Orcas

133 Stories

Environment

Tokitae’s final song: A celebration of life for the last captive southern resident orca

Hundreds of mourners gathered at San Juan Island's Jackson Park Beach on Sunday to celebrate the life of Tokitae, a southern resident orca who died in captivity before her planned return to the Salish Sea.
Megan Farmer
Environment

Saying goodbye to Tokitae

The world lost Tokitae on Friday. She was the last living Southern Resident Orca in captivity. Organizers were trying to return her to the Salish Sea from Florida where she spent more than 50 years in the Miami seaquarium. Lummi Nation member Jay Julius is here along with Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes to talk about her life as part of the story of endangered Orcas.
Patricia Murphy

Jennie Cecil Moore
Arts & Life

Following Tokitae's sudden death, Northwest tribes call for repatriation of orca's remains

Tokitae, the orca who died suddenly last week before her scheduled return to the Pacific Northwest, has been sent to the University of Georgia for an autopsy. It was a move that the Lummi Nation, one of the groups working to bring Tokitae home to the Salish Sea, said blindsided them. The tribe is now calling for the orca's remains to be returned to the region.
Ruby de Luna
National

Lolita, oldest orca held in captivity, dies before chance to return to the ocean

After years of pressure to set the Miami Seaquarium orca free, Lolita was scheduled to spend her final days in her natural habitat sometime next year. On Friday, she died of a "renal condition."
Juliana Kim
Environment

2 rambunctious youngsters, no dying elders might spell hope for NW orcas

Whale researchers say the Northwest’s endangered orcas have apparently had a very good year.
John Ryan
'Things are looking really good' for captured orca's return to Salish Sea

The lead veterinarian overseeing the orca known as Tokitae said she's in good clinical condition for her pending relocation from Miami to her native Washington waters.
KUOW Staff
Arts & Life

Make that TWO orca calves spotted in Salish Sea
KUOW Staff

Ruby de Luna
Science

Revenge of the killer whales? Recent boat attacks might be driven by trauma

The marine mammals have been "attacking" sailboats since 2020. But those encounters are becoming more frequent, and some say the orcas' tactics are evolving.
Scott Neuman
Environment

Northern and southern resident orcas hunt differently. New study could help orca numbers

According to a new study from the University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries, northern and southern resident orcas, who live in the Salish Sea have different fish hunting patterns.
Natalie Akane Newcomb
Science

First orca to be stranded in southeast U.S. in decades showed signs of illness

A killer whale more than 20 feet long died after beaching itself in Palm Coast, Fla. This is the third known orca to be stranded in the southeastern U.S. and the first since 1956, an official says.
Kaitlyn Radde

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