Orca

A lone killer whale breaks the water in a Comox, B.C., harbour on Tuesday July 31, 2018.Transport Canada has announced several new measures, ranging from sanctuary zones to fishing closures, as it works to protect critically endangered southern resident killer whales off the British Columbia coast. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jen Osborne

Protected areas, fishing bans to help B.C.’s threatened southern resident orcas

Federal government announces series of measures off B.C. south coast

 

In this July 31, 2015, file photo, an orca whale breaches in view of Mount Baker, some 60 miles distant, in the Salish Sea in the San Juan Islands, Washington State. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Elaine Thompson

Florida aquarium returning Lolita the orca to the Salish Sea after 53 years in tank

Lolita, 57, is part of the endangered southern resident killer whales pod

 

FILE - Southern Resident killer whale J50 and her mother, J16, swim off the west coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C. on Aug. 7, 2018. (Brian Gisborne/Fisheries and Oceans Canada via AP, File)

Researchers: Inbreeding a big problem for endangered orcas

Whales are so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering

 

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada boat practicing using their oikomi pipes to deter marine life during the fuel spill response to a sunken fishing boat on August 25, 2022. (Courtesy of NOAA Northwest Fishers Science Centre)

Coordinated response helped protect orcas during fuel spill off B.C. coast: NOAA

U.S. and Canadian agencies worked together to deter orcas from the affected areas

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada boat practicing using their oikomi pipes to deter marine life during the fuel spill response to a sunken fishing boat on August 25, 2022. (Courtesy of NOAA Northwest Fishers Science Centre)
Southern resident J-pod orcas were spotted challenging the currents in Dodd Narrows off Joan Point Park around mid-day on Feb. 14. (Submitted photo)

VIDEO: J-pod orcas ride a fast ocean current in a narrow passage off Nanaimo

Runner captures video of southern resident killer whales in Dodds Narrows on Feb. 14

Southern resident J-pod orcas were spotted challenging the currents in Dodd Narrows off Joan Point Park around mid-day on Feb. 14. (Submitted photo)
Killer whales are shown in Chatham Sound near Prince Rupert, B.C., Friday, June, 22, 2018. The endangered southern resident killer whale population suffered more loss with one of the orcas possibly dying of cancer, says an expert. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

B.C. orca mothers pay a higher price for birthing sons than daughters: study

Having a male orca can cut a mother’s future childbearing success in half, researchers found

Killer whales are shown in Chatham Sound near Prince Rupert, B.C., Friday, June, 22, 2018. The endangered southern resident killer whale population suffered more loss with one of the orcas possibly dying of cancer, says an expert. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward
A UBC study examining orca bodies found between 2006 and 2018 has found a number of concerning chemicals inside them, including in endangered southern resident killer whales (pictured). (Credit: Paul Cottrell, DFO)

Toxic chemicals from B.C.’s sewage are making their way inside orcas, UBC study finds

Compound in toilet paper can influence cognitive function, say researchers

A UBC study examining orca bodies found between 2006 and 2018 has found a number of concerning chemicals inside them, including in endangered southern resident killer whales (pictured). (Credit: Paul Cottrell, DFO)
The location of the Aleutian Isle fishing boat that sank on Aug. 13, causing a fuel spill off the west coast San Juan Island near Greater Victoria. (Washington state Department of Ecology)

Fuel-leaking fishing boat sinks deeper, complicating response near Victoria

Endangered orcas still headed in opposite direction of spill

The location of the Aleutian Isle fishing boat that sank on Aug. 13, causing a fuel spill off the west coast San Juan Island near Greater Victoria. (Washington state Department of Ecology)
A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research

Researchers name newest baby orca spotted in B.C. waters

K45 is K Pod’s first baby since 2011

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research
A southern resident killer whale. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Wise.

B.C. study finds endangered southern resident killer whales aren’t getting enough to eat

UBC researchers find the orcas haven’t been eating enough since 2018, sea lions partly to blame

A southern resident killer whale. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Wise.
A new calf was discovered in J-pod on March 1. Researchers have since determined it’s a girl. (Courtesy Center for Whale Research)

J-pod’s newest member is a girl

Whale research centre identifies sex of orca calf

A new calf was discovered in J-pod on March 1. Researchers have since determined it’s a girl. (Courtesy Center for Whale Research)
A screenshot from a YouTube video shot by John Goodell appears to show a very young calf (second from left) swimming alongside members of the southern resident killer whale’s K-pod. (John Goodell/YouTube)

VIDEO: First calf in a decade spotted swimming with K-pod off Oregon coast

YouTube video shows young calf swimming alongside southern resident killer whales

A screenshot from a YouTube video shot by John Goodell appears to show a very young calf (second from left) swimming alongside members of the southern resident killer whale’s K-pod. (John Goodell/YouTube)
A J Pod calf, born Sept. 24, 2020 surfaces next to mother J41. (Talia Goodyear/Orca Spirit Adventures/Pacific Whale Watch Association)

B.C. whale-watching guide fined $10,000 for disturbing killer whales

Charges stem from May 2019 incident near Willow Point in Campbell River

  • Oct 21, 2021
A J Pod calf, born Sept. 24, 2020 surfaces next to mother J41. (Talia Goodyear/Orca Spirit Adventures/Pacific Whale Watch Association)
L47 (Marina) pictured with her youngest male offspring, L115 (Mystic) in 2011. (Courtesy of the Center for Whale Research)

Southern resident killer whale grandma, 47, missing and likely dead: researchers

47-year-old orca Marina leaves three surviving offspring, two in next generation

L47 (Marina) pictured with her youngest male offspring, L115 (Mystic) in 2011. (Courtesy of the Center for Whale Research)
Pregnant southern resident orca J-pod member J36 (Alki) is seen in drone photos (SR3)

J-Pod is expecting: 3 endangered southern resident whales pregnant, researchers say

Drone shots from U.S. researchers reveal three swimming moms-to-be

Pregnant southern resident orca J-pod member J36 (Alki) is seen in drone photos (SR3)
A pod of orcas joined the 7 Generation Steward Society at the Tyee Spit singing in memorial for the 215 children found in Kamloops. Photo courtesy Cory Cliffe

VIDEO: Whales appear during Indigenous ceremony for 215 children in Campbell River

‘Our ancestors wouldn’t appear if we weren’t doing things in a good way’ — Cory Cliffe

A pod of orcas joined the 7 Generation Steward Society at the Tyee Spit singing in memorial for the 215 children found in Kamloops. Photo courtesy Cory Cliffe
Whale watchers spotted a rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ in the Haro Strait March 29. (Photo by April Ryan, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching/PWWA)

VIDEO: Rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ spotted off Victoria’s coast

Chainsaw is known for his jagged dorsal fin

Whale watchers spotted a rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ in the Haro Strait March 29. (Photo by April Ryan, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching/PWWA)
Southern resident orca calf J58, born to mother J41 in September 2020, is confirmed to be a female. (Photo by Jeanne Hyde/Center for Whale Research)

It’s a girl: Gender revealed of second orca calf born to J Pod last fall

Six-month-old southern resident orca J58 photographed from shore March 6

Southern resident orca calf J58, born to mother J41 in September 2020, is confirmed to be a female. (Photo by Jeanne Hyde/Center for Whale Research)
Stand-up paddleboarder Christie Jamieson kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Nora O’Malley photo)

UPDATED: Vancouver Island paddle boarder’s orca encounter brings joy and outrage

Woman’s ‘best day’ criticized for disturbing the whales

Stand-up paddleboarder Christie Jamieson kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Nora O’Malley photo)
Midsummer (A69) with her days-old baby Ne’nakw, entering the Broughton Archipelago via Fife Sound. (Jared Towers photo)

First orca baby of the year in B.C. named Ne’nakw

Mom and baby looked healthy when spotted this week off northern Vancouver Island

Midsummer (A69) with her days-old baby Ne’nakw, entering the Broughton Archipelago via Fife Sound. (Jared Towers photo)