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WDC2023-007 NMLC Release (16)

Seal Rescued in Marshfield Released Back Into The Wild

For Immediate Release, May 31, 2023 PLYMOUTH, MA - A young male grey seal that...

Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

The whaling season in Norway has begun on the back of disturbing announcements from the...
Image taken from an unmanned hexacopter at >100ft during a research collaboration between NOAA/SWFSC, SR3 and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Research authorized by NMFS permit #19091.

Southern Resident orca petition to list them under Oregon Endangered Species Act advanced

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to advance a petition seeking to protect...
Hysazu Photography

WDC and Conservation Partners Continue to Seek Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

On Friday, April 21st, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will determine whether the petition...

Endangered Southern Resident orca Tahlequah’s tour of grief is over

Whales and dolphins are known to grieve for their dead but Southern Resident orca J35, known as Tahlequah, carried her dead new-born in a record ordeal of 17 days, swimming 1,000 miles with her family.

Her tour of grief has been followed by people around the world since her calf died a short time after being born on July 24th.

20-year-old Tahlequah carried her female calf, often diving deep underwater to bring her baby back to the surface before now finally letting her go. The Centre for Whale Research wrote in their update on August 11 that “the carcass has probably sunk to the bottom of these inland marine waters of the Salish Sea [between Canada and the US], and researchers may not get a chance to examine it for necropsy (autopsy of an animal)” which means that the cause of death remains unknown.

The difficulty in growing the critically endangered Southern Resident population has been linked to nutritional stress, with many stocks of Chinook salmon, their preferred prey, declining throughout the orcas’ range. The orcas struggle to find scarce and scattered salmon amidst an ocean filled with increasing noise from vessels, construction, and sonar, and the continuing impact of contaminants that further impair their reproductive and immune systems.

Tahlequah’s grief has helped to illustrate this existential threat facing her community, which has not had a successful birth in nearly 3 years.  “J35 frolicked past my window today with other J pod whales, and she looks vigorous and healthy,” Ken Balcomb, of the Centre for Whale Research, told The Seattle Times.

Another orca, J50, known as Scarlet, has been in poor condition all summer and received antibiotics to increase her chances of survival.

We now need a sweeping change in policy – of how we live with and manage the salmon rivers, coastal ecosystems, and shared waters –to ensure the future of this community of orcas.

Find out more about what you can do to save Southern Resident orcas here.