The loss of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Toki) this past week has brought great sadness to all who know, love, and care for this beautiful whale. Videos and photographs © Copyright 2023 Center for Whale Research. Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut in her small aquarium tank in Florida. (Photograph by CWR’s ,,Ken Balcomb) EVEN FOR THOSE WHO HAD NEVER MET THIS AMAZING BEING, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut had an incredible ability to reach across divides formed by walls and miles to touch and inspire people from around the world. Her gentle nature, her charisma, and her remarkable resilience seemed unwavering despite th ..read more

Recently the Center for Whale Research (CWR) published an exciting new paper about rake marks on killer whales, particularly males, and how the marks’ occurrence is related to post-reproductive mothers. Photographs © Copyright 2023 Center for Whale Research. There are multiple sets of rake marks on Southern Resident (SRKW) orca L85’s left side. His mother, L28, died in 1994. (Photograph by CWR’s Mark Malleson during ,,Encounter #49 on August 13, 2022). What do the rake marks and their appearance on males have to do with their mothers? RECENTLY THE CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH (CWR) published an ..read more

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: The Center for Whale Research’s (CWR) Lodie Gilbert Budwill spent the better part of July 11, 2022, aboard the CWR research vessel Orcinus and surrounded by more than fifty Southern Resident orcas. Read her description of events and watch her video, then decide if you agree with her declaration: “One of the best days of my life!” Photographs and video © Copyright 2023 Center for Whale Research. L105 midway through a breach (,Encounter #39, photograph by CWR’s Dave Ellifrit) Just like the saying, “What goes up must come down,” when members of all three Southern Resident pod ..read more

The CWR team chose Washington State’s ,,LIFE PROOF BOATS to build a rugged, safe, stable, and spacious research vessel to navigate in the Salish Sea in the coming decades. LIFE PROOF BOATS’ commercial-grade aluminum hull and closed-cell foam collar provides exceptional durability and buoyancy, allowing CWR’s new research vessel to operate safely in the most demanding marine conditions Mother Nature throws her way. Unmatched stability, tapered console base, handrails, and generous forward-deck space will permit research staff to work efficiently and effectively (Photographs courtesy of LIFE PR ..read more

Bigg’s killer whale females maintain close relationships with their adult sons, while daughters disperse Post-reproductive mother T60 and her adult son T60C. (Photograph © Copyright 2023 Center for Whale Research). Drawing upon an impressive dataset spanning nearly half a century of observations collected on Bigg’s killer whales by CWR, DFO, Bay Cetology, and numerous other Canadian and American organizations, researchers explored how the social bond between mother and offspring change with age and sex of the offspring. In a new study led by the Center for Whale Research (CWR), Fisheries and ..read more

The Center for Whale Research’s new Research Director, Dr. Michael Weiss, explains why the ongoing study of Salish Sea orcas is essential. This story was first published in the WHALE report (June 2022), the Center for Whale Research’s (CWR) Member Newsletter. Support our science and education work by becoming a CWR MEMBER. Photographs © Copyright 2022 Center for Whale Research. University of Exeter Ph.D. student Mia Lybkaer Kronborg Nielsen and CWR’s Dr. Michael Weiss examine UAV/drone video of orcas in the Center for Whale Research’s San Juan Island offices in May 2022. Read Nielsen’s CWR Bl ..read more

The following story is a transcribed version of Sealife Productions’ Florian Graner’s new twelve-minute video Elwha River Salmon Recovery, an account of the Elwha salmon since Washington State removed the river’s two dams in 2012 and 2014. Graner, a Whidbey Island-based Ph.D. marine biologist and wildlife documentary producer, provides readers and viewers with an update on the state of the Elwha River ecosystem (adjacent to the Center for Whale Research’s Balcomb Big Salmon Ranch). The filmmaker offers an objective take on where salmon recovery is presently and what’s still to come. The film a ..read more

In the following Q & A with CWR’s Dr. Michael Weiss, we learn what it’s like to fly a drone over top of whales and the new knowledge gained from the captured video footage. Photographs and video © Copyright 2021 Center for Whale Research. Southern Resident orcas J22, J51, and J58 chasing salmon in Georgia Strait (2021). 1. Do you launch and fly the Center for Whale Research unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—drone—from a boat? Is the boat stationary or moving? How far are you from the orcas? We have two CWR drones that we use. The Matrice 600 is far too large to safely launch and recover from ..read more

What is it, when does it happen, and what are the causes? Several weeks ago, K21, the oldest male killer whale (orca) in the Southern Resident community, was photographed and videoed in a state of severe emaciation, showing an extreme version of what killer whale researchers sometimes refer to as “peanut head.” Photographs © Copyright 2021 Center for Whale Research. CONTENT WARNING: Contains photographs of severely emaciated killer whales. Southern Resident orca, J28, with “peanut head” swimming with her malnourished calf, J54 (October 2, 2016/CWR Encounter #110). J28 is estimated to have die ..read more

In the early 1970s, more than 100 orcas were round-up and held captive in Penn Cove, Washington. Ten of these whales were sold to marine parks, the rest were set free. At least five whales died during this and two other capture operations. On August 8, 1970, four-year-old female Southern Resident L pod orca, Tokitae (Sk’aliChelt-tenaut is her indigenous name), was torn from her mother and close-knit family and community and forced to live in a small aquarium tank. This and the other heartless captures—just to make a few bucks—marked the beginning of a new era for Pacific Northwest orcas: views ..read more