Katy Payne, acoustic biologist

This month's feature is a bit different from the rest because Katy Payne has not started a new organization or business, and yet, I find her work so fascinating that I wanted to share it with you. Given all the chaos in the human world, it is comforting to remember there are more creatures out there. Katy Payne has spent several decades listening to whales and elephants. She is an acoustic biologist who is able to share with us amazing understandings about her discoveries that humpback whales compose ever-changing songs and elephants communicate across long distances by infrasound. We are treated to a window into those worlds in this interview she did with Krista Tippet. Her incites should also be a call to action to protect the habitats of these magnificent creatures.

Payne is the author of "Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants" (1998) and "Elephants Calling" (1992), a children's book.