Orcas

138 Stories

Environment

Grieving orca mom carries dead calf on her nose for fifth day

An endangered orca mother has been carrying her dead newborn calf on her snout for nearly a week around Washington’s Puget Sound.
John Ryan
Environment

Famous orca mom carries another dead calf around Puget Sound

Two newborn calves joined the Northwest's endangered orcas in December. By New Year’s Eve, one of them was dead — and being carried around on its mother’s nose.
John Ryan
Environment

Endangered orcas’ circle of life: one baby dies, another is born

A baby orca at first believed to be J61, which hadn't been seen for nearly a week, turned out to be a brand-new baby instead. Researchers now presume J61 is dead.
John Ryan
Environment

Newborn orca brings holiday cheer — and fear — to Seattle whale watchers

What might be the world’s most famous orca has given birth again.
John Ryan
Environment

Southern Resident orcas have been seen wearing salmon ‘hats.’ But it's not all fun and games

Deborah Giles told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm that while this "salmon hat" phenomenon is certainly noteworthy, it's likely not a hopeful sign of long-term recovery.
Kim Malcolm

John O'Brien
Environment

Too much cyanide in Puget Sound? EPA to review state regulations

Federal officials have agreed to take another look at how Washington state regulates a deadly poison — cyanide.
John Ryan
Environment

Endangered Northwest orca population drops as 3 males die

Three members of the Northwest’s population of endangered orcas died over the past year.
John Ryan
Animals

Why the Salish Sea's new baby orca surprised researchers
Natalie Akane Newcomb

KUOW Staff
Environment

Shhh! The orcas can’t hear their dinner

When an orca hunts salmon, it clicks and buzzes. It sends a beam of sounds from its nasal passages into the murky depths in hopes that the sound waves will bounce back and reveal the location of its next nutritious meal. Those hopes are often dashed when noise from passing vessels drowns out orcas’ sonar signals.
John Ryan
Animals

Bellingham man fined $1,000 for steering yacht through orca pod

A Bellingham man has been fined $1,000 for driving his 51-foot recreational vessel through a pod of killer whales off the west side of San Juan Island in 2022.
Stephen Howie

1 of 14