WorldWideWhale.com
A Web site dedicated to Cetaceans, the whales and dolphins of this blue planet,
and the people who fight to save them.
and the people who fight to save them.
January 01, 2008
Government silent on whaler watching
full story...
December 24, 2007
Ferry speed called key to collisions with whales
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December 22, 2007
Japan commits to commercial whaling despite humpback backdown
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December 21, 2007
More action needed to save whales
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Orca Whale Update
8-02 Update on the Southern Resident Killer Whale Population:
The Center for Whale Research reports two new killer whales born to the Southern Community Orca population as whales returned to the San Juan Islands for the summer. After several weeks of careful observation of the southern resident killer whale pods in and around the San Juan Islands, the Center for Whale Research has confirmed two new calves, L-100 and K-34, born to the population.
One adult killer whale had died earlier this year: 30 year old female L-60 washed up dead on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula on April 15th. She's leaving behind her 7 year old male son L-92. The results of the necropsy have yet to be published by NFMS.
For the twenty-seventh year, the Center for Whale Research is documenting the pods of killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington State and southern British Columbia. Maintaining both a photographic catalog of every individual as well as social structure of the entire population, staff at the Center observed the population situation as the pods returned to the San Juan Islands in spring.
L-pod, the largest of the three resident pods, was first sighted in the San Juan Islands in May whereupon staff members with the Center began a detailed inventory of the returning animals. Upon closer inspection, no further individuals besides L-60 were missing. 25 year old female L-54 was seen with a new male calf, L-100.
J-pod and K-pod were already observed earlier this year with all animals returning from last year including K-13's fourth calf, K-34, who was born in late 2001.
With the absence of one individual and the addition of two calves, the total population numbers for the southern community increased slightly to 80, with L-pod at 42 (including L-98), K-pod now at 18, and J-pod at 20. When research began on these pods in 1976, there were 71 whales total; the population peaked at 99 whales in 1995 while there has been a precipitous decline since that time. Whether the apparent halt of this decline can be maintained, has to be seen.
The numbers for all years of the study are as follows:
1976 71 whales; 1977 79 whales;
1978 79 whales; 1979 81 whales;
1980 83 whales; 1981 81 whales;
1982 78 whales; 1983 76 whales;
1984 74 whales; 1985 77 whales;
1986 81 whales; 1987 84 whales;
1988 85 whales; 1989 85 whales;
1990 89 whales; 1991 92 whales;
1993 97 whales; 1994 96 whales;
1995 99 whales; 1996 97 whales;
1997 92 whales; 1998 89 whales;
1999 85 whales; 2000 82 whales;
2001 79 whales; 2002 80 whales.
Factors that may play a role in the population decline include:
The southern community killer whale pods were captured on 13 separate occasions in the Puget Sound area between 1965 and 1976 with 45 reported whales taken for aquariums throughout the world and an additional 13 whales killed during the capture activities.
In recent years many salmon stocks have been dramatically reduced to dangerously low levels, with several species recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon is the main prey resource for the Southern Resident killer whales.
High levels of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in samples taken from recovered bodies of several members of the J and L-pods.
The data collected by the Center for Whale Research is to be cited specifically to the Center and no other organization, and any/all uses should clearly state the information came from the Center for Whale Research.
Orca Whales - "the most toxic marine mammal in the world."
Like many other species, orca whales are suffering from our lack of foresight into protecting these wonderful creatures. Studies have shown that the Southern community of resident whales in the Pacific Northwest are known to be contaminated with extremely high levels of toxins, notably PCBs (polychlorinated-biphenyls). This pollution and diminishing salmon stocks have caused a reduction in their population which does not seem to be changing in the foreseeable future. Because of the declining salmon populations, the whales have been feeding on rockfish or bottomfish, species that carry even higher levels of PCBs, thus accumulating even higher levels of toxins. Because of these high level of PCBs in the whales, they have been called the most toxic marine mammal in the world.
