Why do the matriarchs of orca pods often live such long lives? The average lifespan for male killer whales is about 30 years, but they can live up to at least 60 years. Females typically live about 50 years, but … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Orca
Orcas attacking and killing sharks, even great white sharks, off the coast of South Africa is nothing new. A year ago, a pair of orcas killed 17 sharks in one day in South Africa’s Pearly Bay. More recently, scientists were … Continue reading
When the Ambassador Cruise Line cruise ship Ambition arrived recently in the port of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, its passengers admired the rugged coastline and the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. For many, however, the sense … Continue reading
News of two captive orcas. In Canada, Kiska, an orca often referred to as “the loneliest whale in the world” has died after spending over four decades in captivity at Marineland, a zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls. Kiska … Continue reading
More news of orcas attacking sailboats in the Atlantic off the Iberian peninsula, in this case involving a sailing icon. Scuttlebutt Sailing News reports that a pod of orcas attacked Sir Robin Knox-Johnson while sailing his Farr 56 Sanjula, damaging … Continue reading
Last September, the Spanish government issued restrictions on operating sailboats less than 15 meters long off a section of its Galician coast after multiple cases of encounters with pods of orcas, also known as killer whales. Last week, Spain issued … Continue reading
In the summer of 2018, a female orca whale became of a symbol of the perilous state of the Southern Resident orca pods of the Pacific Northwest. The whale, designated J35 by researchers, had given birth to a calf that … Continue reading
How little we know about the ocean is staggering. What little we know and understand about orcas, killer whales, is just one example. For years, there were thought to be two types of orcas — residents and transients. Residents stayed … Continue reading
The US Navy has recently ordered four Orca Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs) from Boeing, in a contract worth $43 million. The Orca XLUUVs are very large diesel-electric drone submarines intended to gather intelligence, place or clear naval mines, attack … Continue reading
It is remarkable how little we really know about orcas, also known as killer whales. In January, a team of NOAA scientists located and began to study a likely new species of orca about 60 miles off the coast of … Continue reading
Judie Johnson was swimming alone at Hahei Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand when she saw a huge shape appear from underwater. Initially, she thought that it was a dolphin but the black and white coloration made it … Continue reading
The resident orcas of the Salish Sea are dying. They now number only 75, a 30-year-low. They are being starved as their primary prey, the Chinook, or king salmon, are dying off. They are also being poisoned by pollutants in their waters … Continue reading
Since at least the 1960s there have been reports of orcas, also known as killer whales, stealing fish, particularly halibut, caught by fishing boats operating in the Bering Sea. Recently, the problem seems to be getting much worse. The Alaska Dispatch … Continue reading
Along the shore of South Africa, at least four great white sharks have washed ashore with their livers almost surgically removed. Two were also missing their hearts. The culprit appears not to be human. All indications seem to suggest that … Continue reading
Orcas live in complex multi-generational pods led by a matriarch. In the pod that scientists have labeled as the “J pod,” the matriarchal orca, designated as J2, also-known-as “Granny” was recently sighted swimming with her pod off the coast of … Continue reading
How do whales sleep? And do they dream? Many years ago on a kayaking trip on Blackfish Sound off Vancouver Island, our group of paddlers came across a pod of “sleeping” orcas. The pod was swimming very slowly, each orca swimming … Continue reading
A recent news story and video spins a fascinating mystery. Scientists in Australia tagged a healthy 9-foot great white shark. Four months later they found the tracking device washed up on a beach. The data in the the tracking device … Continue reading
The title of the paper published in the journal Polar Biology doesn’t help much, unless you are biologist. The paper is titled, “Mitogenomic insights into a recently described and rarely observed killer whale morphotype.” Lara Sorokanich writing in National Geographic … Continue reading
A recent ruling by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, determined that orca trainers must either remain at a greater distance from the orcas, stand behind a physical barrier or use other devices to keep them safer during performances. This ruling … Continue reading
Since around 1991, whale watchers in Australia have kept an eye out for an all-white humpback whale, which they have named Migaloo. Recently researchers have spotted an all-white male orca whale off the coast of Russia. The whales, which they … Continue reading