Marine Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 5, 2017

How to Keep Captive Killer Whales Happy

Should killer whales Skype? A new study suggests that virtual links between captive orca populations might be one way to improve the lives of these marine mammals. The keeping of orcas, or killer whales, in captivity has been a matter of public controversy, especially since the release of the documentary...

Apr 4, 2017

Blowhole 'Breathalyzer' Shows Salmonella in Killer Whales

Unfortunately for biologists, it's not really possible to get wild killer whales to come in for a checkup. But to test the health of orcas, you can apparently give the creatures a breathalyzer. That's what a group of scientists did with an endangered population of orcas, known as southern resident...

Jul 27, 2017

Orca Calf Dies at SeaWorld: Why Killer Whales Get Sick in Captivity

A 3-month-old orca calf named Kyara died this past weekend, possibly from pneumonia, at SeaWorld San Antonio. This isn't the first occasion of a killer whale dying in captivity. Dozens of other captive killer whales, including the SeaWorld orca named Tilikum, who was made famous in the documentary Blackfish, have...

Nov 28, 2017

2,000-Year-Old Killer Whale Geoglyph Found in Peru Desert

Archaeologists rediscovered a giant geoglyph of a killer whale, etched into a desert hillside in the remote Palpa region of southern Peru, after it had been lost to science for more than 50 years. The 230-foot-long (70 meters) figure of an orca — considered a powerful, semimythical creature in ancient...

Jan 31, 2018

Killer Impression: Orca Mimics 'Hello' and 'Bye-Bye'

Researchers recently found that a female killer whale could copy the phrases hello, bye-bye, Amy, and one, two, three. The orca could also imitate a wolf's howl, an elephant's trumpeting, and the sounds of a creaking door and a raspberry. And she reproduced the new sounds quickly, some within the...

Jul 26, 2018

Grief-Stricken Orca Mom Pushes Dead Newborn Around in Puget Sound

In a heartbreaking scene, researchers watched a dead, newborn orca get pushed around the water's surface by its mother only a half-hour after the baby whale was seen alive in Puget Sound Tuesday (July 24). The calf was the first orca born to this declining population in three years, The...

Aug 8, 2018

3-Year-Old Killer Whale Is Starving, and Biologists Don't Know Why

It's all hands on deck as biologists, fishermen and concerned citizens try to come up with the best plan possible for saving a wild, starving killer whale (Orcinus orca) named Scarlet, or J50, last seen off the coast of Washington state. The best idea on the table so far is...

Aug 13, 2018

Orca Mother, Who Pushed Her Dead Calf for 1,000 Miles and 17 Days, Moves On

Seventeen days ago, a grieving orca mother known as Tahlequah began pushing her dead calf around the waters near Puget Sound. And now, after doing so for 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), she has let go. Tahlequah was spotted without her baby's body on Saturday (Aug. 11), when she was seen...

Aug 15, 2018

Scientists Are Trying Desperately to Save a Starving Orca. Will Their Efforts Pay Off?

A specialized response team in northwest Washington made a valiant attempt last weekend to save a starving young killer whale (Orcinus orca) named Scarlet, or J50. On Sunday (Aug. 12), fishers with the Lummi Nation, a Native American tribe in the state, assisted researchers by releasing eight hatchery-raised, live salmon...

Aug 15, 2018

In Photos: Response Teams Try To Save Starving Killer Whale

Young orca (Image credit: Katy Foster/NOAA Fisheries permit #18786)Scarlet, or J50, is a 3-year-old female killer whale (Orcinus orca) in poor health, but scientists are trying their best to help her. [Read more about the attempt to save this starving orca] Peanut head (Image credit: Katy Foster/NOAA Fisheries permit #18786)Scarlet's...

Sep 14, 2018

Starving Orca Feared Dead. But NOAA Isn't Giving Up Just Yet.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials are considering taking desperate measures to rescue a debilitated endangered killer whale (Orcinus orca), but it might be too late. J50, or Scarlet, is an ailing young orca who hasn't been seen off the coast of Washington since Sept. 7. Last night (Sept....

Sep 24, 2018

Scarlet, the Struggling Orca, Now Presumed Dead

After a remarkable month-long cooperative effort to save a young, ailing orca (Orcinus orca) named Scarlet, or J50, authorities now presume the animal is dead because she hasn't been spotted in more than two weeks, King 5 News reported. Scarlet's death means the subpopulation of endangered southern resident killer whales...

Jan 14, 2019

Newborn Orca Spotted Off Seattle Coast. Will the Baby Survive Its 1st Year?

The beleaguered orca population in Puget Sound near Seattle finally has something to celebrate — one of the females recently delivered a baby. A baby killer whale was spotted in aerial footage that aired on Jan. 10 on local television stations in Seattle, representatives of the Center for Whale Research...

Mar 8, 2019

Secret Group of Killer Whales Discovered in Southern Ocean

Killer whales are beautiful and majestic, but there's very little variation in what they look like — their shape, size and coloring are pretty standard from whale to whale. So, when people started spotting killer whales with a noticeably different physique — thinner, with much smaller white eye patches and...

Jan 7, 2021

Young killer whale rescued after stranding on Scottish beach

A juvenile killer whale was heroically rescued this week after getting stranded on a Scottish beach. A group of trained medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and helpful locals carried out the rescue Monday (Jan. 4) on Sanday, an island off the coast of Scotland. Local residents...