Day of the Dead Celebration for the departed Sooke, Samish, and Nigel: Nov. 2: Day of Dead Celebration at The Whale Museum
Talk of dam breaches in order to increase the food supply for the SRKW population: Concerns for Puget Sound orcas prompts talk of dam breaches Report on recent sightings of the J and K pods: Orcas spotted off Whidbey shores, whale group announces - South Whidbey Record
A new Marine Reserve in the Ross Sea which will contain about half of the world's Type C Killer Whales, and that's just the beginning: Huge new Antarctic marine reserve | EarthSky.org
The SR population is doomed, according to environmentalists, because of the recent approval of the trans mountain pipeline: Trans Mountain approval a death sentence for Southern Resident killer whales: biologist - NEWS 1130 I'm starting to really think the SR Population needs its own thread.
Sightings in New Zealand, my apologies for using AwesomeOcean: Orca Pod Makes An Appearance In Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.cknw.com/2016/12/22/dead...wed-signs-of-physical-injury/?sc_ref=facebook Sadly, Southern Resident killer whale J34 "Doublestuf" was found dead on shore. There are signs of physical injury (possibly the result of a fight or a boat strike) though it is not yet known if that was the cause of death.
Sadly, yet another 2016 death for the Southern Resident killer whales: the famous J2 "Granny" has not been seen since October and is presumed dead by the Center for Whale Research. Her exact age was never known, though she was certainly a very old animal, having been spotted as an adult in 1976. I hope the other members of J pod don't have too hard of a time with her gone... Center for Whale Research
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31462-2 The Center For Whale Research just published a study on why orcas go through menopause. Basically, to prevent reproductive conflict with their daughters. Interesting stuff! Could also explain why humans go through menopause.
http://www.whaledolphintrust.co.uk/news_article.asp?news_id=564 Lulu, a dead West Coast Scottish orca, was found to have EXTREMELY high levels of PCBs. Analysis shows that she never reproduced, despite being at least 20 years old, suggesting that she may have been infertile. The population has been monitored for 23 years but a calf has never shown up in that time.
Exclusive: Mysterious Orcas Filmed Underwater for First Time Type D killer whales have been filmed underwater for the first time. Super cool! And apparently marine ecologist Robert Pitman wants to put together a voyage to study this type of orca. Washington state Senate passes orca protection bills The Washington state Senate has passed two SRKW protection bills to the House of Representatives.
Southern-resident killer whales lose newborn calf, and another youngster is ailing For third day, grieving orca carries dead calf in water Things have been getting bad for the southern residents. Like, worse than usual. Some of them, including calves, have died. Poor J50 Scarlet, the first of the baby boom a few years back and a sign of hope, is looking really bad. Researchers say they're not getting enough food...
A mother orca’s dead calf and the grief felt around the world It has been nine days and she continues to carry her dead calf around... NOAA plans ‘outside the box’ response to save J pod orca, which may have just days to live Researchers want to capture J50 (Scarlet) and nurse her back to health. Interesting idea but I'll be surprised if it goes through. Usually it takes a while for plans like that to get approved, and by then it might be too late... Also, they compare it with Springer, but Springer was orphaned and away from her pod. Taking a young orca from her pod will be more difficult, not to mention it would stress out her pod and her. Still, if it could save her life, I can't oppose it. She'll die without intervention, probably worth the risk...
Orca mother still carrying dead calf, marking 16th day of ‘tour of grief’ 16 days and J35 Talequah continues to carry her dead calf. On the plus side, J50 Scarlet has been spotted alive. Researchers are planning to medicate her in the hopes of bringing her back to health. Lets hope that works.
A lady out for a swim in Hahei, New Zealand, was joined by some Orcas: Drone captures video of a woman surrounded by orca as she swims off Hahei beach The link below is for the full drone footage on Youtube (the news video in the first link above shows chopped-up snippets). I reckon the big mummy Orca is teaching her kids how to hunt, and is saying to them "now this is a human - it looks kind of like a seal but we don't hunt them because they are smart like us".
This is one of the most amazing videos that I've seen at Zoochat ever! Dangerous situation, but super beautiful at same time! I wonder what has been the swimmer reaction and feelings - she don't looks enough scared for swim to the shore. I would be terrified if I find myself in this situation, swimming with wild orcas whose personality is unknown for me (even captive ones can be unpredictable in occasions).
She thought it was fantastic (the first link in my post above is the news story but the news video is below): Here's another video from New Zealand earlier this year with Orcas and kids (the viewers were scared but the kids didn't even know the Killer Whales were there until they swam past them):
Two males have been spotted near Virginia Beach, Virginia! I've never heard of them coming this far south, or anywhere south of Long Island.
