June is Orca Awareness Month, and orca fans and advocates are using it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the ways we can protect this amazing species — specifically an endangered population living in the Pacific Northwest. These orcas, otherwise known as the southern resident killer whales, live in three distinct pods (J, K […]
Tag: Orca
POLL: Should more countries ban breeding captive dolphins and orcas?
In a historic victory for whales and dolphins, France just passed legislation that animal advocates hope will ultimately bring their captivity to an end. The new legislation bans captivity of whales, dolphins and porpoises, with exceptions for bottlenose dolphins and orcas who are already being held in aquariums, including those at Marineland Antibes, but it […]
POLL: Should Orcas be bred and displayed in Chinese marine parks?
SeaWorld announced a year ago that it would end orca breeding at its parks in the U.S. One year later and nearly 8,000 miles away in China, another such program is just getting started. The Chimelong Group, one of the country’s biggest amusement park operators, revealed that it opened a breeding center for orcas on […]
POLL: Should orca entertainment shows be universally banned?
Orcas will flip through the air and perform high-energy tricks for an audience for the last time in California on Sunday, when SeaWorld puts on its final killer whale entertainment show in San Diego. After years of pressure from animal advocates and fallout from the documentary Blackfish, SeaWorld had announced the closing of the shows […]
POLL: Should this Canadian pipeline project be scrapped to save killer whales?
On one shore there are snow-capped mountains. On the other side loom towering skyscrapers. These churning waters off the coast of Vancouver are marked by a constant flow of ferries and containers ships – but they are also home to 80 or so orcas. Known as the southern resident killer whales the group has long […]
POLL: Should the tagging of orcas be stopped?
They bounced around the coast in a 22-foot Zodiac, a team of federal scientists with a dart rifle trying to nail the dorsal fin on a killer whale. The seas had been calm when they came across the pod of orcas along the Pacific Ocean near the U.S. border with Canada. But then the winds […]
POLL: Should there be a worldwide ban on captive orca shows?
California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Orca Protection and Safety Act into law on Tuesday, banning the breeding of killer whales in captivity, as well as the circus-like shows that have them performing for crowds. Facing increasing criticism since the 2013 documentary Blackfish exposed concerns about orca welfare, SeaWorld had already agreed to discontinue breeding […]
Baby killer whale fights for life in New Zealand harbour
A baby orca separated from its mother and pod for two weeks is slowly dying in a New Zealand harbour, despite a taskforce being set up to try and save it. The orca – nicknamed “Bob” by locals – was separated from its pod two weeks ago and has been swimming in the waters of […]