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AKA the Pink Dolphin Prince

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

What’s your opinion on the aggression at SWSD? I keep getting told it’s normal 🙄

Seaworld says it’s normal and the orcas are just “asserting dominance” and reminding the other orcas “of their place.” They try to pass off outright wounds as rake marks.Pro-caps/pro-park folk generally echo that and additionally assert it’s due to matriarch stability issues because of the removal of Kasatka. My opinion is that the social group is completely dysfunctional. 

Which, I’ve been howled at in all directions is wrong, but here’s why I have that opinion:-the ‘matriarch issues’ and apparent need to consistently and profoundly assert dominance is… basically the definition of a dysfunctional group? -a functional group would not contain this. as evidenced by the fact that it’s not common to see wild orcas shredded up - at all, but especially not in the context of the familial groups. -that the whales cannot be allowed free access to the various pools due to the social issues was noted by the trainers (guest asked why the gates weren’t open.)-Makani seems particularly upset and was acting out a lot. He got riled up about something and threw a donut out of the pool and it hit the barrier glass at Dine With. He smacks his head into the viewing window and side of tanks repeatedly. They are going to have a mess on their hands if he gets older and keeps acting like that.  

Dysfunctional is dysfunctional. People trying to qualify it as normal amidst a sea of abnormal surroundings and behavior… I mean, maybe it is “normal” for captive orca to wail on each other constantly, I don’t know. but if so it should not be dressed up nicely with lies. it’s certainly not typical orca behavior. and I can’t imagine anyone trying to excuse away any other captive animal with flagging strips of skin.

[californiatransients]

9/4/19 - Very exciting news! A brand new calf has been spotted in the CA216 matriline with grayish pigmentation, exactly like the little off-colored calf T46B1B in the Pacific Northwest. You can still see the faint fetal folds, indicating that this is a newborn individual.

This is not the same calf, family, or population from the PNW, however CA transients occasionally intermingle with other West Coast transient populations. Who knows what the genetic connection could be between these two calves, if there even is one!

Photos by Kate Cummings with Blue Ocean Whale Watch

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

Killer Whale Research References

I recently had a request to share some the resources that I have used throughout the years for killer whale research and thought I would share them publicly too for anybody who wants to get more in-depth knowledge of killer whale biology, ecology, culture, and evolutionary history. The best information comes from from primary sources––these will almost always be published peer-reviewed research articles. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to access outside academia thanks to paywalls and complex language/topics can make it difficult for people without background in the paper’s topic to fully understand. Worry not though! As a university student, I have access to most research papers and am more than happy to email them to you if needed. If you are having difficulty understanding what the paper is talking about, check out these resources on how to read scientific papers: 

How to (seriously) read a scientific paper

How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper

If you are still having difficulty grasping the main concepts, shoot me a message and I’d be more than happy to explain them to you! Another note: it is important to understand that scientific research is always changing and that older papers, though they often contain the founding principles of a research topic, can sometimes have inaccuracies due to their age. Always be aware of this while reading older research. 

*Note: This is NOT a comprehensive list of all killer whale research papers. This is a list of key papers/studies I believe are good starting points for people who are interested in getting more in-depth knowledge of killer whales.*

Life History

Social Organization and Genealogy of Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in the Coastal Waters of British Columbia and Washington State (1990)

Life history and population dynamics of resident killer whales Orcinus orca in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington (1990)

Population structure and mating patterns of Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) as revealed by DNA analysis (2000)

Killer whales: The natural history and genealogy of Orcinus orca in the waters of British Columbia and Washington (2000) (Note: this is a book)

Adaptive Prolonged Postreproductive Life Span in Killer Whales (2012)

Life history and population dynamics of southern Alaska resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) (2013)

Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales (2017)

 Evolution

Note: most of these papers are heavy in genetic concepts and methods––they are difficult to understand and I recommend focusing on the introduction/abstract and discussion/conclusions for clarity. 

Complete mitochondrial genome phylogeographic analysis of killer whales (Orcinus orca) indicates multiple species (2010)

Phylogenomics of the killer whale indicates ecotype divergence in sympatry (2015)

Genome-wide SNP data suggest complex ancestry of sympatric North Pacific killer whale ecotypes (2016)

Foraging

Dietary specialization in two sympatric populations of killer whales Orcinus orca in coastal British Columbia and adjacent waters. (1998)

Foraging strategies of sympatric killer whale, Orcinus orca, populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2000)

Shark predation and tooth wear in a population of northeastern Pacific killer whales (2011)

You Are What You Eat: Foraging Specializations and Their Influence on the Social Organization and Behavior of Killer Whales (2014)

Culture & Behavior

The mixed blessing of echolocation: differences in sonar use by fish-eating and mammal-eating killer whales (1996)

The vocal behaviour of mammal-eating killer whales: communicating with costly calls (2005)

Cultural traditions and the evolution of reproductive isolation: Ecological speciation in killer whales? (2012)

Kin-directed food sharing promotes lifetime natal philopatry of both sexes in a population of fish-eating killer whales, Orcinus orca (2016)

Gene–culture coevolution in whales and dolphins (2017)

Infanticide in a mammal-eating killer whale population (2018)

Misc. Articles (Not Primary Literature)

Primary sources are always best but there are also good articles and sources outside of peer-reviewed literature that contain good information as well!

Whalewatcher: Killer Whale (HIGHLY recommend reading this)

Orcazine

Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals

Marine Mammals of the World

[arsanatomica]

The article Other places to see my posts: INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / ETSY / KICKSTARTER

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

I went on a whale watch and saw some beautiful Risso’s dolphins. The pod had about 8-10 members. A bottlenose was with them. .

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

3 southern resident orcas missing, presumed dead

Three more southern resident orcas are reported missing and presumed dead, according to the Center for Whale Research.

[csnews]

J34 Final Necropsy Report | Released: July 18, 2019

Orca Conservancy - July 18, 2019

Possible ship strike, animal towed to Sechelt for necropsy. One dead on Approx Dec 18, 2016. COMMENTS: The gross lesions are consistent with blunt force trauma and based on the anatomic site of impact, the sustained injuries would have contributed significantly to the demise of this animal.

[kropotkhristian-deactivated2019]

[taslishaw-deactivated20210221]

A mishmash of socializing J and K Pod whales; one of the most remarkable things to witness is when these whales huddle at the surface together for extended periods of time. It is very emotional to peek into their world when they linger for a few precious moments and are visible to us in our surface world. This photo is from fall 2014 when all three pods were together in Juan de Fuca Strait. #nofishnoblackfish http://bit.ly/2Y4NSke

[siverwrites]

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[aurosoulart]

Some people offered up answers. We made out like we heard, they were only words. They didn’t add up to a change in the way we were living, And the saddest thing is all of it could have been avoided.

But it was like to stop consuming is to stop being human, You’ll want to make a change if you won’t. We’re all in the same boat, staying afloat for the moment.  (x)

a piece dedicated to the Southern Resident Killer Whales. (no individuals in particular are pictured here, but I did reference their general markings from photographs)

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

Births are exciting. The arrival of a newborn into a family is something to celebrate, both in human and killer whale society.

The vocal behavior of resident killer whales undergoes a significant change in the days immediately proceeding the birth of a new calf. Each family group has its own unique calls that act as a “family badge” of sorts. When a calf is born, the whales increase the use of these calls after birth for up to two weeks. There are often increased rates of excitement calls as well.

Killer whale calves are not much different than toddlers —they often wander away from their mothers and many have strikingly independent personalities. It may be crucial for a newborn to quickly learn the family calls in order to recognize family members and maintain contact when they go a little too far astray. It is also vital for later in life as they will stay with their family members for their entire life.

This is a 2017 photo of AX87 and a new calf, probably born in 2016.

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

An AP pod female coming back down from an impressively high breach. She was doing what is called “popcorn” or “popcorning” by some whale researchers—multiple successive breaches in a very short period of time!

[csnews]

J34 skeleton goes on display

Marine Connection - April 12, 2019

The skeleton of J34, a male southern resident killer whale found dead in December 2016, will soon be on display for the public to view as an exhibit at the Tems Swiya Museum, British Columbia.

Weighing 450 pounds and approximately 22 feet long, the skeleton is all that’s left of the large male orca who was discovered floating near the Trail Islands. A preliminary necropsy attributed the whale’s death to blunt force trauma to the dorsal side which could have been caused by a boat. The whale was only 18 years old and a member of the J pod group of the southern resident killer whale population.

The exhibit will open Monday, April 15 2019.

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

Long-term field studies of resident killer whales have resulted in a bit of a unique situation in the world of population biology: every single individual is known and documented. This holds true for the northern and southern resident killer whale populations.

In Alaska, however, there are still occasional undocumented pods of killer whales that pop up. This male belongs to one of those “mystery” pods. I have had only a handful encounters with this male and his equally unfamiliar companions. Curiously, I have only seen them in the company of more well known pods, such as AX27 pod, AP pod, and AS30 pod, never by themselves. It seems that even though they are strangers to us, they are old friends to the documented pods! I love a little bit of mystery and the fleeting glimpses I’ve had of this male and his family have left me wanting to know more about their pod structure and movements.

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

One of the more unique perspectives I’ve been able to capture. Love those baby killer whale snouts! This is AP3’s most recent calf, probably around 4 years old now.

[flukeprintphotography-deactivat]

Did you know that in 1983, SeaWorld attempted to capture 100 of Alaska’s killer whales? SeaWorld had been barred from capturing in Washington and British Columbia, so they looked farther north to acquire more killer whales for their parks. They had received a permit from NMFS to temporarily capture 100 whales in Alaskan waters to obtain blood samples, extract teeth, and take weight/length measurements. While 90 whales would be released, 10 would be kept and shipped off to their parks in California, Florida, and at the time, Ohio.

Naturally, this did not sit well with Alaskans. The proposed area of the captures, Prince William Sound, is an important region for the local resident killer whales and people feared captures could deplete the population and cause remaining whales to become scared of humans. The Tlingit people, who revere killer whales, branded the captures as cruel and exploitative. Some fishermen and environmentalists threatened to interfere with any of SeaWorld’s capture operations. Coincidentally, SeaWorld failed to file an environmental impact statement prior to issuance of their permit—several groups, including the Sierra Club, challenged the permit in court on this basis. Their permit was voided by a federal judge in 1985 and SeaWorld was not allowed to conduct the proposed captures.

Knowing that the whales I study and love could have been subjected to cruel procedures or confined to tanks to splash tourists in Florida sends a shiver up my spine. The removal of even one female whale would have had profound impacts on the pods—a productive female can leave as many as 15 descendants over 3 generations. Had even a few of these whales been captured, I might not have had the privilege to view the whales I see today! I am extremely grateful Alaskans stood up to SeaWorld and prevented them from disrupting Alaska’s wild whale populations.