orcas

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    Humpback Whale Named Valiant Chases Away Nine Threatening Orcas

    Humpback Whale Named Valiant Chases Away Nine Threatening Orcas

    Orcas are fearsome predators that have taken on everything from blue whales to great white sharks.  But one humpback whale named Valiant was able to turn the table on the aptly-named killer whales in an incident observed by whale watchers off of Canada’s Vancouver Island April 12.  “There’s something happening in front of us that […]

    Stranded Orca Saved by Rescue Divers and Local Volunteers

    Stranded Orca Saved by Rescue Divers and Local Volunteers

    A rare orca stranding on Scotland’s Orkney Islands had a happy ending when volunteers and local residents teamed up to send the animal back out to sea. Conservation charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) led the operation, in a first for the organization. “Strandings of Orca do occur but are incredibly rare and it […]

    Navy Training Could Harm Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales

    Navy Training Could Harm Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales

    The U.S. Navy has secured permission for exercises in the Pacific Northwest that could harm endangered orcas and other marine mammals. The new rule, published in the Federal Register Thursday, would allow the Navy to increase the number of Southern Resident killer whales it could “take”—or potentially harm—from two a year currently to 51 a […]

    Keeping Large Mammals Captive Damages Their Brains

    Keeping Large Mammals Captive Damages Their Brains

    By Bob Jacobs Hanako, a female Asian elephant, lived in a tiny concrete enclosure at Japan’s Inokashira Park Zoo for more than 60 years, often in chains, with no stimulation. In the wild, elephants live in herds, with close family ties. Hanako was solitary for the last decade of her life. Kiska, a young female […]

    Why Are Orcas Ramming Boats in Spain?

    Why Are Orcas Ramming Boats in Spain?

    Killer whales have been ramming yachts and boats off the coast of Northern Spain and researchers are puzzled by their behavior. In several attacks over the last couple of months, orcas have damaged boats and injured sailors, according to The Guardian. One sailor said that the attacks felt orchestrated, while another described it as if […]