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Meet the 2023 Interns: Kaylee McKenna

I'm excited to introduce Kaylee McKenna as WDC's summer Marine Mammal Conservation Intern. Kaylee has...
Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
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Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...

Southern Resident Orca Scat Project: update from the field

Conservation Canines at work
Dr. Giles, a scientist with the Orca Scat Project, and CK9 Eba on the scent during a training run

Dr. Giles, researcher with the Orca Scat Project, part of the Conservation Canines program with the University of Washington's Center for Biological Diversity, gives us an update from the field and a recap of what the team has been up to in July:

When we heard the Southern Residents were spotted on the west side of San Juan Island in the early morning hours of July 5th, our scat detection team rallied quickly and got out on the water with the whales by 8am.  We found the whales right outside our home port and were able to conduct distant surveys downwind of several groups of socializing J and K pod orcas.  On our first day, with them, we were successful in collecting two large fecal samples, and on our second day, we collected a massive sample located by our new Conservation Canine dog, Eba.

Getting to see the Southern Resident orcas in their designated “core summer” critical habitat for two days in early July was bittersweet; we were thrilled to be able to see them, collect samples, and note that for the most part, the orcas look better fed than they have been in a few years.  But it was also sad to see them leave on the evening of the 6th, at the end of a two-day stay, because there was not enough fish to keep them here, in a region that was historically their preferred summer habitat.

We are proud to contribute to this important research.  Support for WDC’s Southern Resident orca project is provided by the generosity of our donors, The Jessica Rekos Foundation, and a grant from Metabolic Studio.

Conservation Canines SRO research program
CK9 Eba on her first field day <3
CK9 team scoops scat from Southern Resident orcas
A whole new meaning to the term "pooper scooper"

[shariff]