Orca Week

12/08/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS of SAN ONOFRE, CA
"I can remember the loud puffs of the whales exhaling and the long bouts of our silence, broken intermittently by a gasp or an utterance of amazement. I can remember wondering if I could even capture the magic of that evening in a single photograph… and that’s why this one is my favorite; when I look at it, I’m there again." DTP

Sometimes when I look back at a photo, I’m taken back to the moment I took it. I can remember how glorious the skies were that day, how still the sea was, and how cold and crisp the air felt. I can remember the loud puffs of the whales exhaling and the long bouts of our silence, broken intermittently by a gasp or an utterance of amazement. I can remember wondering if I could even capture the magic of that evening in a single photograph… and that’s why this one is my favorite; when I look at it, I’m there again.

11/08/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS - BOW & WAKE RIDING
"A jaw-dropping moment in Blackfish Sound this afternoon as members of the A23s and A50s moved in to surf a cruise ship wake. As the largest members of the dolphin family, orcas are known to bow and wake ride ships of all sizes when given the opportunity" OBI

A jaw-dropping moment in Blackfish Sound this afternoon as members of the A23s and A50s moved in to surf a cruise ship wake. As the largest members of the dolphin family, orcas are known to bow and wake ride ships of all sizes when given the opportunity. We see the Southern Residents wake ride freighters pretty regularly, but they usually move in after the ship passes towards the surging waves. Today, these Northern Residents stopped right in the ship's path as it approached, and cruised along the length of it as stunned onlookers looked straight down from the decks above. Just another example of how these animals are true masters of their environment!

10/08/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS of ALERT BAY via Bay Cetology
"Our team was able to get out and document some more commonly seen Bigg’s in the area known as the T090s (first picture) hunting a steller sea lion. That was followed up yesterday by an encounter with a larger group of Bigg’s, some of which are rare visitors to the north island, including T117A (second picture)." BC

02/08/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS of IBERIAN SEA
“Yes, orcas have been sinking expensive sailing boats but everything you’ve read about the situation is probably wrong.” Dr. Ingrid Visser

News article just out.... https://tinyurl.com/Iberian-orca

30/07/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS of ALASKA
"The Orca (killer whales) are still making appearances here in Ketchikan for those willing to burn gas and go out past the typical whale watching tours." RAFC

23/07/2024

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Orca photo from Norway by Jon Doval.
instagram.com/jon.doval

18/07/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS - CODAS?
Can Orca Communications Research Design Be Informed by Current S***m Whale Phonetic Alphabet Codas - Tempo, Rhythm, Rubato, Ornamentation …
“Analogous to visualizations of the human phonetic repertoire, we propose a phonetic alphabet for s***m whales. Tempo types are plotted on the vertical axis, rhythm types are plotted on the horizontal axis, and the colour of each cell represents the number of occurrences of that rhythm/tempo combination in the DSWP dataset. Pie charts in each cell provide further information about the prevalence of rubato and ornamentation within each feature combination: the left pie shows the ratio of the number of codas that appear with rubato to those without, while the right pie shows the fraction of all ornaments that appear with that feature combination. While not all feature combinations are realised (as observed in human languages), s***m whale codas have a rich combinatorial structure with both discrete and continuous parameters and at least 143 combinations frequently realised.” Project CETI , source https://rdcu.be/dOf1c

15/07/2024

HAPPY WORLD ORCA DAY - JULY 14TH 2024
A day to celebrate, advocate and raise awareness, created by Dr. Ingrid Visser World Orca Day

Happy World Orca Day – a day to celebrate, advocate and raise awareness, created by Dr. Ingrid Visser. https://www.worldorcaday.org/

In the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to have two unique ecotypes of killer whales. This provides frequent opportunities for the public to see orcas, and for scientists to do an incredible amount of research. There is a fascinating juxtaposition between Southern Resident and Bigg’s orcas, who use the same habitat but live completely different lives. Not only do they have unique diets and dialects, these two ecotypes are genetically distinct, and they have very complex social structures and behaviors that we may never fully understand. Due to an incredible body of data on habitat use, we have witnessed a dramatic shift related to prey abundance, with Southern Residents spending far less time in the Salish Sea than in previous years while Bigg’s, who were once just occasional visitors are now being seen in these inland waters almost daily throughout the year.

Even though these two ecotypes do not interact, the Bigg’s offer a sign of hope for the struggling, endangered Southern Residents. While Bigg’s share many of the same threats as residents, with even higher contaminant levels, they are thriving due to an abundance of their marine mammal prey. They are an example of how restoring salmon can help the Southern Resident orcas overcome the other obstacles they face. Whales who do not get enough to eat metabolize their blubber where contaminants are stored, leading to a multitude of health problems and reduced calf survival. But if food is plentiful the toxics remain in the blubber and do not circulate through the body. A well-fed orca is a healthy orca.

For a list of actions you can take to help with the recovery of Southern Resident orcas, please visit https://www.orcanetwork.org/action-advocacy/17-days-of-action and https://www.orcamonth.com/act. Thank you to all of you who report your whale sightings from land or sea. This information has allowed researchers to gain a better understanding of habitat use by both Bigg’s and Southern Resident orcas, and we hope that ultimately understanding will lead to recovery.

10/07/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS - FORMATION SWIMMING STUDY
“The results of this study set the stage for further research to identify the multiple determinants affecting killer whale formation swimming which go beyond purely energetic advantages, e.g. social relationships”. cwr

New Research Paper just published!

This paper looks at how killer whales traveling in groups, particularly as a follower, could influence the energetic costs of swimming. Whale tailbeat and breathing frequencies were measured as proxies for determining energetic costs. Additional factors such as swimming speed, relative positioning, s*x, and size of the whales were all looked at to see how they effected those proxies. This paper provides a great look into various methods for quantifying and measuring energetic costs through the use of drone footage.

“The results of this study set the stage for further research to identify the multiple determinants affecting killer whale formation swimming which go beyond purely energetic advantages, e.g. social relationships”

The full paper is available to read on our website under Research Publications

Spina, F., Weiss, M. N., Croft, D. P., Luschi, P., Massolo, A., and Domenici, P. (2024). The effect of formation swimming on tailbeat and breathing frequencies in killer whales. SPRINGER LINK, Volume 78, article number 75.

05/07/2024

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Yelnats a Biggs male of PNW .. “T060C traveling down the coast off Tofino a few days ago” Owen Crosby. instagram.com/ocroz_/

04/07/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS of EAST COAST AUSTRALIA
"Splitfin is a well known Orca on the East Coast with a very distinctive split dorsal fin." SCA

30/06/2024

ORCA ACTION MONTH - LAST EVENTS
It’s been another fantastic June Orca Month this year. Time to say goodbye for now. Thanks to all the orca lovers of many organizations for all they do to make this celebration a success every year. See everyone again in June 2025!!

23/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCAS - Orca Month
'Global Orca Week' has come to an end for this year. Check out the rest of Orca Action Month's events this week, June 23rd - 29th.

22/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Orca Network
President Howard Garrett and Executive Director Susan Berta are founders of the Orca Network. The link below introduces the team.
https://www.orcanetwork.org/staff

OVERVIEW
Howard Garrett and Susan Berta co-founded the non-profit Orca Network in November 2001. The Orca Network provides the public with an opportunity to learn about orcas and other local marine mammals. Projects include: Whale Sighting Network; Educational Programs, Presentations, Events, & Advocacy; Langley Whale Center; Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network; Campaign to Retire Tokitae/Lolita to the Salish Sea.

Whale Sighting Network and Education Project
“The purpose of Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network and Education Project is to encourage observation and increase awareness and knowledge about Resident orcas and Bigg’s/Transient orcas, gray whales, humpbacks, minke whales, and other marine mammals in the Salish Sea. We are especially concerned with the critically endangered Southern Resident Community of orcas (J, K and L pods), to foster a stewardship ethic, and motivate a diverse audience to take action to protect and restore these orcas' critical habitat.” ON
https://www.orcanetwork.org

ORCA MONTH
“2024 marks the 18th year that Washingtonians celebrate Orca Month. Started by Susan Berta and Howard Garrett of Orca Network, Orca Month was created to bring together researchers, advocates, and orca lovers everywhere to raise the awareness of the threats facing these magnificent animals, the need to help them recover to a healthy population, and a way to provide a community to celebrate orcas of the Salish Sea.” OM
https://www.orcamonth.com/about
(photo source Howard & Susan pic: ON)

22/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - OrcaLab
Dr. Paul Spong is the Founder and CO-Director of OrcaLab. The link below introduces the team.
https://orcalab.org/who-we-are

OVERVIEW
“Dr. Paul Spong arrived on Hanson Island in 1970 to study wild orcas, with little more than a tent and hydrophone. What started as a summer project led to year-round monitoring and, by the late 1970s, Paul and his family were living there permanently. The lab and surrounding buildings were built out of wood and added to over the last 50 years, as the demands of research and living have increased. Every summer the lab hosts approximately 10 to 20 volunteers who contribute to the 24/7 running of the lab, as the Northern Resident Orcas chat, forage, and socialize day and night.

Since we began, we have focused primarily on the intricacies of the Northern Resident orca population. We have watched their dynamics evolve and shared in every joy of a new baby or the sad death of a beloved individual. We know each orca by name and each family by its distinct acoustic repertoire.

ORCA ACOUSTICS
Every day, we listen to the marine species that surround our lab in Blackney Passage, Blackfish Sound, and the Johnstone Strait. We have over 60,000 recorded hours of acoustic data, most of which belong to the unique calls made by the Northern Resident Orca Community.

Orca societies are matrilineal, and each family group has its own repertoire of discreet calls that becomes easily recognizable to the trained ear. Building on the acoustic work of Dr. John Ford, we have cataloged these distinct calls every year since we began, and have built up an intimate picture of the remarkable lives of these orcas that return to our area, year after year.

The Northern Resident orcas are most active here during the summer months. From July-October we have dedicated assistants on shifts covering 24 hours a day who record all activity across our seven hydrophones.” OL
https://orcalab.org/research
(Paul Spong pic source: OrcaLab)

21/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Bay Cetology
Jared Towers is Executive Director of Bay Cetology. The link below introduces the team.
https://baycetology.org/who-we-are

OVERVIEW
“We are a team of marine biologists and research technicians based out of Alert Bay ("Home of the Killer Whale" and unceded traditional territory of the 'Namgis First Nation), British Columbia, Canada.

PROJECTS
Killer Whale Photo-ID Data Curation
Through widespread collection and sharing of photo-ID data our team builds and maintains population datasets and databases. We currently manage WCT Bigg’s killer whale photo-ID data in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as Chilean Type A, Type D and South Georgian Type B killer whale photo-ID data in collaboration with Deakin University and other partners.

NRKW Photo ID App
To support field efforts and meet other demands for up to date demographic information about the northern resident killer whale (NRKW) population, we have developed an NRKW ID App in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. It is now freely available to download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.” BC
https://baycetology.org
(photo source: bay cetology)

21/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Orca Behavior Institute
Monika Wieland Shields is CO-Founder and Director of the Orca Behavior Institute (OBI). The link below introduces the team.
https://orcabehaviorinstitute.org/team-obi

OVERVIEW
“The Orca Behavior Institute (OBI) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization started by Monika Wieland Shields and Michael Weiss in March 2015. Our mission is to conduct non-invasive behavioral and acoustic research on the killer whales of the Salish Sea and beyond.

OBI is made up of a small group of passionate community scientists. As long-time viewers of killer whales in the Salish Sea, our initial motivation was to collect year-round data to document some of the trends we were witnessing and to make sure policy could be informed by the latest information. This included the increasing presence of mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales as well as the increasing absence of the endangered fish-eating Southern Residents. Our first two peer-reviewed publications were on these topics and were only possible due to buy-in from our partners on OBI’s core values of openness and collaboration.” OBI
https://orcabehaviorinstitute.org
(photo source: OBI)

21/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - KEN BALCOMB SURVEY SINCE 1976
“Every year for over four decades, we have collected detailed demographic data on the Southern Resident killer whale population, recording all observed births and deaths. We have also gathered detailed information on the behavior and ecology of these animals, including information on where the animals are in geographic location and time, and their social behavior and foraging patterns. This dataset has provided ground-breaking insight into killer whale biology and ecology that we hope will help to inform management decisions to conserve this vulnerable and now endangered population.” CWR
https://www.whaleresearch.com/orcasurvey
(photo source: cwr)

21/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Center for Whale Research
Dr. Darren Croft is Executive Director of the ‘Center for Whale Research’ (CWR). The link below introduces the team.
https://www.whaleresearch.com/ourpeople

OVERVIEW
“The Orca Survey is a long-term photo-identification study of the Southern Resident killer whales (orcas) in North America's Pacific Northwest. The study was initiated by Principal Investigator Ken Balcomb in 1976 (under contract to the National Marine Fisheries Service) to ascertain the population size of the killer whales in the Greater Puget Sound environs of Washington State.

SRKW An Endangered Population
The detailed information about the orca population status and trends derived from the Center for Whale Research’s long-term studies have been used to support population management decisions in both Canada and the United States. In 2001, the Southern Resident killer whales became listed as endangered in Canada under the Species At Risk Act (SARA) and, in 2005, the SRKW population received the same designation in the United States under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Although the Southern Resident killer whale population was never likely large, it has declined to a point where it is in grave danger of survival. Threats to SRKW survival, including a decline in food abundance (Chinook salmon), pollution, and other environmental stressors, are likely causes of the orcas’ diminishing status.” CWR
https://www.whaleresearch.com
(photo source: cwr)

21/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - PNW
The southern resident killer whales (SRKW) and northern resident killer whales (NRKW), are two of four communities of orca in the PNW (northeast Pacific Ocean). The southern resident orcas form a closed society with no emigration or dispersal of individuals, and no gene flow with other orca populations. The fish eating ecotype was historically given the name 'resident,' but other ecotypes named 'transient' and 'offshore' are also resident in the same area.

The Salish Sea and surrounding area are commonly thought to be the best place to see orcas in the wild. The area has numerous orca-based research and conservation organizations as well as whale watching expeditions. Cetacean researchers and tourists travel from all parts of the globe just to observe orcas in the wild. We will highlight some of these organizations and their activities with new postings on this page.
(map source: noaa cwr)

20/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - California Killer Whale Project
Nancy Black is CEO & Director for the California Killer Whale Project. The link below introduces the team.
https://www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org/team-1

OVERVIEW
“We are a group of volunteers with an immense passion for the ocean, especially orcas! We have been collecting data since 1987! It is our responsibility to continue the study and conservation of orcas and promote awareness about these incredible cetaceans.

Our CKWP team has created a new and expanded field guide that includes 73 of the Bigg's killer whales in our population, for citizen scientists of all ages! You can use this field guide to ID well-known killer whales seen in Monterey Bay, and to learn more about each pod and their unique matriarchies (family relationships). We are so excited to share the detailed knowledge gained from over 35 years of field research.” CKWP
(photo source: CKWP)
https://www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org

2023 Field Guide
Our CKWP team has created a new and expanded field guide that includes 73 of the Bigg's killer whales in our population, for citizen scientists of all ages.
https://www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org/field-guides

20/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Russian Orcas

FAR EAST RUSSIA ORCA PROJECT (FEROP) STORY
“Shadowed by snow-covered coastal volcanoes, Avacha Gulf on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula is home to more than 700 Russian orcas. Mostly the resident orcas come to feed on salmon but they also eat mackerel and cod. Orcas also use Avacha Gulf for resting, socializing and giving birth. When the pods join up together, they form into “clubs”. Whales in these clubs gather to establish and maintain social bonds, and they play a role in reproduction, but they don’t feed together. The appearance and structure of the Russian fish-eating killer whale communities resemble the well-known northern and southern Vancouver Island communities and the resident Alaskan communities—but there is no known exchange between any of them.

Ongoing Research
In 1999, WDC assisted in developing a photo ID catalogue of Russian orcas. WDC Research Fellow Erich Hoyt, together with Russian scientists Alexander Burdin, Olga Filatova and Tatiana Ivkovich are responsible for directing the project. FEROP has succeeded in training a generation of young students in photo-ID, acoustic recording and other research techniques, with at least ten students having obtained MSc’s and four students PhDs through the project mostly at Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University. The FEROP work has been widely reported by BBC News and other publications around the world. The main papers published by the team in international journals can be seen and downloaded on the Russian orca website.” (photo source: FEROP)
https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/how-we-help/far-east-russia-orca-project-ferop

Russian Orcas Homepage
http://russianorca.org/index.php?lang=en

20/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - New Zealand Orca ID Guide
“Since first establishing the Orca Research Trust (ORT), Dr. Ingrid Visser has endeavoured to keep the public informed about the orca who live around New Zealand. The first identification (ID) guide was published in the early 1990s and it has been updated periodically since then ..” ORT
https://www.orcaresearch.org/nz-orca-id-guide

19/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Orca Research Trust
Dr. Ingrid Visser is founder and principal scientist for the Orca Research Trust. The link below introduces the team.
https://www.orcaresearch.org/about-us/our-team

OVERVIEW
The Orca Research Trust was founded in 1998 by Dr Ingrid N. Visser. It is a registered NGO with the New Zealand Government’s Charities Commission. The mission is to ‘Protect Orca and their Habitat, through Conservation, Education and Scientific Research’. Dr. Visser has set up the Orca Research Trust, the Antarctic Killer Whale Identification Catalogue and was a co-founder of the Punta Norte Orca Research non-profit organisations all focusing on orca research.
(photo source: ORT)

19/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - ORCA ACOUSTIC RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA
Rebecca ‘Bec” Wellard heads a passive acoustic monitoring team studying orcas at Bremer Bay Canyon and Ningaloo Reef. (map & photo source: orca talk oz) https://orcatalkoz.wordpress.com

OVERVIEW
“To date, there has been no dedicated study on the killer whale populations in Australia due to their transient nature and difficulty of obtaining data using conventional methods. There is no reliable estimate of the population size of killer whales in Australian waters and population trends are unknown, with much of the information on killer whale distribution and occurrence obtained from incidental sightings.

Passive acoustic monitoring is a technique that can surmount this and allows us to obtain quantitative data, which will enhance our knowledge of this poorly known species in this region and provide the basis for future management and conservation. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the acoustic features of killer whale vocalisations in Australian waters, the sound environment they reside in, and presents an opportunity to further investigate this little-known population.” Orca Talk Oz

19/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - AUSTRALIA’S ORCA CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT
David Donnelly and Isabella Reeves are among the researchers heading up a citizen science project gathering data about regional orcas. (photo source, David Donnelly)

OVERVIEW
“Killer whales have long been a challenge for researchers, particularly off Australia's south-eastern coast. But over the past three decades, data on sightings collected by the public and logged by citizen science project Killer Whales Australia is helping to create a better understanding of the elusive apex predators.

The project, based at the Dolphin Research Institute in Hastings, Victoria, started in 1994 as the Southern Ocean Orca Database, with marine scientist David Donnelly taking the reins in 2000.

The team collaborates with universities and works with colleagues in Western Australia to create a nationwide understanding of how killer whales move around the country's waters.” Josh Brine
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-04/killer-whales-orcas-australia-citizen-science-project/103765712?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

19/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Norwegian Orca ID Catalogue
https://www.norwegianorca-id.no/browse-the-catalogue

OVERVIEW
“In wildlife management, scientific data and literature are necessary to inform status assessments and to further design effective conservation strategies. In this regard, Norwegian Orca Survey aims at publishing the most up-to-date knowledge on the killer whales that frequent the Norwegian Sea. ​To achieve this goal, we have been in the field researching Norwegian killer whales in all seasons since 2013 ..” NOS

19/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Norwegian Orca Survey
Eve Jourdain is director & principal scientist for the Norwegian Orca Survey. The link below introduces the team. https://www.norwegianorcasurvey.no/about-us
(photo source: )

18/06/2024

GLOBAL ORCA WEEK - Current Orca Sightings
"Live from the field! Currently watching a pod of 5 ORCAS off the North Mainland with our Ultimate Shetland group! Incredible views as they passed us only a few metres off the coast! More pics to follow. Pic by Hugh." SW

Live from the field! Currently watching a pod of 5 ORCAS off the North Mainland with our Ultimate Shetland group! Incredible views as they passed us only a few metres off the coast! More pics to follow. Pic by Hugh.