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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Two years ago, J35, a Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) nicknamed Tahlequah, broke hearts around the world when she carried her dead calf over 1,000 miles over 17 days of apparent mourning. Now, she’s given birth to a “robust and lively” calf that researchers are calling a ray of hope for the endangered population, reported […]
Yet another endangered southern resident orca is missing, and researchers fear he is dead. The whale, known as L41 or Mega, was the largest and oldest of all southern resident orca males. He was a significant member of the embattled group of killer whales who swim between the waters of Washington and Canada. He and […]
The extremely endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales off the coast of Washington and British Columbia fell to 73 after 3 orcas went missing, the Center for Whale Research said in a statement. The Washington state-based research center takes an annual survey of the killer whale population from the extremely endangered pods that once […]
By the end of June, it will be illegal to keep whales and dolphins in captivity in Canada, the Huffington Post reported Tuesday. The so-called “Free Willy” bill passed the Canadian House of Commons by an overwhelming majority Monday, CBS News reported. It now must pass through a process called “royal assent” in which either […]
A second baby orca has been born to the imperiled southern resident killer whales in less than six months. The calf was spotted by John Forde and Jennifer Steven of the Whale Centre, swimming with J Pod off the coast of Tofino, BC, CBC News reported. “We were both really excited to see the calf […]
Is there hope for the critically endangered orcas that travel the waters between Seattle and BC, Canada? The southern resident killer whales have added a new member to their shrinking numbers: a baby that Center for Whale Research (CWR) Founding Director Ken Balcomb has named Lucky. Balcomb confirmed the calf’s birth with to The Seattle […]