One of these Killer Whales is Almost 100 years Old...

...and the other is in his fifties!

These two whales were the first of their pod to be identified by Ken Balcomb back in the late 70s when scientists realized that every Orca has a distinct pattern of markings. J1 is the impressive male with the characteristically tall dorsal fin, and J2 is tucked in behind him. Because of their relative ages and the fact that the pair is together so often, most likely they are mother and son.

J1 is 58 years old, and his mom is almost 100.

The concept that Orcas can live so long in the wild is just amazing -- we can only imagine the changes that J2 has witnessed over the course of her lifetime, and what remarkable adaptations she has had to make.

This photo of Pike Place Market was taken in 1911, about the time that J2 was born -- and shows more horses and buggies than cars!

Salmon were abundant then and the water less polluted. She was born before TV and not long after the first flight by the Wright brothers. Before scuba tanks or sonar, antibiotics or bandaids, and even before sliced bread!

It is remarkable that she has led her family and navigated so much change, and we can only hope that the Orcas have enough resilience to withstand the current dismal salmon situation. Our resident Orca pods were seen off California periodically this winter, which prompted me to ask Ken if he thought the whales would permanently move out of our area. He replied that they will probably stay here, but that they will have to go where they can find fish or starve.

So - you might want to take advantage of this great weather we're having and take a trip up to look for our venerable matriarch, she was spotted last Wednesday right off shore at San Juan Island. There is a shuttle you can catch when you disembark from the ferry in Friday Harbor that will take you to the whale watching park, so you can leave your car at the ferry terminal in Anacortes and walk on. It is a fun and easy day trip even if the whales don't show up (but be sure to check schedules and bring munchies and sunscreen, you may wind up staying longer than you planned!)

Although the Center for Whale Research is not involved with public tours you can check our links page for other recommendations. Lisa Moorby has redesigned our website, it is very user friendly and helpful, plus she has selected beautiful photos of the whales to enjoy.

A century old whale is something to see, and who knows, you may even see her with the new calf, her great-grandson J45!

Killer whales face cull after finding taste for rare otters

FOR conservationists it is the ultimate dilemma. Marine biologists are discussing a cull of killer whales because the predators are destroying other endangered sea mammals.

They are concerned by new research linking a huge population slump in species such as sea otters, Steller’s sea lions and harbour seals to the changed feeding habits of some killer whales, or orcas, as they are also known. The main prey of these orcas has traditionally been great whales such as grey whales and sperm whales, but hunting by humans has cut the numbers of those species to far below their natural level.

Professor James Estes, an expert in the population dynamics of sea mammals at the University of California, Santa Cruz, believes that, faced with a shortage of food, some groups of Pacific orcas have altered their diets. Each killer whale is capable of eating several otters or seals a day.

Estes, whose research will be published in the Philosophical Transactions journal of the Royal Society, said: “Killer whales are the world’s largest carnivores. They are fast and effective killers and they need a lot of food to keep going.

“They live in groups and I believe some of those groups are now preying on small marine mammals like sea otters and sea lions.”

His views are backed by many eyewitness reports of killer whales attacking smaller mammals, some of which can be swallowed whole. Other experts have been prompted to consider culling killer whales.

Callum Roberts, professor of marine biology at York University and author of The Unnatural History of the Sea, said: “Steller’s sea lions and sea otters are high on the conservation agenda, and seeing past success in rebuilding populations slipping away is agonising for those who have battled to bring them back from the edge of extinction. The possibility that killer whales are responsible creates the ultimate conservation dilemma: should we kill the killers?”

Estes is very cautious about such ideas, partly because he believes the science needs to be more certain and because pred-ator control programmes are seldom successful. A cull would also cause an outcry among conservationists.

“Culling killer whales might solve the problem but it would have a huge political dimension. A lot of people involved in conservation are nervous about this issue,” he said.

Estes, however, remains deeply concerned that the current population levels of sea otters, Steller’s sea lions and some seal species is so low that they are at risk of extinction. Although exact numbers are unknown, the population of these species has dwindled to about 10,000-20,000, a fraction of their natural levels.

Such animals were intensively hunted for their fur, oil, meat and blubber from the 18th century onwards but their numbers began to recover after they were all given protection in the early 20th century.

Last century, however, industrial whaling wiped out most of the great whale populations in the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Ocean. “It seems likely that killer whales expanded their diets to include a higher percentage of sea otters and other sea mammals after the reduction in great whale numbers caused by postworld war two industrial whaling,” said Estes.

Killer whales are found in oceans around the world. Their global population is thought to be 100,000-200,000 but around 90% of these live mainly on fish. It is the remaining 10%, a separate subtype, that prey on whales and other sea mammals.

Scientists return to study seal-eating killer whales

A TEAM of scientists has returned to Shetland for a major study into the life of local killer whale populations, which feed on seals.

Dr Andy Foote from Aberdeen University said there were about 30 orcas regularly working the coastline around Shetland. And he said common seals did form the main diet of the Shetland killer whales.

A report by the Scottish Government's special committee on seals last month found numbers are continuing to fall in the Northern Isles, where the whales' predatory behaviour is increasing. The seal decline was between 40 and 50 per cent in Orkney, and more than 40 per cent in Shetland.

Now the scientists from Aberdeen University, who studied the behaviour and feeding habits of killer whales around Shetland over the past two summers, say the orcas mainly feed on seals.

Their current visit is part of a long-term study, which started in 2006, into the population structure of killer whales around Scotland's coast.

In 2007, the researchers witnessed groups with more than 50 killer whales feeding near a local trawler just ten miles off Shetland. The group is asking local people to help them by reporting sightings.

Dead Orca Washed Ashore

Despite whales rarely being found off the Danish coast an orca whale was discovered dead on a Jutland beach

A 5.5 metre long dead orca whale washed ashore yesterday at Nørlev beach, northern Jutland.

Witnesses say that there was blood around the mammal, but the cause of death has not yet been determined. Biologist Bjarke Huus from the Forest and Nature Agency told news website nordjydske.dk that it appeared the animal was old and had been dead for a long time.

Curious passers-by reportedly came up to get a closer look at the animal, which Huus said rarely find its way onto Danish shores. However, in 1999 a minke whale was stranded very close to where Wednesday’s dead orca was found.