As many as 145 whales have died after being found stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand, conservation officials said Monday. Two pods of pilot whales were discovered just over a mile apart on Mason Bay, Stewart Island, a sparsely populated island in the country’s south. Authorities were first alerted to the mass stranding […]
Tag: Killer Whale
POLL: Should Russia be sanctioned for capturing and selling wild orcas and belugas?
An estimated 11 orcas and up to 90 belugas are currently being held in what’s being dubbed as a ‘whale jail.‘ According to media reports, prosecutors are now investigating a site near the city of Nakhodka, where dozens of orcas and belugas have been confined to small enclosures to determine whether they’re being kept illegally. […]
POLL: Should there be an immediate reduction of the Chinook harvest to save the Orca?
Days before the start of the summer fishing season, when guides and outfitters on Canada’s west coast gamble their financial prospects for the year, fishing lodge owner Ryan Chamberland received devastating news. The coastal waters of Vancouver Island, which he and four generations of his family had fished for salmon, would be out of bounds. […]
POLL: Should the use of Orcas in entertainment be banned?
While we celebrated a major victory when SeaWorld pledged to end captive breeding of orcas and theatrical shows, animal advocates are questioning whether the company is actually serious in light of how it’s continued to use them, and are continuing to work towards making sure it can’t go back on its word. Now, the Animal […]
Orca ‘apocalypse’: half of killer whales doomed to die from pollution
At least half of the world’s killer whale populations are doomed to extinction due to toxic and persistent pollution of the oceans, according to a major new study. Although the poisonous chemicals, PCBs, have been banned for decades, they are still leaking into the seas. They become concentrated up the food chain; as a result, […]
Grieving Mother Orca Carried Her Dead Calf for 17 Days
For 17 days, a mother orca carried her dead calf in what scientists are calling an unprecedented display of grief. Tahlequah, or J35, as she’s officially known, traveled hundreds of miles refusing to let go of her newborn girl who sadly lived less than an hour before passing away. While her tragic story has garnered […]
POLL: Should the keeping of dolphins and whales in tanks be banned worldwide?
It’s been nearly 9 years since The Cove brought the story of dolphin massacres in Taiji, Japan, and the issue of captive cetaceans before the eyes of millions of people around the world. The film shows viewers the images of fishers corralling dozens of thrashing and squealing dolphins into nets set up in Japan’s sheltered […]
Scientists witness first reported case of killer-whale infanticide
Scientists in the Canadian province of British Columbia have documented what is believed to be the first reported case of an orca whale killing an infant of the same species. “We knew right away that this was a remarkable event,” said Jared Towers, a Cetacean researcher with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, of the encounter he […]