Orca Week

08/14/2025

EARLY DEVELOPMENT IN ORCA EVOLUTION
O. citoniensis is one of the smallest Orcinine dolphins, patrolling coastlines that used to cover parts of Europe some 3 million years ago, potentially representing a transitional form from other toothed dolphins to the super predators we know today as modern orcas. Illustration by Connor at instagram.com/ddinodan_

AI Mode Summary:
Cetacean Evolution: The ancestors of modern whales (cetaceans, including orcas) evolved from land-dwelling mammals over 50 million years ago.

Early Orcinus Species: The earliest fossil identified as an ancestor of the modern killer whale, Orcinus citoniensis, dates back to the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 to 2.6 million years ago). This species was smaller than today's orcas and had more teeth, resembling a typical dolphin.

Modern Killer Whale Evolution: The exact timeline for the emergence of the modern Orcinus orca species is still being refined. However, studies of genetic divergence indicate that the various orca populations (ecotypes) diverged relatively recently, within the last few hundred thousand years (estimates range between 126,000 and 227,000 years ago). The evolution of their specialized marine mammal hunting behavior is also considered a recent development, likely occurring within the last 1.3 to 3 million years.

The modern Orcinus orca species and its global distribution are recent developments, even though the killer whale lineage is ancient. According to Cell Press, killer whales are the sole survivors of a clade that flourished 4 million years ago. Limited understanding of the rapid diversification of dolphins, including the establishment of modern dolphin fauna, is due to gaps in the fossil record, especially for the Pleistocene epoch. (Google AI Mode)

07/31/2025

GLOBAL ORCAS of FALKLAND ISLANDS
"We’ve had several surprising and exciting sightings on our recent surveys! One of the biggest, was the unexpected appearance of a solitary bull killer whale at Volunteer Rocks on Tuesday. Unfortunately it was getting pretty dark and so we were unable to get usable photo-identification images of this animal, but a few record shots were taken of it in the gloomy pink dusk light." FIWP
Falkland Islands whale project

07/28/2025

GLOBAL ORCAS of ALASKA, ACOUSTICS
Killer whale detection and classification “Recordings were processed using the whistle and moan detector in the passive acoustic monitoring software PAMGuard (version 1.15.17) to automatically identify likely cetacean vocalizations”.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99668-0?fromPaywallRec=false

07/16/2025

ORCAS IN ROUGH SEAS
The open ocean has large waves (up to 100 feet). How do Orcas react to these big ground swells?

Photo by Jodi Smith via Mendonoma Sightings
“Jodi C. Smith is the Executive Director of Naked Whale Research (nakedwhaleresearch.org). She has relocated to the Irish Beach area to study the endangered Southern Resident pods of Killer Whales - known as J, K and L pods. These Orcas are on the move. They have spent the summer months south of Vancouver Island and in Puget Sound. Now they are passing by the Mendonoma Coast. On Jan. 10th K pod was spotted a mile off of Little River. Jodi went out in a boat to get these photos. As you can probably tell, the seas were rough.” MS

07/14/2025

RARE ORCAS OF NEWFOUNDLAND
"Seeing orcas at Cape Spear is a rare experience that most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will probably never have. It's truly a case of being in the right place at the right time—thankfully, there are photographs to cherish this moment." NLP

07/14/2025

ORCAS "ALLOKELPING" - KELP MASSAGING
"Orcas might be onto the latest wellness trend - kelp massages. Researchers have observed orcas in the North Pacific engaging in a behaviour dubbed "allokelping" where they have been seen rubbing strands of kelp along their bodies, sometimes even helping each other in the process. This intriguing behaviour may support skin health, hygiene, or even serve a social bonding function. While it's commonly seen in Southern Resident orcas, it's still unclear how widespread it is across other populations." WDC

Orcas have been filmed using kelp as a tool to massage each other

07/11/2025

ORCAS of LOWER LATITUDES OUTBREEDING
"This genetic admixture is not merely a one-off event; the researchers found that up to 20% of the genomes of Bremer Bay killer whales are derived from “Antarctic-like” ancestors, with several individuals having great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents of type B lineage" ELNN

One of the most intriguing characteristics of killer whales is their commonly perceived tendency to maintain strict social boundaries with outside groups. However, recent findings suggest that this is not always the case.

Research by Dr. Isabella Reeves and colleagues, published in the Journal of Molecular Biology in March, reveals that killer whales from southwestern Australia—Bremer Bay, specifically—have been interbreeding with killer whales from Antarctica, with genetic evidence pointing to type B killer whales. This genetic admixture is not merely a one-off event; the researchers found that up to 20% of the genomes of Bremer Bay killer whales are derived from “Antarctic-like” ancestors, with several individuals having great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents of type B lineage.

In contrast to their more selective relatives in northern regions, killer whales at lower latitudes appear more open to mingling with outside groups. This outbreeding is advantageous, as it introduces new genetic material and adaptive potential into small populations that might otherwise suffer from limited genetic diversity and inbreeding.

Citation: Reeves, I.M., Totterdell, J.A., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Betty, E.L., Stockin, K.A., Oliphant Stewart, R., Johnstone, M. and Foote, A.D. (2025), Admixture Increases Genetic Diversity and Adaptive Potential in Australasian Killer Whales. Mol Ecol e17689. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17689

07/09/2025

NORWAY ORCA CAROUSEL FEEDING
"Carousel feeding in action, 9 orcas on the pic, but they were more.This one lasted 3 hours. Crazy." Photo by Jérémy Gonçalves instagram.com/jeresssss

07/03/2025

NORTH PACIFIC ORCAS ARE CHANGING
"Killer whale call detection rates vary among subspecies and populations in the North Pacific." NWR

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the North Pacific have diverged into subspecies with distinct diets, social structures, and vocal behaviors. Understanding the rate at which killer whales of different subspecies vocalize provides insight into their communication with conspecifics as well as the envir...

07/02/2025

WHITE ORCAS of JAPAN
Emma Luck: Northern Naturalist “The seaside town of Rausu sits on Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula, one of Japan's most picturesque regions. Over the last few years, Rausu, known for its excellent whale-watching, has also emerged as one of the few places on the planet where you have a chance–however small it may be–at seeing true rarities: white killer whales.” EM/NN

The seaside town of Rausu sits on Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula, one of Japan's most picturesque regions. Over the last few years, Rausu, known for its excellent whale-watching, has also emerged as one of the few places on the planet where you have a chance–however small it may be–at seeing true rarities: white killer whales. They have been spotted on whale-watching tours here and there over the last six years, but sightings are not necessarily predictable, and they do not seem to linger in the area for very long.

The white whales reside within larger pods of normally pigmented killer whales, though there have been occasions when two white whales have been documented within a single group. Based on morphology, all appear to be of the resident subspecies.

I have many whale sightings on my bucket list, and these individuals are certainly near the top. My trip to Rausu in May yielded no white killer whales this year, but maybe next time! 🤞

06/01/2025

ORCA MONTH KICK OFF THIS SUNDAY!
June is Orca Action Month. The 2025 theme is “Threads of Life: Connecting Orcas, People, and the Future We Share”. orcamonth.org

02/07/2025

BIGGS ORCAS SIGHTINGS REPORT
Wonderful 2024 annual sightings map for Bigg's killer whales in the Salish Sea.

Here is our 2024 annual sightings map for Bigg's killer whales in the Salish Sea. Each color indicates a different season, and the size of the circle indicates the minimum group size reported. All of these sightings were verified as Bigg's either in person or via photos, video, or audio either by OBI or by our network of trusted observers including whale watch captains and naturalists and dedicated shore-based viewers with proven experience differentiating ecotypes. Each dot represents the first location of a unique group seen on a unique day, not repeat sightings of the same group over the course of a day.

We all know that Bigg's killer whale sightings have been off the charts, but just take a look at some of these numbers....

In 2024, sightings were up nearly 30% compared to 2023!! 🤯 That's an increase of more than 400 reports across the year, with the months of May, June, and September all surpassing 220 unique sightings in a single month.

To put this in further perspective, we thought 2017 was a banner year with over 630 sightings. We reached that total this year in the summer months alone. It's hard to interpret trends when the map becomes almost solid with sightings dots, so we'll take a visual look at a seasonal breakdown in the future, too, but a few things do still jump out to me.

Winter sightings, not surprisingly with fewer boats on the water, seem to cluster near more highly populated areas and ferry terminals where there are still regular eyes on the water. This leads me to believe we are probably still underestimating winter presence of Bigg's killer whales. Both Puget Sound and Howe Sound sightings seem highest in the spring months of March through May. And there's a lot going on both in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the southern Strait of Georgia in the fall!

The Pacific Whale Watch Association and Orca Network are key partners that make this project possible, but this incredible level of tracking is also thanks in large part to the literally hundreds of you openly sharing your reports, many of them in community sightings groups. As we transition to the next age of social media, we encourage you to take a look at the growing Salish Sea whale sightings community on Bluesky, where the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, and Campbell River have already created active real-time sightings feeds. You can find these feeds and other key Salish Sea whale accounts in our Bluesky starter pack here:
https://go.bsky.app/FfwCsoo