Marine Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 5, 2009

In Killer Whales and Humans, Older Moms May Be Best

Killer whales that are nearing menopause make the best moms, a new study finds. This could be the case among humans, though it's less clear. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are extremely long-lived marine mammals. While males can live as many as 50 years, female killer whales can live much longer...

Feb 6, 2009

Scientist Has 'Snowball Fight' With a Killer Whale

Pamplona has the Running of the Bulls, but McMurdo Sound, in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica, has something even more spectacular: the Stampeding of the Orcas. Each summer (December through February) an icebreaker penetrates miles into the frozen sea ice to open up a resupply channel to McMurdo Station, and...

Oct 7, 2009

Albatross Snags Scraps from Killer Whale

Miniature digital cameras have caught for the first time an albatross feeding alongside a killer whale, waiting for scraps from the messy eater, scientists report. The snapshots spotlight the so-called black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys), a seabird named for its dark eyestripe, with a wingspan of just under 8 feet (2.4...

Jun 19, 2013

DNA Sheds Light on Rare Killer Whale Type

Scientists have long suspected that the killer whale, Orcinus orca, may actually be four different species or subspecies based of subtle differences in appearance and variations in behavior. The rarest of them all is known as type D. These fat-headed orcas, marked by tiny white patches around their eyes, were...

Aug 7, 2013

Puget Sound Orcas To Remain on Endangered List

Three pods of killer whales, or orcas live off the west coast. You might have seen them, swimming in Puget Sound, British Columbia or the northern Pacific Ocean. They are the Southern Resident killer whales. Until this week, these pods – tersely named J, K, and L – were caught...

Dec 4, 2013

Stealth Mode: Killer Whales Go Dark to Stalk Prey

SAN FRANCISCO — For killer whales, silence is golden as they hunt in complete darkness, listening for sounds of their marine mammal prey, and then rushing in for the kill, new research suggests. The mammal hunters are very, very silent, said study co-author Volker Deecke, an animal behavior researcher at...

Feb 5, 2014

Killer Whale Populations Took Deep Dive During Ice Age

Killer whale populations around the world may have suffered steep declines during the last Ice Age, when food for these top predators may have been scarce, a new study finds. Researchers at Durham University, in Durham, England, sequenced the whole genomes of killer whale communities around the world, and found...

Mar 5, 2014

Killer Whales Bully Lone Blue Whale in Rare Video

This incredible footage shows a rare interaction between a blue whale and killer whales—where it appears a gang of orcas attacks the larger cetacean. The video was filmed off the coast of off Monterey, Calif., by Sea Wolf II out of Monterey Bay Whale Watch. It's rare to see the...

Oct 10, 2014

Killer Whales Learn How to Speak Dolphin

Killer whales are known for their haunting songs consisting of complex whistles and clicks, but they can also learn dolphin speak, a new study finds. Most animals communicate with innate sounds, such as the barking of dogs and the gobbling of turkeys. But some species, humans, for example, can imitate...

Oct 21, 2014

Photos: Drone Reveals Killer Whales

A tiny robotic drone has captured stunning footage of killer whales off the coast of Canada. The handheld drone captured photos of the whales chasing prey, swimming with dolphins and even head-butting each other. By viewing the whales from the top, scientists are also able to tell which whales are...

Oct 21, 2014

Killer Whales Caught in Stunning Drone Footage (Video)

A tiny, flying drone has captured stunning video of a population of killer whales socializing, chasing prey and swimming with dolphins off the coast of Canada. The gorgeous footage from the robotic flyer can reveal which whales are plump, scrawny or sporting a baby bump. The video imagery is so...

Jan 5, 2015

Newborn Killer Whale Brings Hope for Endangered Pod

A pod of endangered killer whales that swims off the coast of Washington state welcomed its first newborn in more than two years. On Dec. 30, Ken Balcomb, a scientist at the Center for Whale Research, noticed the newborn orca while monitoring a pod, dubbed J-pod, which hangs around Puget...

Jan 9, 2015

It's a Girl! Newborn Killer Whale Identified in Endangered Pod

A pod of endangered killer whales welcomed a newborn into the family a few days before the start of 2015, and researchers have now determined that the baby is a female. Scientists first spotted the newborn killer whale on Dec. 30, 2014, in the Gulf Island archipelago, but now the...

Nov 10, 2015

SeaWorld Phasing Out Killer Whale Shows: Will It Make a Difference?

SeaWorld San Diego, long known for its live killer-whale shows, will begin phasing out the performances next year in favor of conservation-based shows, company representatives announced yesterday (Nov. 9). SeaWorld has come under attack in recent years over how it treats the captive whales, but experts say the company's new...

Mar 9, 2016

Ripe Old Age: SeaWorld's Killer Whale Tilikum Near Death at 35

The killer whale named Tilikum, who made headlines after killing his trainer at SeaWorld in 2010, has a respiratory infection that may ultimately take the orca's life, at age 35. But compared with its counterparts in the wild, the aquarium showstopper has lived a long time, experts say. Tilikum's health...