Orcas in the Local News
Largest new year baby spotted near San Juans
Largest new year baby spotted near San Juans
Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, January 06, 2010
The biggest new year baby in the area is making waves in Juan de Fuca Strait.
A slightly wrinkled J Pod killer whale calf was spotted near San Juan Island Jan. 3 and is believed to have been born within the previous 48 hours.
"It still had its fetal folds, so it was probably a New Year’s baby," said Ken Balcomb, executive director of the Center for Whale Research, based in Friday Harbor, Wash.
Orcas listen for their dinner, study finds
Whales identify their favourite meal, chinook salmon, through sonar echoes
Resident killer whales know the precise sound of their favourite dinner, according to a new study by a team of Canadian and U.S. researchers.
Orcas like their fish dinners fat and greasy, which means their prey of choice is chinook salmon, and scientists have discovered the whales can identify a juicy chinook at up to 100 metres.
