Togetherness is Our Home: An Orca's Journey through Life
Astrid M. van Ginneken has been fascinated by animals since she was six years old. Beside her innovative work on computerized patient records, she has a strong fascination for killer whales. Her dream came true in 1987: she was still a Ph.D. student when orca expert, Kenneth C. Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor WA, invited her to participate as staff in his renowned Orca Survey, ongoing since 1976. The author returned every summer since and became co-principal investigator in 1994. She contributes to the photo-identification study and set up a new research database in 1996. Astrid knows every individual orca and has seen many grow into adulthood: 60% of the Center’s study population has been born since Astrid joined the project. Over the years, she also visited research projects on orcas in Norway, Argentina, and New Zealand. Beside her studies in the wild, the author has spent many days observing killer whales in marine parks all over the world. Friendly trainers willingly shared their experiences and fascinating insights with Astrid. All these years of observation of different killer whales in so many different circumstances, shaped Astrid’s perception of the highly intelligent and loyal orca. In her novel ‘Togetherness is Our Home’ she puts the reader into the mind and world of these fascinating and majestic predators.