Killer whales?

Question

Killer whales - Endangered Species?

1. What are the circumstances around its endangerment?

2. What efforts are currently in place to protect this animal?

Answer 1

Scientific studies have revealed many different populations/stocks (or even potentially subspecies) of killer whales worldwide. These different populations may exhibit different dietary needs, behavior patterns, social structures, and habitat preferences.

In the northeastern Pacific, from California to the western Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea, at least 2,250-2,700 resident, transient, and offshore whales are currently thought to exist .

Due to its small population size, National Marine Fisheries Service listed the Southern Pacific Killer Whale as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This population is also listed as depleted under the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

AT1 Transient Killer Whale group suffered dramatically after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  NMFS designated the AT1 group of transient killer whales as a depleted stock under the MMPA.

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Answer 2

Killer whales, or Orcas, are not on the endangered list, but are considered a threatened species. Oddly, they are not whales -- surprisingly they are part of the dolphin family.

They are highly social animals and live in pods. They inhabit all of the worlds oceans. They mostly survive on fish. Thanks to the damage we've done to the planet's fishing stocks, they are having a hard go at surviving. They are also known to hunt seals, some whales, sea lions and other sea mammals.

I lived in the Puget Sound region for a number of years. One of my best memories is from a night we were sailboat racing in the Southern Georgia Straits off Vancouver Island. An Orca broke the surface of the water about twenty feet from our boat and just swam along with us for almost half an hour. The Orca just seemed to enjoy the company and was curious about what we were about. An amazing experience.

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