killer whale Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas

By Tom Banse December 11, 2022

Many captains of large commercial vessels agreed to slow down in a stretch of northern Puget Sound shipping lanes where endangered orcas are frequently seen in the fall.

The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, Read More

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse November 8, 2022

A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More

Veterinarians Grapple With How To Save Puget Sound Orca: Salmon Laced With Meds Or Syringe?

By Tom Banse August 6, 2018

Aerial photograph of adult female Southern Resident killer whale J16 with her calf J50 in 2015, when the calf was in its first year of life. CREDIT: JOHN DURBAN (NOAA FISHERIES), HOLLY FEARNBACH (SR3) AND LANCE BARRETT-LENNARD (VANCOUVER AQUARIUM), TAKEN BY AN UNMANNED HEXACOPTER DURING RESEARCH AUTHORIZED UNDER NMFS PERMIT #16163

An emaciated orca from the Pacific Northwest’s critically-endangered resident killer whale population could get a pole injection of medicine under the latest preferred option of an emergency response team. Officials with the lead federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, described the changing situation Monday morning.Read More

Group Hatches Plan To Save Emaciated And Endangered Puget Sound Orca

By Tom Banse August 5, 2018

This picture from July 21 shows shrinkage around orca J50's head from weight loss, aka "peanut head syndrome." CREDIT: KATY FOSTER/NOAA

An emaciated, four-year-old Puget Sound orca is drawing alarm. Whale scientists and the federal agency NOAA are weighing what it means to provide food and medicine to this endangered orca. The declining health of the orca has become apparent as it swims and feeds in the border waters between Washington and British Columbia.Read More

Ships In Washington-BC Strait Asked To Slow Down Again For Orcas

By Tom Banse June 22, 2018

Operators and pilots of big ships are again being asked to slow down in the Haro Strait, between Washington state and British Columbia. CREDIT: JOAN LOPEZ / ECHO

The call is going out again to the operators and pilots of big ships to slow down in the shared border waters between Washington and British Columbia. The idea is to reduce underwater noise that could bother endangered killer whales.Read More

Tropical Dolphins Are Appearing In Pacific Northwest Waters

By NWPB News April 20, 2018

A pod of bottlenose dolphins and false killer whales was spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. CREDIT: LUKE HALPIN/HAPLIN WILDLIFE PRESERVE

While searching for seabirds in July of 2017, biologist Luke Halpin instead saw a sea bubbling with about 200 bottlenose dolphins and 70 false killer whales. It would be an unusual sight anywhere — bottlenose generally travel in much smaller groups — but Halpin’s sighting was made more remarkable by where it happened. These usually tropical animals were off the west coast Read More

Three Things You Should Know About Chinook Salmon, Key To Orca Survival

By Max Bartlett March 22, 2018

A young resident killer whale chasing a Chinook salmon near Vancouver Island. Image obtained from a small drone that was flown more than 100 feet above the whales for research under NMFS permit #19091.

Orcas survive largely on a single food source: Chinook salmon migrating from Northwest rivers. As Chinook populations have declined, orcas have struggled to find enough to eat.Read More

Not Too Late To Save Northwest’s Critically Endangered Orcas Say State Leaders And Feds

By Tom Banse March 15, 2018

An endangered Southern Resident orca pursues a coho salmon off San Juan Island. CREDIT: CANDICE EMMONS / NOAA FISHERIES/NORTHWEST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

The Northwest’s beloved orcas will not survive unless humans do more to ensure adequate food and cleaner, quieter waters. That was one of the messages at a crowded signing ceremony in Seattle convened by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The population of genetically-distinct resident orcas has dwindled to a critically low level. Only 76 remain as of the last count.Read More