#killer whales

[sugargrim3]

Tiktok is now officially banned for me, and I remembered abt my tumblr blog, so here's some orca art

[orcinus-veterinarius]

I remember reading that orcas end up self harming because they can't stand the small enclosures. Is that not true? Was I lied to?

Sort of. Captive orcas, like many species (including domestic animals), do engage in stereotypies. These are “meaningless” repetitive behaviors, ranging from neutral to actively harmful, usually performed out of stress, boredom, or habit. I talk a bit more about them here. Probably the most common stereotypy in orcas is chewing, which can lead to tooth damage. Not all captive orcas stereotype, and not all negative behaviors are stereotypies.

The most famous incident of orca “self harm” was seen in Hugo, the companion of Tokitae. Hugo infamously “bashed his head in,” and the story has become popular as proof of captivity driving orcas to suicide. Necropsy revealed he died of an aneurysm.

Suicide behavior in animals is something that is nearly impossible to definitively prove. And it’s worth noting that head-pressing is a sign of pain and/or neurological disease in animals. Hugo lived in a terrible environment, but assuming he intentionally killed himself is anthropomorphism. He was a sick animal (in the physical sense), and he no doubt suffered, but his story is not proof that orcas self-harm out of depression.

[amanitahouses]

Salmon hats: sweeping the nation by storm watercolor on paper, digitally overlaid on photo

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[unbfacts]

Orcas, apex predators, do not see humans as prey and are often docile. No modern fatalities caused by wild orcas have been recorded.

[animalpayback]

Oh hell yes.

[trua23]

An early Christmas gift arrived a few days ago. SEATTLE — A young female J pod orca calf recently spotted by the Center for Whale Research (CWR) in Puget Sound has now been confirmed by the organization to be the offspring of Tahlequah, the whale who carried her dead calf for at least 17 days and 1,000 miles in 2018.

The calf, designated as J61, was first seen traveling with the Southern Resident killer whale J pod on Friday.

[mindblowingscience]

A pair of marine mammal scientists at The University of British Columbia, has found that claims that a lack of access to salmon is what is driving the crash in population numbers for southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are wrong. In their paper published on the open-access site PLOS ONE, Burak Saygili and Andrew Trites describe how they consulted with sport anglers and whale-watching crews to learn more about the orcas' access to chinook salmon. Prior research has shown that the southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are struggling. Not only are their numbers dwindling, but the number of offspring is dropping dramatically. And nobody knows why.

Continue Reading.

[radicalgraff]

"Sink the Rich"

Seen in London

[staff]

tumblr tuesday: team gladis

We're in the thrall of Gladis and her little terrors! Whether you believe they're annoyed at yachts because they want to play in the jetstreams of motorboat engines, or you believe they're taking back the ocean and nature is winning—we can probably all agree that the noble orca makes for excellent art. Luckily, your local Artists on Tumblr agree.

@artofsoul1999:

@livelaughlongsword:

@natedraws:

@aquatic-batt:

@mojavewastes:

@calimariari:

@artsyaxolotl:

(bonus fun orca fact by @platypu here)

[mockingnerd]

Like so many of us orca nerds in the 90s, I followed Keiko’s life closely. I still have a folder full of newspaper clippings from every stage of his rehabilitation journey, and recently rewatched an old documentary I used to have on repeat. It got me thinking about how special he was and I wanted to do a tribute, so: here he is surrounded by mountain avens, the national flower of Iceland, his original home.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Learning anything about marine mammal training will make you re-evaluate so much of your relationship with your own pets. There is so much force involved in the way we handle domestic animals. Most of it isn’t even intentional, it just stems from impatience. I’m guilty of it myself!

But with the exception of certain veterinary settings where the animal’s health is the immediate priority, why is it so important to us that animals do exactly what we want exactly when we want it? Why do we have to invent all these tools and contraptions to force them to behave?

When a whale swam away from a session, that was that. The trainer just waited for them to decide to come back. If they flat out refused to participate in behaviors, they still got their allotment of fish. Nothing bad happened. Not even when 20-30 people were assembled for a procedure, and the whale chose not to enter the medical pool. No big deal. Their choice and comfort were prioritized over human convenience.

It’s almost shocking to return to domestic animal medicine afterwards and watch owners use shock collars and chokers and whips to control their animals. It’s no wonder that positive reinforcement was pioneered by marine mammal trainers. When you literally can’t force an animal to do what you want, it changes your entire perspective.

I want to see that mindset extended to our domestic animals.

[odinsblog]

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[gameraboy2]

Jem (1985), "The Rock Fashion Book"

[whereifindsanity]

Orcas hunting (wave washing) seals.