Three adult harbor seals in Puget Sound have tested positive for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain, marking the first incidence of HPAI in marine mammals on the West Coast, and officials are urging beachgoers to avoid contact with wildlife.
It would be an obscure sighting of the species. The closest beluga population, which lives at least 1,400 miles away in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, is endangered and covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Nearly 30 transient orcas were spotted in the Salish Sea around British Columbia and Washington state over the Labor Day weekend, a positive sign for the species, according to local whale watchers and researchers.
Southern resident killer whales which are often spotted in the Salish Sea near Vancouver throughout June haven't been seen this season, and scientists believe that could be because of the lack of chinook salmon.
Researchers say their absence is a stark reminder that the orcas are slowly starving to death because there is not enough Chinook salmon to sustain them.
The population of endangered killer whales has hit a 30-year-low, numbering only 75 this year.
The biggest challenges for whales is the buildup of toxic chemicals in their bodies and the shrinking runs of Chinook salmon, their primary prey.
One whale-watched said it appeared to be a mother orca with a large dorsal fin and three to four young orcas.
Washington state officials have proposed a new tack to save the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered orca population. Their idea is to boost salmon
Multiple groups of transient killer whales were spotted in the waters off Vashon Island Friday, according to the Vashon Hydrophone Project’s Ann Stateler (“Orca Annie”).
The death this week of another Puget Sound killer whale makes 2016 one of the worst in recent history for the endangered marine mammals. At least five orcas in the family group J-pod have died in the past year.
[VIDEOS & PHOTOS] A rare and entertaining sea otter spotted along the shores of Saanich this week has locals thrilled, but wildlife experts warn to keep a distance.
Ryan has observed a lot of aggression on the part of the young male which had previously been named Misery by Mike Slater. The baby was born beside the helicopter pad, and has spent the first day t…
The peer-reviewed research published this week in the Public Library of Science suggests that 99% of the orcas studied had photographic evidence of skin lesions. Researchers evaluated photos from nearly 20,000 orca sightings from 2004 to 2016, finding that lesions — often gray patches and gray targets on the orcas' skin — generally became more prevalent over time.
The southern resident killer whales who returned to their traditional summer feeding grounds in the Salish Sea on Tuesday and Wednesday after a long absence have apparently left again, and although most of the members of J-, K- and L-Pods appeared to be healthy, at least one may be close to starvation.
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