Danna Staaf: On Alien Octopuses, Squid Squads and Why Baby Animals Rule

Skaana with Mark Leiren-Young | Oceans, Eco-Ethics & The Environment

Cephalopod expert Danna Staaf (author of The Lady and the Octopus and Monarchs of the Sea) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about the alien world of octopuses, the secret lives of squid and her two new books Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World and The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives: A Natural History of Cephalopods. “They are definitely our fellow earthlings and some of the oddest ones we share the planet with.”

Shownotes:

3:20 Meet Danna Staaf. “They are extremely intelligent animals with extremely short life-spans.”

6:12 Meet Danna Staaf’s first pet octopus – Serendipity.

12:32 “There’s this tension between the alien and the familiar in them.” And octopus decor…

13:50 “They are definitely our fellow earthlings and some of the oddest ones we share the planet with.”

15:49 How and why cephalopods lost their shells.

22:15 The difference between octopus and squid. “Squid basically evolved for swimming and for speed.”

25:10 “Cephalopods are amazing.”

27:13 “These are real animals that inspired a lot of myths and legends.”

28:35 “Squid are like the protein bars of the oceans.”

31:30 Squid squads!

32:36 Baby animals doot doot doot doot – Danna Staff’s new baby book!

34:31 “At any given moment, most of the animals on earth are babies… I find all of them to be adorable in their own ways.”

41:20 Her favourite odd octopus facts… donut brains!

42:17 “I love asking what if questions about nature and about science.”

44:20 How humans are threatening octopuses and the health of the oceans.

Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.

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Danna Staff Author Photo – credit Josh Weaver

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  From: Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

Books for sale and Classes from Team Skaana

**Amazon links are affiliate links and support our podcast, thanks for clicking!**

• Audio books by Mark Leiren-Young (Killer Whale Who Changed the World, Orcas Everywhere & Never Shoot a Stampede Queen) on Audible.com https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Mark+Leiren-Young
• The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q
• Orcas Everywhere; Orcas of the Salish Sea & Big Whales, Small World: http://www.orcaseverywhere.com
• Paint the Ocean You Wish to See with Rayne Ellycrys Benu… https://orcapaint.net
• The Force of Doubt by Rayne Ellycrys Benu… https://books2read.com/forceofdoubt