The following is carried over from Orca Network;

The Center for Whale Research has shared the results of their 2010 summer Orca Survey, with the sad news that we have lost 3 adult orcas and one calf this year.

Missing and presumed dead are:
L114, new calf born to L77 in February 2010, missing when the whales returned in June.
L73/Flash, a male born in 1986, missing summer 2010 (male in above photo).
L74/Saanich, a male also born in 1986, missing summer 2010.
K11/Georgia, a female estimated to be born in 1933, last observed in May 2010.

This brings the population of the Southern Resident orca community to about 87 individuals. J pod has 28 members; K pod has 19; and L pod has 40, including (approximately):
~9 post-reproductive females (over 40 years old)
~25 adult females (12-40 years old)
~19 mature or adolescent males (over 12 years old)
~21 juveniles (5-12 years old)
~13 calves (0-4 years old)

Visit Orca Network’s website for a List of recent births and deaths, and read more about these missing whales, and the birth of L115, the newest member of the Southern Resident Community, on Chris Dunagan’s Watching Our Water Ways blog on the Kitsap Sun website.

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From a personal perspective, it is sad to see the departure of these whales. Each year I am experiencing what it’s like to become more familiar with and then loose that familiarity with these orcas. I suppose it’s part of the life and death process but in my opinion they seem to die too young.

Here is a photo of L74/Saanich I took in 2005, please feel free to download for personal use;

Please enjoy the slide show of when L74/Saanich paraded for all to see sporting kelp on his dorsal fin

(Thank you for the link http://pugetsound.org/blog/bl100827, I came across it by “fluke” no pun intended)

Quite simply put, it’s a sacred encounter. Perhaps we may be mesmerized by them (orcas) and their closeness to us, to the shoreline and to the earth itself but why are they doing this? Some whales in some places in the pacific north west are known to rub on the soft pebbles near the shoreline. This is more common up at the top of Vancouver Island. At first one is completely taken away by the animals themselves and wants to relive the experience over and over, it’s very powerful and makes us return for more. However, what is it about these rocks that attract them? Lately I decided to pay a bit more attention to them. I have usually carried around with me some rubbing stones in my pockets and during the events of my traveling home from Mexico through my ordeal, relied on them for grounding and stress relief. When I returned back to the coast and to the rubbing beach, I interacted more with it then I had in the past, and more so in my mind. I feel there is a healing mechanism at work here but I don’t understand scientifically why, I am not a scientist nor do I need to be one to understand that their healing effects are working, I just feel they are. Perhaps there is more that I can do with this to better my life and my work.

Recently when I returned from the rubbing beach (I had not seen whales rub this time) I was told I looked younger, softer and rejuvenated. Was it the air? Was it escaping to a place where people, cars, technology and products didn’t exist? Was it camping and sleeping in the clean outside air? Was it the beach and spending the many hours interacting with the stones? Perhaps it was all of the above… But the rocks I can take those with me We can share the experience to help others reach a place of healing. Our planet needs much healing an we need to start by healing ourselves.

This perspective feels important and I want to share with you how I feel about it. I hope you too will find the topic interesting. This is truly a grounding exercise for us all; whale and human alike. I need to thank these whales for bringing my attention to this.

Please check out the “rocks” page to know more about this. This is a project under development right now.

Here is the excerpt taken from the Orca Live website stating the sighting;

“CetaceaLab reports that a large group of northern resident whales were nearby yesterday (June 15). The group included the A5s, A24s, A34s, Cs and Ds. The A36s were also there along with A12. This is the second sighting of the A36s with A12. Sadly, it looks as if A32 (Cracroft) is now gone as he was not seen during either encounter. He will be missed very much. On another track, Paul is off to the IWC. The meeting is being held in Agadir, Morocco this year. We have set up a blog on www.orcalab.org (link at the top right) so that he will be able to post summaries and comments during the meeting. It is a crucial year for the IWC and for whales. The threat to resume commercial whaling is a very real possibility.
Helena
16 Jun 2010 08:27:59 PDT”

Also, check out this great video from last summer of the 3 Brothers produced by Rachael Griffin

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I would like to point out that 3 events, one discussing the “lively hood” of orcas, one discussing the “spirituality” of orcas, and one of the “physicality” of orcas are playing out all through the power of technology. Body, mind and soul. This is most definitely a communicative event between orcas and humans on the topic of interactivity. What is the message? From my perspective, the message is that we as a species need to learn and to listen to other species in a new way. The topic of orcas has been dominating the media for a few days now while the tragic death of the trainer continues to baffle people world wide. The anti-captivity movement is mobilized and pushing their message with force – to help free captive orcas and end the future of captivity. Luna continues to break and take hearts while our Southern Residents future seems uncertain while holding us in that same grip. I would like to point out that their (SRKW) numbers were critically reduced when the capture era removed a large number of orcas for marine parks, and many died in the process and their population has never recovered. See Orca Network for more on this. Ironically, marine parks use the excuse that because their numbers are endangered in the wild and that they swim free in a toxic world, that they need to be preserved in marine parks for future generations. This would not be the case for our SRKW, if the population had not been so devastatingly disturbed in the first place. None the less, all of these three events are directly connected and are actively playing out at once.

So WHAT is going on? It most definitely has many people’s attention. For years I have had dreams and visions about orcas… many that have come true and I know many other people are experiencing this but are remaining hush hush about it because we have conditioned ourselves into thinking that that can’t really be the case, that we are crazy or that others will think we are crazy. In that process our species completely undermines the intelligence of other species . But it all brings my attention to a much bigger question; what are they telling us? Are they telling us something? Or have we completely gone insane? I would like to know what you are thinking? It’s time our species deflated from an illusive egotistical and arrogant state and pay attention to the universal language. I started to feel something around this topic many years ago and embarked on my own investigation starting in 1997 which has lead me here. We are in an important time in the history of this planet as many things are calling for our attention, please pay attention and respond mindfully… I am going to call this moment the “Orca Alignment”. For me, it’s an obvious moment in my history that cannot be ignored.

Please note: I found on the old Center for Whale Research site that there are 14 transient pods:E,F,M,O,N,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,X,Y,Z

Chelsea Stanley, a biologist for DFO states;
U’s are KW’s whose ecotype is unknown. They are not given an ecotype until they are seen associated with a group with a known ecotype at least twice. I think they suspect most of them are transient-type.

Please view the comment by Jared Towers as he talks more about these two interesting individuals.

On the last trip I managed to witness something really incredible. Firstly, I heard the A36 brothers call all alone in the Queen Charlotte Strait. There was not a boat that day in the strait and the calls echoed incredibly. They were calling out, as if to be responded to, I am assuming they were looking for A12. A12 (an elder) lost her son this past year (A33 Nimpkish) and has been traveling solo sometimes when she is not with the 3 big boys who have seemed to adopted her as their step mom. The day after the calls, we saw the A36′s traveling in the strait with A12. They were not calling at that point. It’s an amazing observation to have, to share this understanding that orcas are like people, need friends and family and ultimately love and companionship in their lives… It is my dream to move up there in the future. Where I can access those days, standing alone on the shoreline, just me and an orca… Yes it is possible.

You can see the blog post of the entire journey at Prince of Whales Blog

Some notes on these two co/ the Center for Whale Research;

J27 • Male • Born 1991
Mother is J11 (deceased), siblings are J25 (deceased), J31 & J39.

J39 • Male • Born 2003
Mother is J11 (deceased), siblings are J25 (deceased), J27 & J31.

Disclaimer: The following is my personal opinion. I am no expert, I am no scientist, but I am 1 person with a perspective (and there are many perspectives), so here it goes.

NOAA has proposed new guidelines for the southern resident killer whales. You can read about those here. This is based off of a couple of studies, highlighting one in particular that suggests that boats initiate orca behavior up to 200 yards away.

I feel concern for the new proposed guidelines for a variety of reasons and I am all about protecting the orcas. I also watch orcas from land and from boats, the boat I am on uses a whale friendly drive for noise reduction underwater. To me the new guidelines also create new problems… and, will this change actually make a difference in saving these whales? I think it’s time to start enforcing boater education (about behaving around marine life) upon obtaining a license, install enforcement (materials in addition to “be whale wise” guidelines) in marinas, enforcing greener boating technology and viewing platforms, enforcing a reformed 100 yard guideline (with having engines cut within a 200 yard radius as our current guidelines “flaw” could be actually more disturbing to the orcas), and most importantly, address their fish (food) crisis (fish farms, over fishing) and start resolving pollution issues. And should commercial fishing vessels be allowed to fish in the orcas proposed “no go zone”? as it is suggested in the new guideline proposal? As for pollution, run off, sewage? I really don’t know where to begin except that we change our behaviors when it comes to consuming products of a greener nature. Unless all of these areas are reviewed, I doubt very much that we will have much success. I also hate to see groups demonized in the process, this involves all of us to cooperate together. Whale watching is an important platform for the public and I would hate to see it stripped away.

Monika Wieland on the proposed new Orca Guidelines – Awesome post, please read.

I feel sympathetic for those people who don’t understand this situation and are either too afraid to comment or then feel the need to side with this new guideline “just in case” because yes it does sound like a good idea. However I feel that once you have really looked at this yourself (on scene experience is helpful) you will see what reality we are facing. Having covered some education in hazards, it has helped me to look at a task at hand realistically and approach it in an unbiased nature. I have stated a summary comment above which is based off long winded conversations and rants of my own in a private realm. All we can do is to help the public understand this issue better, so that they can contribute a useful voice when it comes to protecting endangered wildlife such as the southern resident killer whales. Please read the link above, and contribute your comment to the links provided at the bottom of that post.

We the people need to be careful when emotionally responding so that we may choose wisely the best approach for these orcas. We must demonstrate a collective knowledge that says “we understand these animals are contaminated and their food stalks an issue”. By voicing our concerns about the proposed guidelines, we are actually and rightfully enforcing government to take the appropriate action where it is urgently required, which unless we push hard, this will continue to go unaddressed and then these animals really are doomed for extinction as the science suggests. Our own fate follows theirs. This entire website was inspired by our bound fates… We’re all connected.

A quick recap in point form of what I think would be helpful;

1. Refined guidelines & slow go zone for the San Juan Island shoreline (no start up within 200 yards, 100 yard from animal)
2. Enforcement strengthened (within ww fleet, stronger on the water presence, more financial support to monitors)
3. Green boating technology and systems
4. Mandatory marine mammal education upon obtaining a personal boating license
5. Pro active published materials handed out on whale watching boats and marinas about pollution impacts
6. Fish management / fish farms strongly addressed
7. Limited number of boats present with wildlife (I have seen various written approaches on this; licenses etc)
8. Communication and cooperation between industry groups, ending of demonizing and finger pointing

Update October 5 – my comments on the Orca Sphere blog here – enforcement being my issue of concern.

http://orcinus.blogspot.com/2009/10/power-to-people.html – my own comments on the difficulty of the topic.