New encounter could be clue to Vatersay orca pod 'enigma'

23 July 2019

Researchers hope to finally identify a pod of nine orca seen off the Western Isles a year ago.

Experts say their struggle to match the animals' markings against databases shows there is still much to discover about orcas that appear off Scotland.

Individual orca can be identified from their saddle patches, a grey area on their backs just behind the dorsal fin. The patch is different on every orca.

Researchers hope to encounter the pod again during surveys this summer.

The Mull-based Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) scientists will try to take better quality images than those taken last June to better match them against records.

Scotland's west coast is home to a group of eight older orca known as the West Coast Community.

There is also a northern community known as the 27s, seven orca that move between Shetland, Orkney and Scotland's north mainland coast.

The 27s take their name from the identification number of the group's "matriarch".

Among other orcas seen around Scotland's north coasts are animals that move down from Iceland to feed.

'An enigma'

The pod seen near Vatersay in the Western Isles last year included two large males and two juveniles.

Dr Lauren Hartny-Mills, the trust's science and policy manager, said attempts already made to match the pod to animals in records had been unsuccessful.

She said: "Despite our collaboration with other organisations and experts to identify the animals, the pod remains an enigma.

"It shows there is still a lot to discover about the cetaceans visiting Scottish waters.

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White sharks flee feeding areas when orcas present

Electronic tag data reveals white sharks do not return until following season; elephant seals benefit

Date:  April 16, 2019

Source:  Monterey Bay Aquarium

New research from Monterey Bay Aquarium and partner institutions published today in Nature Scientific Reports challenges the notion that great white sharks are the most formidable predators in the ocean. The study "Killer Whales Redistribute White Shark Foraging Pressure On Seals" shows how the great white hunter becomes the hunted, and the elephant seal, the common prey of sharks and orcas, emerges as the winner.

"When confronted by orcas, white sharks will immediately vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year, even though the orcas are only passing through," said Dr. Salvador Jorgensen, senior research scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium and lead author of the study.

The research team -- which included Jorgensen and Monterey Bay Aquarium scientist Scot Anderson, and research partners from Stanford University, Point Blue Conservation Science and Montana State University -- documented four encounters between the top predators at Southeast Farallon Island in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, off San Francisco, California. The scientists analyzed the interactions using data from 165 white sharks tagged between 2006 and 2013, and compiled 27 years of seal, orca and shark surveys at the Farallones.

"The research in this paper combines two really robust data sources," said Jim Tietz, co-author of the study and Farallon Program Biologist at Point Blue Conservation Science. "By supplementing the Aquarium's new shark tagging data with Point Blue's long-term monitoring of wildlife at the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, we were able to conclusively show how white sharks clear out of the area when the orcas show up."

In every case examined by the researchers, white sharks fled the island when orcas arrived and didn't return there until the following season.

Elephant seal colonies in the Farallones also indirectly benefited from the interactions. The data revealed four to seven times fewer predation events on elephant seals in the years white sharks left.

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Mystery killer whales spotted by scientists off coast of Chile 'likely to be new species'

Enigmatic orcas 'could be the largest undescribed animal left on the planet', say marine researchers

Chris Baynes

A killer whale that could be a new species is to be studied by scientists for the first time after it was seen off the coast of southern Chile.

A team of international researchers have collected genetic samples from a group of orcas roaming the sub-Antarctic waters off the tip of South America.

For decades, fishermen and tourists had returned with tales and even photos of killer whales in the region that look distinctly different from others. But the enigmatic marine mammals had eluded scientists until now.

The team encountered the killer whales – known only as “Type D” – while anchored off Cape Horn for a week waiting for storms to pass in January.

Scientists collected three biopsy samples from the pod, and biologists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are now conducting laboratory tests that will establish if the orcas are a new species.

Watch video and read on

Drone Footage Reveals Over 100 Whales Trapped In Secret Underwater “Jails”

By Rosie McCall

12 NOV 2018, 16:31

More than 100 cetaceans have been found cooped up inside a series of tiny enclosures off Russia's Pacific coast near the southeastern city of Nakhodka. 

In total, 11 orcas and 90 beluga whales are being housed in what activists are now calling a "whale jail", potentially illegally. That is the largest number of marine animals to be held in such a way, reports Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), a UK-based wildlife charity.

It is thought that the cetaceans have been caught and kept to be sold off to ocean theme parks in China at a hefty price, with businesses doling out up to $6 million (or more) for their very own Free Willy. The country has more than 60 marine parks and at least 12 more are under construction, The Telegraph reports.

While the operation of buying and selling cetaceans for entertainment is strictly illegal – they can only be captured for scientific and educational reasons – the international law banning the activity is routinely flouted. Just take the four companies responsible for these 101 jailed cetaceans, which between them exported 13 orcas to China between 2013 and 2016, an investigation led by local media and the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta found. Other companies reportedly utilize a loophole in the law that doesn't explicitly forbid "renting" whales.

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Orca mother finally abandons dead calf she carried for more than two weeks

Researchers say endangered killer whale who lives off the coast of Seattle is back to feeding and frolicking with her pod

Guardian staff and agencies

Mon 13 Aug 2018 01.32 BSTLast modified on Mon 13 Aug 2018 10.02 BST

Researchers say an endangered killer whale that carried her dead calf on her head for more than two weeks has finally abandoned the calf’s body and is back to feeding and frolicking with her pod.

The Center for Whale Research in Washington state says it watched the orca, known as J35, chase a school of salmon in Haro Strait west of San Juan Island, between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, on Saturday afternoon.

J35’s calf died soon after birth on 24 July. The mother carried the baby on her head for at least 17 days, in an image of grief that struck an emotional chord worldwide.

She finally abandoned the carcass as it decomposed.

Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb said he was immensely relieved to see J35 returning to typical behavior.

Three years have passed since an orca residing in the area has birthed a surviving calf. In the past 20 years, 40 orcas have been born into the group while 72 have died. Only 75 killer whales in the endangered group, known as southern resident orcas, remain.

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SeaWorld's matriarch 42-year-old killer whale is euthanized, the second orca death to hit the marine parks in a month

Kasatka, a 42-year-old orca was euthanized at SeaWorld Tuesday 

She had battled a lung disease for years and her health took a turn for the worse

The killer whale was one of the last to be captured in the wild for SeaWorld

Criticism and pressure have mounted on SeaWorld's care of orcas which has led them to promising to end the whales' performances by 2019

The entertainment company also ended its breeding program in 2016 under pressure from animal rights groups and activists 

Pressure reached a pinnacle when the 2013 documentary titled 'Blackfish' was released criticizing SeaWorlds' care of orcas 

By Jessica Finn For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

PUBLISHED: 02:00, 17 August 2017 | UPDATED: 04:19, 17 August 2017

One of the last killer whales caught in captivity for SeaWorld was euthanized in San Diego, making her the second orca death at the marine parks in a month.

The whale named Kasatka was put down Tuesday evening after battling a lung disease for years.

SeaWorld says Kasatka was 'surrounded by members of her pod, as well as the veterinarians and caretakers who loved her,' when she died. 

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Orca Calf Dies at SeaWorld: Why Killer Whales Get Sick in Captivity

By Tracy Staedter, Live Science Contributor | July 27, 2017 06:15pm ET

A 3-month-old orca calf named Kyara died this past weekend, possibly from pneumonia, at SeaWorld San Antonio. This isn't the first occasion of a killer whale dying in captivity.

Dozens of other captive killer whales, including the SeaWorld orca named Tilikum, who was made famous in the documentary "Blackfish," have also died from bacterial infections.

According to SeaWorld’s press statement, Kyara's death, which is still being investigated, was not the result of living in captivity. But some experts in marine mammal research say that the living conditions contribute to disease.

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'Shocking' levels of PCB chemicals in UK killer whale Lulu

By Rebecca Morelle Science Correspondent, BBC News


2 May 2017

One of the UK's last killer whales was contaminated with "shocking" levels of a toxic chemical, scientists say.

The animal, called Lulu, was found dead on the Isle of Tiree in Scotland last year after becoming entangled in fishing lines.

But tests now reveal her body contained among the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, ever recorded.

The chemicals were banned from the 1970s but are still in the environment.

Researchers now fear that other animals in Lulu's pod also have similarly high levels of contamination. The group, which is found off the west coast of Scotland, is thought to consist of just eight animals.

Dr Andrew Brownlow, head of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme and veterinary pathologist at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), told BBC News that Lulu had "shocking levels of PCBs".

He said: "The levels of PCB contamination in Lulu were incredibly high, surprisingly so. They were 20 times higher than the safe level that we would expect for cetaceans to be able to manage.

"That puts her as one of the most contaminated animals on the planet in terms of PCB burden, and does raise serious questions for the long-term survivability of this group (of UK killer whales)."



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Tilikum, orca that killed trainer, dies at SeaWorld Orlando

By Mike Schneider and Jennifer Kay | AP January 6

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tilikum the orca has died after more than two decades at SeaWorld Orlando, where he gained notoriety for killing a trainer in 2010 and was later profiled in a documentary that helped sway popular opinion against keeping killer whales in captivity.

He will not be replaced. He was the first of SeaWorld’s orcas to die since the company announced the end of its orca breeding program in March 2016.

In a statement announcing Tilikum’s death early Friday, SeaWorld officials said he had serious health issues including a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection. Tilikum was estimated to be 36 years old. A necropsy will determine the cause of death.

The 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau during a performance with Tilikum after a “Dine with Shamu” show shocked the public and changed the future of orcas at SeaWorld parks.

Brancheau was interacting with Tilikum before a live audience at SeaWorld Orlando when he pulled her from a platform by her arm and held her underwater. An autopsy report said Brancheau drowned but also suffered severe trauma, including multiple fractures.

Former SeaWorld orca trainer John Hargrove said Tilikum’s death offered some closure in the violent death of his friend and colleague. But he said Tilikum also finally found relief.

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World's oldest known killer whale Granny dies

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News


3 January 2017
 

The world's oldest known killer whale, affectionately known as Granny, is missing and presumed dead, researchers say.

Estimated to be over 100 years old, the matriarch's official name was J2.

She was the focal point of a recent BBC documentary that followed biologists' study of her clan of orcas, an effort to unravel an evolutionary mystery.

Studying female orcas, which live long beyond their reproductive years, has revealed insights into the menopause.
Menopause mystery

Only three mammals are known to experience menopause - orcas, short-finned pilot whales and humans. Even our closest ape cousins, chimpanzees, do not go through it. Their fertility peters out with age and, in the wild, they seldom live beyond childbearing years.

Following Granny and other matriarch killer whales has shown their crucial role within the family group. They guide the pod as it forages, take care of other females' young calves and even feed the larger males.

These post-reproductive female leaders help their families to survive, and the advantage they offer could show what drives a species to evolve to stop reproducing. 

 

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Only known white killer whale sighted by scientists for first time since 2012

Helena Horton 

1 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1:06PM

An extremely rare white killer whale - the first adult of its kind ever spotted - has been rediscovered by scientists.

The whale, who they have named Iceberg, was sighted off the coast of Russia's Kuril Islands.

It was spotted by American researcher Erich Hoyt, 65, of the Far East Russia Orca Project. He has just released a paper on the white Orcas in Russia, and detailed his sighting of the aquatic mammal.

Iceberg was last spotted in 2012, and seems to be still enjoying a healthy life in its pod.

Just one-in ten thousand killer whales, also known as Orcas, are completely white.

The 22-year-old whale is the only adult Orca to have been spotted in the wild.

Young white killer whales are sometimes seen in the wild, but they usually die before they reach adulthood.

Orcas usually live to around 30, but can survive until 50 or 60. They mature at 15.

Iceberg was last seen was spotted off the coast of Kamchatka in eastern Russia.

Erich Hoyt spotted him the first time, too, and told the BBC at the time: "We've seen another two white orcas in Russia but they've been young, whereas this is the first time we've seen a mature adult.

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Baby whale stranded in New Zealand harbour for 20 days has died

The orca, nicknamed Bob, was dehydrated and emaciated, and refused food offered by scientists trying to save him

Saturday 6 August 201601.25 BST

The baby orca stranded in Tauranga harbour in New Zealand for more than 20 days has died.

The calf – nicknamed Bob by locals – had been separated from it’s pod in mid-July, and despite the efforts of a task force set up to reunite Bob with his family, his kin were never located.

The calf – estimated to be between six months and one year old – was dehydrated and emaciated, and refused food offered by scientists trying to save him.

Without his mother’s milk Bob had begun to use up his own reserves of blubber to survive.

Earlier this week Bob’s health began to decline rapidly, and he was transported from Tauranga harbour to a pool on the shoreline, where he was fed electrolytes and water through a tube. He was also offered fish slurry, which he refused.

“Sadly the calf lost its battle overnight despite the best efforts of a team of rescuers,” conservation minister Maggie Barry said in a statement.

“Rescue and release of an orca this young would have been a world first, the chances of success were always slim.

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Meet Granny: At 105, she’s the world’s oldest killer whale

AUGUST 9, 2016

by Chuck Bednar

A killer whale estimated to be 105 years old, meaning that it was born a year before the Titanic sank, is apparently alive and well after being spotted off the coast of Washington.

Officially known as J2 but affectionately nicknamed “Granny,” the whale was seen swimming with other orcas in the Salish Sea and near San Juan Island’s False Bay near Washington state on July 27, the Daily Mail and Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this month.

Granny, which was first spotted in 1971 when she was an estimated 60 years old, is believed to be the matriarch of a group of whales in the northern Pacific Ocean. Though experts believe she is 105, there is a 12 year margin of error about her age, meaning she could be only 93 years old – which still far exceeds the typical orca lifespan of between 60 and 80 years.

Experts from Ocean EcoVentures explained to the Daily Mail that they were able to identify J2 thanks to special markings on her dorsal fin and a notch shaped like a half-moon, and in a recent blog post, they said that she and her group, the Southern Resident Killer Whales, had spent a few weeks foraging and travelling through the Strait of Georgia near British Columbia.

How experts determined Granny’s age (and why she’s not all that unusual)

According to the author of that blog post, Simon Pidcock, Granny “has been swimming pretty much non-stop for over 100 years. The Southern Residents on average travel about 72 miles in a 24-hour period day in, day out. This means in Granny’s lifetime she has swam around the world the equivalent of a 100 times.”

The earliest pictures of J2 were from 1967, according to Pidcock, and whale researchers believe that she has been alive since 1911. In 1976, she was spotted travelling with a mature bull known as “Ruffles” due to the trailing edge of his dorsal fin. Ruffles was thought to be the only survivor among Granny’s offspring, as these whales typically remain with their mothers for life.

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Dopey Dick, killer whale that swam into Derry in 1977, still alive and well

Whale experts discover orca they know as Comet is same killer whale that swam into Northern Irish city nearly 40 years ago

Press Association

Friday 1 April 2016 18.55 BSTLast modified on Friday 1 April 201619.31 BST

A killer whale that sparked widespread attention when it swam into a Northern Irish city almost 40 years ago is still alive and living off the west coast of Scotland, experts have found.

The whale was nicknamed Dopey Dick by locals after he made his way up the river Foyle into the heart of Derry in pursuit of salmon in 1977. He is now thought to be at least 58 and was identified when pictures of the Irish incident were compared with images taken of a pod of whales near the Isle of Skye in September 2014.

Known as Comet, the orca is part of the vulnerable west coast community whales – the UK’s only known resident population of killer whales – that are tracked by experts.

Andy Foote, a killer whale expert, said: “When I saw the photos on Facebook, I noticed that the white eye patch of Dopey Dick sloped backwards in a really distinctive fashion.

“This is a trait we see in all the west coast community whales, but it’s not that common in other killer whale populations. The photographs were all quite grainy, but it was still possible to see some of the distinctive features unique to Comet.

“I couldn’t believe it – he was already a full-grown male back in 1977, when I was just five years old.”

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has been documenting the west coast community’s behaviour since 1994.

The four males and four females are not known to interact with other orca populations in the north-east Atlantic and, since studies began, have never successfully reproduced.

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Campaigners call for release of SeaWorld-owned wild-born killer whale in Tenerife

The orca captured off the Dutch coast and now performing shows should be released into a sea pen, say animal rights activists

 By Senay Boztas, Amsterdam

4:54PM GMT 22 Mar 2016

Calls are growing for the release of a wild-born killer whale who performs to British tourists in Tenerife in the wake of a decision by America's SeaWorld to stop breeding and end “theatrical shows”.

The director of a new short film on Morgan – an orca born wild, captured off the Dutch coast – has called for her to be released into a sea pen or sanctuary.

Heiko Grimm, director of the short film ‘I am Morgan – Stolen Freedom’, believes the orca, who belongs to SeaWorld, was considered valuable as she potentially introduced a new blood line to widely in-bred orcas. “The whole situation could now change for Morgan with SeaWorld’s latest announcement to stop their breeding programme,” he said.

“Because of that, Morgan is not essential for SeaWorld any more. Additionally Morgan is a good candidate for a sea pen or sea-sanctuary because she was born in the wild…Can the last part of her ‘capture, rehabilitation and release’-permit now be fulfilled? I believe so.”

         

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Ripe Old Age: SeaWorld's Killer Whale Tilikum Near Death at 35

by Laura Geggel, Staff Writer   |   March 09, 2016 06:22pm ET

The killer whale named Tilikum, who made headlines after killing his trainer at SeaWorld in 2010, has a respiratory infection that may ultimately take the orca's life, at age 35. But compared with its counterparts in the wild, the aquarium showstopper has lived a long time, experts say.

Tilikum's health has declined during the past few weeks, likely because of a drug-resistant bacterial infection in his lungs, officials said.

"Tilikum's behavior has become increasingly lethargic, and the SeaWorld veterinary and animal care teams are concerned that his health is beginning to deteriorate," SeaWorld Cares said in the statement. 

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Marineland Orca Dies Four Months After Mother, Following Life Of Captivity

A young orca who spent his whole life in captivity has died, just four months after the death of his mother at the same marine park.

19-year-old Valentine, riddled with health problems, passed away after extreme weather hit southern France, leaving the tourist attraction submerged in contaminated water.

His death has sparked backlash from animal rights groups, who fear the conditions will also kill the four remaining orcas.

Sam Lipman, chair of Dolphinaria-Free Europe, said: "We are incredibly concerned for the four remaining orcas at Marineland Antibes, now more than ever. Over a week has gone by and the orcas are still languishing in dirty tank water.

"The facility still hasn't released any information about how it is planning to resolve this horrific situation, which has caused the deaths of many animals that it is responsible for."

Footage from earlier this month shows the mud-riddled exhibits that the animals are being kept in:

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Lolita the killer whale closer to freedom with inclusion on endangered list

Sunday 25 January 2015 20.10 GMT

Lolita, a killer whale that has lived in a tank at Miami’s Seaquarium for 44 years, could move a step closer to freedom this week.

After decades of campaigning, animal rights activists hope US officials will include the orca on a list of endangered whales that frequent the waters where she was captured, off Washington state. That decision could trigger a lawsuit by activists who want to fly 7,000lbs (3.2-tonne) Lolita across the country and prepare her for release into the wild.

About 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Seaquarium this month to demand the release of Lolita, who performs in shows seven days a week and was the subject of the 2003 video documentary Lolita: Slave to Entertainment. Officials at Miami Seaquarium, where the orca has lived since 1970, say the release plan is dangerous and Lolita would not survive in the wild after so many years in captivity.

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Moscow whales kept in cramped conditions for nearly a year

Following the news of ten wild orcas being captured in the Far East of Russia, with two being transferred to Moscow for captivity (which we reported here), the backlash against the city’s new exhibition centre VDNKh for keeping the whales continues. The Independent reports that Russian animal activist group Vita, along with other supporters, battles to gain public support and raise awareness of what they claim is animal cruelty. 

The two killer whales were to be transferred to the centre’s new aquarium – said to become Europe’s largest – in spring 2014, but delays in construction have meant the whales have been kept in temporary housing since their arrival 10 months ago. 

Aleksandr Burdin, Director of the Far East Russia Orca Project, supports Vita in their campaign and compares the orcas’ current living situation with “putting a human in a barrel with water and keeping him or her there for a long time,” while Head of Vita Irina Novozhilova claimed in a statement the animals are living in ‘solitary confinement cells’. 

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Census: Orca population in Puget Sound falling

31st August 2014 

With two new deaths this year and no new calves since 2012, the population of endangered killer whales in the Puget Sound continues to decline.

The number of whales in J, K and L pods has dropped to 78, a level not seen since 1985, According to a census by the Center for Whale Research. Adding to the concerns, the whales appear to be "splintering" from their pods, which are their basic social groups.

Since 1976, Ken Balcomb of the research center has been observing the Puget Sound orcas, or Southern Residents as they're known among scientists. Balcomb compiles an annual census of the population for submission to the federal government.

Historically, all three pods of orcas have come together in the San Juan Islands during summer months, often feeding and socializing in large groups, Balcomb noted. But for the past few years, the pods have divided themselves into small groups, sometimes staying together but often staying apart.

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