The orca whale population in the Pacific Northwest is in trouble. Not a single calf has been born in the past three years; normally four or five would be born each year. The overall orca population, numbering about 100 in the last 1990s, is now down to about 75. And researchers are worried that female orcas are aging out of their reproducing years and can’t be replaced.
The largest problem has been the disappearance of big Chinook king salmon. Orcas usually eat 30 of them a day. And then there are man-made problems. The underwater world, particularly the Haro Strait, between the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island, is getting noisier because of increased commercial traffic. And expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline will multiply oil tanker traffic through the orcas’ habit by seven times.
The black-and-white orcas occasionally can be seen as far south as downtown Seattle in Puget Sound, and many people in the area want to protect them. “I believe we have orcas in our soul in this state,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. He has issued an executive order directing state agencies to do more to protect the whales. Read more:
