Posts by Colleen Weiler
5 Year Fight for Critical Habitat for Southern Resident orcas
Orcas off the Olympic Coast of Washington (National Marine Sanctuaries) Expanding critical habitat for Southern Resident orcas was one of the first things I started working on when I joined WDC as the Jessica Rekos Fellow for Orca Conservation more than five years ago. And now, over five years later – it’s here! Last week,…
Read MoreSouthern Resident Orca Scat Project: update from the field
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…
Read MoreThree Southern Resident orcas declared dead
The devastating news came late on Tuesday night – three more Southern Resident orcas lost, one from each pod in the highly endangered and dwindling population. Like many others who work on recovery for the Southern Resident orcas and their home, I have spent my summer nervously dreading this announcement, but steeling myself for the…
Read MoreWe <3 Whale Poop: WDC providing support for Orca Scat Project
San Juan Island, Washington. July 22, 2019: Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) is thrilled to share the news that we are a contributing supporter in 2019 for the Southern Resident Orca Scat Project, a research effort within the University of Washington’s Conservation Canines program. WDC’s contribution to the program will help support the management and…
Read MoreWhalecome home! After record absence, Southern Resident orcas return to summer habitat
It was a “whale of a weekend” for the Southern Residents and those who know and love this unique community of endangered orcas. After being conspicuously absent from their traditional summer habitat in the inland waters of the Salish Sea – a transboundary body of water between Washington state in the US and British Columbia…
Read MoreCanada approves pipeline despite concerns for Southern Resident orcas
In extremely disappointing but not unexpected news from Canada last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion – a project long opposed by First Nations, coastal communities, and environmental groups in both Canada and the U.S., in addition to the British Columbia provincial government and the state of Washington.…
Read MoreCanada outlaws holding whales and dolphins in captivity
It’s official! Canada’s “Free Willy” bill S-203 has been passed into law, making it illegal to hold whales and dolphins in captivity in Canada. While the bill incorporates individuals currently held in facilities – now just Marineland Canada in Ontario and the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia (which has already committed to phasing out its…
Read MoreUnusual Mortality Event declared for gray whales in Pacific
Gray whale deaths have spiked on the West Coast May 31 2019 – NOAA Fisheries has officially declared that the elevated numbers of gray whale strandings in 2019 on the west coast of North America an Unusual Mortality Event (UME). Approximately 70 gray whale strandings have been counted in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska as…
Read MoreSouthern Resident orca update: recapping an orca-centric legislative session
2019 has been a crazy, but exciting, year for Southern Resident orcas. And I can’t believe we’re almost halfway through the year and already well into our annual Orca Action Month in June! This year’s Orca Month celebration is perfectly timed with the end of the 2019 Washington legislative session, because while we have a…
Read MoreHow to help the Dolphinaris Arizona Dolphins
While the investigation into the recent deaths of four bottlenose dolphins at Dolphinaris Arizona is still ongoing, the marine park has already announced that they will no longer hold dolphins, and will be a different ocean-themed park if and when it re-opens. The four remaining dolphins have been moved out of the facility, and many…
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