MORGAN,  

Young Orca in The Netherlands

Needs Your Help!

People in the Netherlands are asking for assistance. Last year a young orca was captured in the North Sea.The plan was to release Morgan back into the ocean after she recovered at the Harderwijk Dolfinarium, but that is not happening.

  Concerned citizens want help to get Morgan returned to the wild. A concrete tank is no place for an orca, an animal that is capable of swimming 100 miles per day. Physical and psychological problems develop in captive orcas as demonstrated during the winter of 2009-2010,when  two captive orcas killed their trainers.   

  Demonstrations are being held in The Netherlands to give Morgan "a voice" and they have put up a petition to gain support for her freedom. Please help this orca by signing Morgan's petition.   

Baby Vaquita Porpoise
Has a Name 

Baby female vaquita porpoise sculpture by Michael E. Lee

 Hope

 The winning name was submitted by  

Madison Peitso, age 10

Rosita la Vaquita

The runner-up name was submitted by

Alexandra Roden, age 10

We invited children  - to age 14 - from around the world to help us find a perfect name for our life-size vaquita female calf model via ELetter and Facebook.  Hope will be traveling to bring the message about vaquita, the most endangered marine mammal in the world, to the public's attention.  

  We selected a runner-up because of the quality of the many wonderful submissions. Four out of five judges selected Hope as their first choice. Madison will receive a Save The Vaquita kit.  Alexandra will receive Songs to Heal Our Planet: Children Singing to Heal the Earth, a CD produced by Save The Whales.    

  Some of the many thoughtful names that received recognition are:   

Anita, Bella, Choya, Destiny, Paulita and Vanita.  

 Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all the participants. 

¡Viva Vaquita!

Harbor Porpoises Killed by  

Bottlenose Dolphins, Monterey Bay, CA

The following report is from Mark P. Cotter Field Director, Okeanis  

Moss Landing, CA:  

  A team of bottlenose dolphin researchers from Okeanis  witnessed three aggressive interactions between harbor porpoises and bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay, California, between 2007 and 2009. Since 2005, 44 harbor porpoise deaths caused by bottlenose dolphins have been documented in California.

  It was a first in two regards: the first time this aggressive behavior has been documented in the Pacific; and the first time a harbor porpoise was collected immediately after its death was caused by bottlenose dolphins. Present at the killing were 92% males either confirmed (61%) or assumed (31%).

  Based on widespread documentation of similar behaviors in other populations of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, aberrant behavior was rejected as a cause of aggression.  Evidence for interspecies territoriality as a form of competition for prey was weak, there is little dietary overlap and there are differences in bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoise distribution patterns in California. Object-oriented play was plausible as a form of practice to maintain intraspecific infanticidal skills or a form of play to maintain fighting skills between male associates. High testosterone levels could be a contributing factor as attacks occurred at the height of the breeding season, and/or a skewed operational sex ratio.