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Seven gray whales have been observed from the northern Puget Sound up to the San Juan islands this spring, entertaining those lucky enough to find them while kayaking in Washington. Sadly, a very young and malnourished gray whale beached itself this past week in Puget Sound near Seattle, Washington. At first, people thought that killer whales were responsible for its death as there was damage on its pectoral fins and flukes made by orca whales. Marine mammal biologists from Cascadia Research Collective examined the wounds and determined they were old and partially healed. So the calf had survived this killer whale attack and died much later of other causes. They took samples from the carcass to further define the cause of death. This dead gray whale is one of two gray whales that have been watched in southern Puget Sound this spring and the second gray whale death in the Salish Sea for 2010. The other died just a couple of days later on the south shore of Vancouver Island near Victoria, British Columbia. Initial speculation was that this death was caused by killer whales, too, as the dead gray whale had deep gouges on its belly. But as before, the orca whales have been exonerated upon further investigation. The damage seems to have been caused by rocks in the surf. It’s thought that the true cause of death is malnutrition, a common problem for young gray whales. Instead of teeth, gray whales possess baleen plates that hang from their upper jaw to form a sieve for filtering mostly benthic, mud-dwelling creatures such as worms, crustaceans and other small animals out of the bottom muck. When fully grown, gray whales are about 40 feet long and weigh more than 30 tons. Join a Kayak Tour in the San Juan Islands near Seattle, Washington

“Oldsquaw” is a word that may catch a few eyes in this age of political correctness, just as the bird with this name did on our sea kayak tours this week in the San Juan Islands. Oldsquaw is the original American name for the long-tailed duck, a sea duck that nests circumpolar in the arctic tundra. This elegant winter visitor from the far north acquired its original colorful name from its musical yodeling or ululating call,  reminiscent of the emotionally-charged Algonquin cries heard by early Euro-American settlers. Alas, the old name is now considered by some to be demeaning and hence the recent change to the boring descriptive. Like most in its family, the long-tailed duck is courting at this time of year so their ululating cries, unique to all waterfowl, are heard ringing across the bays. The stunning males, with their bold plumage and elegant tails, are doing a lot of female chasing right now and putting on a good show for bird watching in the San Juan Islands. Very soon they will be departing for the arctic tundra to breed. Most have waited until the pacific herring have finished spawning in the San Juan Islands and elsewhere in the Salish Sea. They cannot begin the long journey north without first putting on a heavy layer of fat to nourish them during the long flight. The fat generated from eating the rich herring roe is essential to this bird’s success in reaching the breeding grounds in sufficient health to raise the next generation. Many other sea duck species, as well as loons, grebes, alcids, and others, have long depended on mass herring spawns in Washington to support large wintering populations and provide the fat boost just before northward migration. Tragically, the herring spawns have dwindled drastically in recent decades. The most important spawning site has seen a decline of 95% and this identical dropoff has been observed in the overwintering populations of the bird families mentioned. Herring is the keystone species of our entire marine ecosystem in the San Juan Islands and elsewhere in Washington. Healthy populations of herring are crucial to more than just sea birds; there are also salmon, harbor seal pups, eagles, orca whales, and so many more. Much, if not all, of the herring’s demise has been caused by human activity, especially the reshaping of shorelines by dredging, sea walls, and jetties. Chemical pollutants and sewage are major contributing factors. These are all problems that can be controlled with proper management. Strangely, although salmon and orca whales have been listed as endangered in Pacific Northwest, the decimated herring has been overlooked.despite their crucial role in the survival of both! Once again, the fisheries managers are proving uninterested, slow to react, and waiting for complete collapse per their usual stance. If action is taken now, it may be only a decade or two to full recovery of the pacific herring. If government agencies wait much longer if will likely take over a century to repair the damage and the entire Salish Sea ecosystem will suffer grievously, including the lovely long-tailed duck. Spring Migration Kayak Tours in the San Juan Islands

The latest confirmed birth, recorded on February 21 in L-pod, brings the “southern resident” killer whale community population up to 89 whales. Their population, believed to have been historically in the high 100s, was cut in half or worse by captures for marine parks, which ended in the 1970s. Pollution and declining salmon populations then caused declines in from the 1970s-1990s. The killer whales’ population plummeted to 71 by 1973, climbed to 99 in 1995, then plunged again to 79 six years later. The population rebounded to 80 in 2002, 83 in 2003, 85 in 2004 and 89 in 2005, and has seesawed around 88 since then. The three southern resident orca whale pods were belatedly declared endangered by the U.S. and Canada in 2005 despite years of urging by environmentalists and kayak tour companies in the San Juan Islands. The National Marine Fisheries Service is required to write a recovery plan for the killer whales. The most controversial proposed element of the plan is to ban kayaking from the west side of San Juan Island. No scientific rationale for this proposed kayaking ban exists and it is presumed to be an attempt by NMFS to be publicly seen as finally “doing something” to help killer whales, however misguided. Meanwhile they dodge making the hard decisions regarding reducing pollution and recovering endangered salmon populations, the two scientifically proven threats to the orca whales, and go for easy political targets like whale watching groups. In a previous blog entry, we stated our opposition to any ban on kayaking around San Juan Island. Fortunately, we have the support of local government and whale biologists. Everyone who cares about orca whales wants to see scientifically prescribed measures taken that will actually help them recovery and not waste time on red herrings. Sea kayaks are obviously no-impact vessels and have no effect on the whales provided that simple ethical rules are followed, such as no chasing, etc. The “grandfather” of killer whale biologists, Ken Balcomb, said “I told the government that for 20 years the population is going to go up and down like this. The long-term solution to an upswing here is fish. We need to get the Chinook salmon restored. If there’s not enough fish, you can have a baby, but it’s not going to survive.” This photo of the orca mother and newborn was taken by Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. Orca Whale Watcing Kayak Tours in the San Juan Islands

Sea Quest Kayak Tours guides call for all aquariums to release their captive orca whales back into the wild. Having considered the scientific facts, studied the orca whales firsthand for several decades on our sea kayak tours in the San Juan Islands, and using our accumulated knowledge as scientists, educators, and naturalists, we find the evidence to be overwhelming that orca whales are unsuited for captivity and maintaining them in aquariums is unethical. Consider the following: Orca whales swim up to 100 miles a day in the ocean compared to less than 1 mile in captivity. Their massive trademark dorsal fins limply droop over in captivity from the lack of activity. Orca whales are acoustic creatures and see their world largely in patterns of sound. In captivity they are forced to live in echo chambers, similar to techniques used by interrogators on prisoners. Orca whales live their entire lives with the family pod of their birth and have a rich and complicated social life. Captives are stolen from families while juveniles and forced to live with strange whales that do not even share the same vocalizations. Orca whales live to be as old as humans in the wild, but in captivity they rarely live more than 20 years. Orca calves born in captivity rarely survive to adulthood. Wild orca whales have never harmed a human or been observed injuring other orcas. Captive orca whales have killed humans on several occasions and severely attacked other orcas, too. It should be obvious that captivity is not a physically or socially healthy environment for orca whales. The one argument for keeping them in aquariums that we have any sympathy for is the educational value they provide to the public. But with alternatives such as orca whale watching kayak tours in Washington and film documentaries available, this final argument no longer has merit. Please read this proposal for releasing an orca whale born wild and later captured in the San Juan Islands of Washington. More intelligent discourse on how she can be returned to her home waters to rejoin her family and how you can help is found at www.orcanetwork.org. Experience an Orca Whale Watching Kayak Tour from Seattle, Washington

Unknown to most whale watchers and kayak tour participants, killer whales in the San Juan Islands occur in two very different species. The two orca whale species in Washington are currently known as “Resident Killer Whales” and “Transient Killer Whales” until better names are decided on. Both species of orca whales in the San Juans apparently live throughout the world but more study is needed to confirm this. Here are the main differences: Resident Orca Whales – Live in large matriarchal pods of up to 50 whales, feed almost exclusively on fish, males are about 1 to 2 meters shorter, are very talkative, and relaxed in the presence of kayak tours and whale watchers. Transient Killer Whales – Live alone or in small pods of less than 10 whales, feed mostly on marine mammals such as seals and sea lions, adults are about 1 to 2 meters longer with taller/sharper dorsal fins, and are much quieter (perhaps because their prey is so intelligent). This is the orca that people think of when they hear the words “killer whale” as they are the largest killers of warm-blooded prey in the world! Genetic studies confirm that the two species of orca whales do not interbreed and some scientists say they have been separated for 100,000 years. The “transient killer whales” in the San Juan Islands are apparently more closely related to transients in the Atlantic Ocean than they are to the their close neighbors in the Pacific Ocean and Washington. For these two species of killer whales to share the same waters without socializing or interbreeding despite their superficial similarities speaks to how intensely different their cultures are. Besides having different hunting techniques and family structures, the two orca whale species have different vocalizations. Perhaps this is what keeps them apart more than any other factor. When passing each other in the San Juan Islands, the two killer whale species usually move to opposite sides of the waterway. Although these facts have been well known for many years, many scientists resist officially recognizing separate killer whale species in the San Juan Islands, or elsewhere around the world where these differences have been noted. While the debate rages, both will share the scientific name of Orcinus orca. Go Kayaking with Orca Whales in the San Juan Islands of Washington