters — that has lived in these waters for generations.

They have their own dialect. Vocalizations that exist nowhere else in the ocean. Scientists are using underwater microphones and machine learning to begin to understand what they're saying. Work that could change how we understand the inner lives of another species.

And the family is in decline. Roughly three percent every year. Ship strikes, fishing gear, ocean noise, and the pressure of being too closely watched.

This fall, Maya Higa is going to Dominica to bring more attention and support to the solutions.

A Different Kind of Expedition

Observing without disturbing.

Wildlife is under pressure from almost every angle, and that includes us. The people who care. The people who want to get close. Loving these animals to death is a real risk.

So Living BIG is doing it differently. Maya isn't getting in the water with the whales. Instead, a non-invasive underwater camera will let her, her chat, and anyone watching live see the whales without disturbing them.

Observing them this way is part of the solution. Part of the story. And part of the experience, for everyone who gets to be there.

The People

Who's going.

Maya Higa with an emu at Alveus Sanctuary
Maya Higa
Creator · Conservationist

Founder of Alveus Sanctuary, a wildlife rescue and education space that has reached millions of people through livestreamed conservation content. Maya has spent years bringing audiences face to face with animals most will never see. In this expedition she takes Alveus into the wild.

Patrick Dykstra freediving with a sperm whale
Patrick Dykstra
Whale Champion · Underwater Filmmaker

Patrick has spent more time in the water with sperm whales than almost anyone alive. An underwater filmmaker and ocean explorer, he has led expeditions to find and document some of the world's most elusive marine wildlife.

Why Now

The whales have a reserve. Now it needs to be honored.

In 2023, Dominica declared the world's first sperm whale reserve. A historic step.

788 km2 Of protected ocean off the coast of Dominica

But the family is still in decline. Enforcement is still uncertain. The science is still racing to let the world know what's at stake: one of the most intelligent and social animals on Earth, and one we are on the cusp of being able to communicate with.

With attention, action, and the protections to back them up, this family of sperm whales has a chance to thrive.

Stay tuned for this upcoming expedition.

Updates from the field, live moments with the whales, and the feature video when it drops.

Join Living BIG.