03 Dec 2024
Four videos of orca hunting sprees, the earliest from 2018 and the latest from 2024, suggest that an orca pod in the Gulf of California is specialising in hunting whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. The unusual behaviour has emerged among a pod of killer whales provides a rare glimpse into the intricate […]
04 Jun 2024
Walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca), and sperm whale are set to receive greater legal protections under the UK’s ban on importing, exporting and dealing in items containing ivory, the Government has announced. The species are already threatened by climate change, and the continuing trade in their ivory may exacerbate these threats and make their long-term survival […]
05 Sep 2023
Orcas that have been ramming boats are not “attacking” the vessels, but are most likely being playful, leading scientists have said. The experts have warned that the false narrative is putting the animals at risk of retribution from humans. Iberian orcas started ramming vessels along the Spanish and Portuguese coast in July 2020, with at least 11 […]
27 Jun 2023
A man sailing a yacht in the North Sea near Scotland’s Shetland Islands said that an orca repeatedly rammed into his boat, exhibiting behaviour that’s been recently seen in killer whales farther south. This is the same behaviour that has been seen in the Iberian orca population, but it is the first time it has been known […]
01 Jun 2021
A new study from McGill University suggests that while some Icelandic Orcas have very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their blubber, others from the same population have levels of PCBs that are much lower, with a 300-fold difference between the levels of PCBs among the most contaminated Orcas compared to the least contaminated […]
15 Sep 2019
30 Sep 2018
Marine pollution hasn’t gone away. There was a high level of media coverage calling for much more action to help remove PCBs from the environment. Benny the Beluga has been a pleasant distraction from the grim reality of our politics but he as affected by PCBs as other species higher in the food chain. PCB—still […]
