Salish Sea orcas

According to John KB Ford, Graeme B Ellis, and Kenneth C Balcomb, the resident orcas represent "the most intensively studied population of marine mammals in the world.

[citation needed] In a 1973 study of Northern resident orcas in the Georgia Strait, British-Canadian scientist Michael Bigg found that minor injuries, such as dents in the dorsal fins, did not fully heal over time and remained prominent on the individual for the rest of their lives.

Both residents and transients are catalogued in this way, and both the Canadian Department of Fisheries and the Center for Whale Research use these methods to track all individual orcas within the Salish Sea.

[11] The larger population of northern residents primarily ranges from the mid-coast of Alaska south into British Columbia through the Strait of Georgia and both sides of Vancouver Island south to Gray's Harbor, with the bulk of their range encompassing the Strait of Georgia and most of Vancouver Island, and north to Haida Gwaii.

They demonstrate seasonal shifts, generally inhabiting Chatham Sound in summer, Johnstone Strait in fall, and the San Juan Islands in winter.

Known for their more shark-like fins, large size, solid gray patches, and larger eyespots, transient orcas are found throughout the Salish Sea region, which appears to be their main area of occurrence.

[15] Their primary calls, which differ from residents, are composed of a series of click-like vocalizations and harsh, screaming sounds primarily used to frighten and trap prey when hunting.

However, interactions do sometimes become spectacular; in October 2022, a rare battle near Vancouver was observed between a pod of transients and humpbacks that ended with the group disappearing into the fog, with the ultimate outcome unknown.

Although forays into the Salish Sea are rare, the area immediately offshore, including the Barkley submarine canyon, is home to large numbers.

Although the gun was removed after a few months without ever being fired, its installation reflected a persistent degree of negativity surrounding orcas in the region.

Despite their reputation as man-eaters, fascination with orcas led to many wanting to see these largely unknown creatures close-up, alive or dead, in order to better understand them.

In 1964, Vancouver Aquarium curator Murray Newman requested an orca be harpooned in order to serve as a reference for a life-sized sculpture that would greet museum visitors.

Not wishing to seem inhumane, Newman instructed the team not to kill the whale, but instead tow it to a netted-off area at Burrard Dry Dock near the Vancouver Aquarium.

While the initial motive in keeping the whale was to provide a template for the sculpture and present scientists with a unique opportunity to study a little-known creature, the aquarium soon became overwhelmed with visitors eager to see an orca for the first time.

Moby Doll ultimately did not live long after capture, and died October 9, 1964 from an illness caused by the low water salinity at Burrard Dry Dock and complications from his harpoon wounds.

In June 1965, a large bull orca became trapped in a salmon net near Namu, British Columbia, and was sold to animal collector Ted Griffin for $8000.

[24] Many believe the failure of the southern residents to increase over the past few decades has been linked to the loss of genetic diversity resulting from the 1960s captures.

After further investigation, Monroe phoned Governor Evans, who filed a federal restraining order against SeaWorld, forbidding them from taking any additional whales.

Orca behavior and social life in the Salish Sea came to the public eye in the early 1970s with the works of Mike Bigg.

The first sanctuary specifically designed to protect cetaceans was established in 1982 in Robson Bight, part of Johnstone Strait, was dedicated in honor of Bigg.

Likewise, NOAA designated all of Puget Sound and the Juan de Fuca Strait as southern resident orca critical habitat in 2006, and updated it in 2021 to include all coastal waters of the Northwest from Cape Flattery to Monterey Bay.

[27] Ongoing threats to orcas include ship traffic, pollution, dams, and arguably most important, conflict with humans for food.

While Fraser River salmon as a whole are not currently endangered, chinook - which provide more than three-quarters of the diet of southern residents - have declined by more than half in the last decades, largely due to hatchery mismanagement, mishandled recovery plans, and an industry-based approach to solving environmental problems.

[31] Additionally, it has recently been revealed that southern residents contain large amounts of 4NP, a toxic chemical used in pulp and paper production, that when ingested, remain in the whales' systems for life, and can even pass from mothers to calves during gestation.

[33] The updated recovery plan in 2016-2020 identified the primary threats to orca populations as 1) negative interactions with vessels, and 2) depletion of salmon food sources.

[34] While this plan has the potential to make a positive impact, no significant progress has been made on restoring the salmon runs of Puget Sound or the Fraser River as of 2024.

[38] Lolita was a southern resident of the L pod, captured in Penn Cove in 1970, who spent the majority of her life at Miami Seaquarium in Florida.

At the time of her death in 2023, she was the last remaining captive orca from the 1960s-1970s Washington captures, prior to the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The refusal to release Lolita, as well as her overall living standards before her passing, have become a symbol for the movement opposing orca captivity for reasons other than medical need.

[39] Granny (southern resident J2) was the oldest fully authenticated wild orca on record, at least 65 years old at the time of her presumed death in October 2016.