/r/orcas

Photograph via snooOG

Almost anything and everything related to Orcas!

Post anything Orca related!

Be sure to check out our sister sub /r/whales!
If you're interested in any other animals, Reddit's Animal Kingdom has what you're looking for!
Cross-posting is always welcome as long as it's new and relevant. Other subs you might like: /r/Cetacea, /r/manatee, /r/whales, /r/orcagifs

/r/orcas

32,948 Subscribers

130

An incredible encounter I had with a pod of Transient Biggs Orcas in Dodd Narrows, Vancouver Island.

7 Comments
2024/10/05
03:18 UTC

43

One off print I really like (art from canva)

1 Comment
2024/10/05
01:38 UTC

5

Coastal Queens Doc: Annoying inaccuracy

On Disneyplus National Geographic.

I love watching anything orca. It starts out great, although I am annoyed that when we are introduced to the Orca there’s no location or Pod name mentioned.

I move past this and enjoy watching the Matriarch kill a shark.

Then the pod is seen to kill dolphins - fine. I can still believe it’s the same pod led by “Sophia” the matriarch. Still annoyed at lack of info on the pod.

THEN T H E N, They show the pod feeding ON RAYS!! This can’t be the same pod?! I was waiting for them to say they were New Zealand Orca due to the rays being their prey. But surely then they can’t be the same pod who also fed on the shark and the dolphin!

We know orcas are very particular and the NZ orcas only eat ray.

Right?! Google won’t even tell me what pod it is on this show! Anyone know? Or anyone share my annoyance? 😂

7 Comments
2024/10/04
14:25 UTC

19

guys!

orca pods nearby! (trying to be funny)

3 Comments
2024/10/04
00:20 UTC

151

My little guy I drew, need a name still 😁

25 Comments
2024/10/03
13:44 UTC

230

My orca tattoo

They are together, never alone

2 Comments
2024/10/03
06:43 UTC

327

What Orca Image could be used as the equivalent for this meme?

22 Comments
2024/10/01
20:08 UTC

0

Woo hooo

3 Comments
2024/10/01
17:35 UTC

105

Southern Resident orcas have more diverse diet than previously thought, research reveals

5 Comments
2024/10/01
10:54 UTC

5

Mother Orca

I made this artwork celebrating the maternal hierarchy of the Mother Orca with man. It hangs on a wall of a building in downtown Kansas City. Mother Orca is sad, lonely, the world is out of /order/ and they hit boats to tell you that.

https://preview.redd.it/qmeev2vzytrd1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebc237235011273d005c89afcd93a6cc640dad2e

/THE/INFORMATORY/ASETHETIC/

https://preview.redd.it/0iuct15pytrd1.jpg?width=200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=981f7637b8294efbc19260f51b72d33b91837d1a

1 Comment
2024/09/29
23:12 UTC

34

We are NOT focusing on the right thing (aka SeaWorld).

Yes, orcas in captivity are far from a good thing, and yes, SeaWorld does hold them in captivity. However, they do it significantly better than most other facilities worldwide, and they could take much better care of the remaining captive orcas, such as Kshamenk. Now that I have your attention, please read on, and I ask that you try to understand my point before judging me:

A few weeks ago, someone posted a picture on this subreddit of Lolita’s tank with the caption, “Just a reminder for those who try to say SeaWorld wasn’t that bad.” I’m not even going to address the fact that Miami Seaquarium (where Lolita lived) is not related to SeaWorld and is far worse, but what I do want to say is that Lolita could have lived a much better life had she been transferred to SeaWorld Orlando, an extremely short trip to a place where we knew she would survive.

Now, I don’t believe SeaWorld is a paradise for orcas, that’s not my point, but it would have been way easier to send her there than to develop a sea pen halfway across the world where she might not even adapt, and where she would still be alone. She was never going to be moved to SeaWorld because every animal rights organization would have protested, saying that “She’d only be used for entertainment again" etc. But honestly, I believe she would have lived a far better life at SeaWorld, where she could have adapted with ease. It would have only taken a few hours to move her with minimal stress and no extensive preparation—something that could have been done immediately (way differently than a sea pen).

Now, think about Kshamenk. Moving him to a sea pen that doesn’t even exist yet would require him, at 34 years old, to adapt to a completely new environment—and he’d still be alone, with no wild orcas likely able to bond with him. If he were sent to any SeaWorld park, he could easily interact with other orcas because SeaWorld knows how to introduce new members into their groups. He could live in a much larger facility and receive the best possible care for a captive orca.

Please understand, I’m not suggesting that he would live as well as he would in the wild. That’s not point. The fact is: he was already captured, and considering this, he would be in a much better situation than he is now if he was at SeaWorld. And it’s impossible to deny that sending him to SeaWorld would be 100 times easier than relocating him to a sea pen.

“But you’re only giving examples of orcas in worse facilities—what about the ones at SeaWorld?” Most of the orcas at SeaWorld were born in captivity. Only three orcas in all three SeaWorld parks were born in the wild. Most of the captive born orcas are a mixed breed; they don’t really belong to any specific place in the world. Corky is one of the few wild-caught individuals remaining**. She’s about 59 years old and has lived most of her life at SeaWorld**, where she’s even adopted some of the younger orcas.

Now, many animal rights organizations are pressuring SeaWorld to send her alone to a sea pen in British Columbia, where she was captured. Do you honestly think that’s the best solution? Personally, I believe that for this last generation of captive orcas, the best place for them is SeaWorld. We should be focusing on the conditions of animals that are not only in captivity but also isolated in subpar facilities that don’t even meet the minimum standards—places like Mundo Marino or Marineland Antibes.

You don't need (and shouldn't) “support” SeaWorld, this issue goes far beyond that. It's not about liking SeaWorld, it's about considering the real issues surrounding the lives of these animals and not just idealizing a solution.

Kshamenk tank at Mundo Marino.

Lolita tank at Miami Seaquarium.

SeaWorld San Diego tank.

50 Comments
2024/09/29
17:20 UTC

439

Orca whale, oil painting on panel (8x6IN)

7 Comments
2024/09/29
10:59 UTC

961

Got lucky during our whale watching trip. Monterey Bay CA (oc)

23 Comments
2024/09/28
00:56 UTC

83

tattoo!

didn’t really have anywhere else to post this but here’s the tattoo of an orca that i just got! i love it <3

0 Comments
2024/09/27
19:31 UTC

45

Seaworld

I have a sibling who’s taking her family to Seaworld in the coming week…and I was surprised to find out that even after Blackfish, the only changes Seaworld has made is to stop their breeding program and has taken their trainers out of the water during their Orca Shows. They’ve also rebranded them as “educational experiences”, although not too sure what’s educational about a bunch of people making orcas breach again and again.

Why isn’t Seaworld spending time and money in figuring out how to get their whales out of captivity? Or at the very least making them appropriate enclosures. Anyone here have resources for what can actually be done to help these whales? I’ve seen some inconclusive literature about open sea pens (mainly that there aren’t enough to support evidence that it’s a viable option for captive whales)

54 Comments
2024/09/27
13:41 UTC

101

Orca male taking the most feared sea creature for lunch

Depiction made by me, representing a 7.5m(24.5ft) long transient male and a 5.8m(19ft) long Great White Shark

3 Comments
2024/09/26
21:10 UTC

28

Does anyone know where I can find this film??

4 Comments
2024/09/26
07:00 UTC

0

Company’s to sleep on boat and swim with orca.

Hey I'm new to this but looking to find some company's that offer staying on the boat and swimming with orca in Norway. Any suggestions would be appreciated 🙏

13 Comments
2024/09/25
11:52 UTC

1,058

A happy northern resident orca

@tobin

14 Comments
2024/09/25
02:41 UTC

35

Interactions between different ecotypes in the wild

The transient and resident orcas of the Pacific do not interact or interbreed with each other, with transients generally being seen leaving the area when they get near residents. However there have been two documented interactions between the two groups, and in both cases the more-numerous residents appeared to drive the transients away.

The first documented interaction was in 1993 between J-pod and the T20s:

In a bizarre incident off Nanaimo, BC, on Feb. 13, 1993, the answer was a definitive “yes.” A resident pod not only interacted with some transients, it gave them a drubbing.

The incident began when Graeme Ellis, then a whale researcher with Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, heard from friends about a group of killer whales in nearby Georgia Strait. Once on the water, Ellis found the whales porpoising south at about 10-12 knots and identified them as part of the southern resident pod known as J-pod.

There was more splashing ahead, and it turned out to be the rest of J-pod.

“They were really agitated, charging around the bay, obviously worked up about something,” said Ellis. Once the first group caught up, all of the whales bunched together and charged toward a small bay, again at high speed.

Then all of a sudden three new killer whales popped up about 100 yards in front of J-pod.

Ellis recognized the threesome as a well-known transient group known as the T20s—a mother Pandora (T21) and her adult offspring, son Kwatsi (T20) and daughter Eucott (T22). Ellis watched in disbelief as the transients fled toward the rocky shoreline, with J-pod in hot pursuit.

“The transients were within five to six meters of a cliff face, just going like hell,” said Ellis. “Meanwhile, J-pod was angling in on them, almost as if they were trying to push them up against the rocks.”

When the residents caught up, the spray really began to fly. The water churned with 20 agitated whales and Ellis could hear their excited whistles and squeals resonating through his boat—even though the outboard was still running.

“They were all mixed really tightly together. There were times when the animals came up and you could see one’s head right against the other one’s flank, but I couldn’t tell whether or not they were grabbing. I suspect they were nipping at them, because it was all really aggressive.”

Several minutes later the rumble ended when the Gabriola Island ferry backed out of its dock, and the transients raced off along the shoreline and dove. The J-pod whales then “huffed and chuffed and puffed” around the bay, catching their breaths as Ellis motored after the transients to have a closer look at them.

“A couple of them had fresh tooth rake marks on them, but because I didn’t get a good look at them beforehand, we’ll never know for sure whether they came from this incident,” he said.

Once J-pod emerged from the small bay, with no visible scratches, it became apparent that three pod members were missing—a new calf, its mother and its grandmother. For those of you who follow the southern residents, the calf was Polaris (J28), the mother was Princess Angeline (J17) and the grandmother was Saratoga (J5).

The three whales rejoined the rest of J-pod shortly after the transients had disappeared.

But what it was that provoked J-pod in this case remains a mystery. Perhaps the transients killed a seal or sea lion and started “talking” about it while J-pod was within hearing range. Or maybe J-pod viewed the transients as a threat to their new calf. Whatever the reason, says Ellis, the T20s “definitely got their butts kicked, in my view.”

The only other documented interaction between residents and transients happened almost thirty years later in 2021, and involved orcas of K-pod and L-pod versus the T65s:

We started off the trip by heading south to a report of a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. This group consisted of two sisters and their families, the T65As and the T65Bs. They were playing with/hunting a harbor seal and had been for over an hour at that point. There were SRKWs a couple of miles away but very spread out.

As the Bigg’s were milling about, suddenly, a large group of SRKWs surfaced right in the middle of them! The SRKWs were tightly grouped, with rows of females/sub-adult males and then a row of three adult males right behind them, totaling about 10-12 individuals. Following that one surfacing, there was a lot of chaos under the water with splashing and water frothing. Then the group of SRKWs surfaced again, all together, but several meters off and heading away from the area. A couple of the Bigg’s killer whales were milling around in chaos for a few seconds and seemed to be regrouping and wary of the SRKWs after that.

After the initial encounter between the two groups of whales, it only took a couple of minutes for the Bigg’s killer whales to regroup and form a long line. They arranged themselves with the older boys on the sides and the moms and younger kids in the middle then they immediately started porpoising away in synchrony. This is a behavior when they launch out of the water to pick up speed. We ended up following them at a ½ mile distance so that we could speed up. We were trying to catch up to them but couldn’t, even while we were going 30 knots! The group finally slowed down about 2 miles from their original location and for the rest of the time we were with them, they continued to travel in a very tight group. It was beautiful to see them all bunched up together and surfacing at the same time. None of the whales looked injured and we didn’t really see any whale-on-whale violence during the actual interaction but it seemed like the Biggs were pretty on edge after everything settled.

The SRKW group didn’t chase after them and the Biggs continued traveling in the opposite direction of where they were for the rest of the day. This encounter was completely unexpected and EXTREMELY rare. It is also interesting to think that the fish-eating SRKWs are the ones that seemed to break up the mammal-eating Bigg’s and drive them away.

As for non-Pacific ecotypes this paper documents similar confrontations between pods off the cost of Norway, but these are different than the transient and resident interactions above in that these pods share the same diet and ecotype — hence these appear to be examples of intergroup competition over food which isn't really observed in the orcas of the Pacific, i.e. different resident pods do not seem to compete with each other or have antagonistic interactions (transients have had a documented instance of infanticide between pods which was presumed to be for mating purposes).

If anyone is aware of any other interactions between different groups of orcas in the wild I'd love to read about them. Please nothing about cross-breeding in captivity!

6 Comments
2024/09/22
05:43 UTC

98

PNW-Seascape

Made this doodle as it reminds me of my trip to Seattle, more specifically Edmunds this past July. Take me back!

4 Comments
2024/09/21
00:32 UTC

20

What non-fiction books about orcas do you recommend?

I'm looking for English-language books that can be found in Adlibris.

14 Comments
2024/09/19
03:03 UTC

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