WILD BITES: How does a sperm whale survive the crushing depths a mile underwater?
1 of 2Sperm whales in the ocean.A really good free diver can get down to 400 feet – that’s like a 40-story skyscraper. But there’s an animal that can go way beyond even those depths.
Meet the sperm whale, the true deep divers of the ocean. On this WILD BITE, we'll look at how an animal that’s bigger than a large school bus can dive 10 times deeper than the limit of an extreme human and not die.
1 of 2To function at over a mile down, the sperm whale has a pretty incredible adaptation to water pressure, their bodies are flexible and their ribs are bound by cartilage that’s bendable so the rib cage collapses. Their lungs collapse too to prevent them from rupturing. Share your thoughts on this story
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Chris Morgan
Host, "The Wild"
Chris Morgan has worked as a wildlife researcher, wilderness guide, and environmental educator worldwide for more than 20 years.
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Matt Martin
Podcast Producer
Matt Martin is a podcast producer who has worked on many different show for KUOW. He pitched and created THE WILD with Chris Morgan, a rich and experiential podcast about ecology and conservation. Matt also produced the Seattle music history podcast Let the Kids Dance and the award-winning Ghost Herd. Before moving to the on-demand side of the station, Matt worked as a producer on The Record, KUOW's local news show. He has also worked as a general assignment reporter and host for public radio stations in upstate New York and rural Alaska. Matt got his start in media as an intern with StoryCorps and Aljazeera America.
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