The SeaDoc Society is a program of the Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Tax ID# 94-6036494.

Transient Killer Whale

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)

Overview

Three distinct types of killer whales, often called orcas because of their Latin name, Orcinus orca, can be found in the Salish Sea.

  • Read more
  • Share this

Birds and Mammals that Depend on the Salish Sea: A Compilation

Gaydos, J.K. and S.F. Pearson. 2011. Birds and Mammals that Depend on the Salish Sea: A Compilation. Northwestern Naturalist 92:79-94. Download PDF.

The Mystery of Surplus Predation

north beachIn the Salish Sea, some transient killer whales seem to be killing sea lions for no particular reason. Joe Gaydos provided background for a Kitsap Sun piece by Christopher Dunagan discussing the four sea lions apparently killed by blunt trauma from orcas in a single month.

A 2005 publication by Gaydos discussed five harbor seal pups found decapitated by killer whales, but not eaten.

The article discusses possible causes of this "surplus predation" and reinforces the importance of quick reporting of stranded and dead marine mammals, because the faster the animals can be recovered, the more we can learn from them.

Kitsap Sun: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/05/14/transient-orcas-may-be-l...

Photo: Stranding Network volunteer Maria Webster standing by one of the dead Steller sea lions on North Beach of Orcas just before SeaDoc necropsied it. Credit: Joe Gaydos.

  • Share this

Gray-colored transient killer whale spotted

gray killer whaleOn December 10, 2009 Capt Jim Maya, a whale watch operator from San Juan Island, photographed this white/gray colored transient killer whale. While nobody knows for sure why this whale is colored this way, grey and albino killer whales have been reported before.

Gray killer whale by Jim Maya

Gray killer whale by Jim Maya

Gray killer whale by Jim Maya

Gray killer whale by Jim Maya

Species of concern within the Salish Sea Marine Ecosystem: changes between 2002 and 2008

Gaydos, J.K and N. Brown. 2009. Species of concern within the Salish Sea Marine Ecosystem: changes between 2002 and 2008. InProceedings of the 2009 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem Conference, Seattle, WA, February 2009. Download PDF.

Species of concern in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin: changes between 2002 and 2006

Brown, N. and J. K. Gaydos. 2007. Species of concern in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin: changes between 2002 and 2006. Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia. Download PDF.

Donate

The Salish Sea

Hot Topics

Active Projects

Species & Issues

The SeaDoc Society

Navigation

For Scientists

Search


Share 

Get SeaDoc news every month:
sign up


Why our work matters

Healthy ecosystems support economic prosperity. The Salish Sea provides abundant natural capital that contributes substantially to the financial prosperity of the region. Unhealthy ecosystems cost money because we lose the opportunity to benefit from them. The Salish Sea's deteriorating health threatens our economic well being and quality of life. SeaDoc uses science to find solutions to the problems facing the fish, wildlife and people of the Salish Sea.

How you can help:

Tell people about the work we're doing. Sign up for our email newsletter and share what you learn with your friends. Become a fan on Facebook and "like" and comment on posts that interest you. (The more people who like or comment on a post, the more people Facebook will show it to.)

Make a donation: Most of SeaDoc's work is supported by private donations from people like you who care about the health of our coastal ecosystems. Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing the science that will give us objective information about designing a healthy ecosystem that benefits both people and wildlife. Click here to learn more about donating to SeaDoc.

Get SeaDoc news every month:
sign up


Adminstrator login | Make a Donation