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Orcas Continue to Starve
Orcas continue starving and their babies continue dying. Where is a solution from Washington State? They have done studies and more studies.
The most recent study showed that noise from boats and other sources needs to be curtailed, giving the orcas enough space to forage which would benefit their health.
Pollution actions include reducing hot spots of toxins that impact orcas, as well as their prey - juvenile salmon and herring.
But the most important point is that they desperately need more food throughout their range from Southeast Alaska to Northern California. Based on estimates of their food requirements, the average Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) must consume 18-25 adult salmon daily just to meet their energy requirements.
Sign the petition below to remove the dams that are preventing the Chinook salmon from getting to the Columbia River
BABY BORN TO L POD
The new calf is a member of the L pod, which now has 35 killer whales in all. The Southern Residents are divided into three pods - J, K and L - each with its own dialect of call sounds.
The calf is known as L124. The pod had nearly 100 orcas in the mid-90s, and now has 75 - in large part because of a depletion of its main food source, the Chinook salmon. Since no calves born to the group since 2015 have survived to maturity, researchers are keeping their hopes up for L124.
Our Ecosystem is Changing
Evidenced by Sperm Whales in Arctic
At first they thought were orcas, but the shape of the dorsal fin surprised Allooloo, a veteran Arctic hunter. They were sperm whales.
This was the second sighting of sperm whales in the area. The first was in September 2014, when hunters from Pond Inlet saw them in the area.
Sperm whale physiology doesn't agree with Arctic temperatures. In colder waters their heads and upper parts of their body contain an oily fat that turns waxy. Their large bodies are also not useful for breaking through ice. Some cetaceans do well year-round in the Arctic, including the beluga, bowhead and narwhal.
Exploring the northern waters, the inexperienced sperm whales may not know to leave early enough, and they could get caught in the sea ice.
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| | Juvenile sperm whale photo by Sally Bartel |
News From Around Our Planet!
CANADA - A grey-spotted narwhal has been documented living, playing, and learning from a pod of beluga whales in Canada's St. Lawrence River. She/he was first observed in 2016 and after two years, the narwhal seems to be at home with the St. Lawrence belugas, as reported by Canadian nonprofit Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals.
NORTH ATLANTIC POPULATION - Right Whales. There is jubilation for now concerning right whales. They have welcomed seven calves, whereas in 2018 they reported zero. Until 1989, 17 calves were the average per year. Their population is around 400 which puts them in the endangered category.
FLORIDA - We reported on Frito, a seahorse rescued by two women after being trapped by fishing line. He was released after recovering at Clearwater Aquarium in Florida.
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