Posts Tagged ‘Orca’
Time and tide – orca seasons around the British Isles
The world feels very strange for most of us as we adjust to a new normal with altered routines and a different way of living. So it’s reassuring to hear reports that some traditions continue to the beat of more ancient, natural rhythms. Let’s explore the seasonal patterns of the little known orca groups of…
Read MoreWhales in waters around Russia could still be captured
A Russian ‘expert’ working group has concluded that the exploitation of whales and dolphins for so-called cultural and educational purposes should continue. The working group was responding to a 100,000 thousand signature petition from members of the public in Russia asking the government there to end captures of orcas, beluga whales and dolphins for sale…
Read MoreHow we’re helping to keep orcas safe from capture in Russia
In 1999, we helped open up whale research in Russia, building a photo-ID catalogue of orcas as well as a Russian team to study them. We called this the Far East Russia Orca Project, or FEROP, and it’s still going strong today. FEROP has trained a generation of young students in photo-ID, acoustic recording and…
Read MoreAre whales migrating huge distances for a skin makeover?
Tracking the movement of over 6o orcas in the coastal waters of Antarctica from 2009 to 2016, a scientific team has put forward another reason why some whales migrate over huge distances from one part of the globe to another – smooth skin. There have been many reasons cited as to why whales complete these…
Read MoreBringing home the misery of orca captivity
Emma Stallworthy and Caroline Willis spent much of 2019 as residential volunteers at our Scottish Dolphin Centre. Part of their role was to run the centre’s events programme and in this guest blog, they explain how they came up with an event to help visitors understand the cruel confinement of captivity. Volunteering at Whale and…
Read MoreInfamous ‘whale jail’ now empty
Reports from Russia suggest the notorious whale jail in Srednyaya bay in Far East Russia is now, finally, empty of whales. The 11 orcas and 87 belugas were initially captured last year for sale to Chinese marine park facilities and were placed into a collection of small sea pens in waters near Nakhodka that became…
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