Save the Killers: Orca Whale Endangerment

 Endangerment of the "Southern Resident" Population, Ornicus Orca

Holland Bool

BIO 227

Organism Description & Ecology

The killer whale, also referred to as orca whale or orca, is a carnivorous toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. They are they are characteristically protective of their offspring and they hunt in deadly pods of up to 40 individuals, making them one of the world’s most powerful predators, sometimes called the “wolf of the sea”. Males live 50-60 years and females can live up to 90 years. The average adult weighs in at about 12,000 pounds and is about 28 feet long. Killer whales are immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white coloring and are the intelligent, trainable stars of many aquarium shows. Mothers give birth every three to ten years, after a 17-month pregnancy, making them a k-selected species.

Southern Resident Killer Whale

The killer whale’s large range makes it difficult to study the species as a whole, however, in specific areas, there have been studies that identify distinct populations. For example, long-term investigations of Canadian orca population showed how can differ animals of one species hunting for different prey. Researchers distinguished two sympatric (living at one area, but not mixing) populations: "resident" and “transient". Resident orcas eat fish exclusively: salmon, herring, greenlings, cod, etc. Transient orcas are the real "killer" whales, who prey on larger marine mammals such as pinnipeds and other whales. There are many differences between these two populations ranging from reproductive and anatomical, however the motion to create separate subspecies has gone unsupported. It’s possible that taxonomic revisions dividing orcinus orca into two or more species will take place in the future due to the fact that there is notable reproductive isolation and ecological specialization.

Chart depicting the multiple subspecies of Killer Whales, with the "southern resident" pictured top row, third from left  

Geographic & Population Changes

Though they often frequent cold, coastal waters, orcas can be found in a range spans from the polar regions to the Equator, virtually all of the major ocean basins. They do not make long, seasonal migrations. They may, however, cover an area of hundreds of miles in order to find seasonal prey. After humans and pests, orcas are likely to be the most widely distributed mammal on the planet. 

Map shows some of the Orca's reported ranges

No reliable worldwide estimates of their numbers can be made; however, these estimations do exist:

Northeastern Pacific: low thousands (Ford et al. 2000; Barrett-Lennard and Ellis 2001)

Bering Sea: fewer than 1,000 (Waite et al. 2002)

Northeast Atlantic near Norway: from 500 to 1,500 (Christensen 1988) 

Northern Gulf of Mexico: from 200 to 300 (Blaylock et al. 2000) 
Southern Ocean: 25,000 in the (Branch and Butterworth 2001)

Range of endangered "Southern Resident" Orca population 

Listing Date & Type of Listing

On November 18, 2005, the Southern Resident population of killer whales that inhabits British Columbia and Washington state waters were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list. They were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Cause of Listing & Main Threats

population dynamics of Southern Resident killer whales

The following is a list of threats to Orca Whales adapted from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is currently the key regulatory organization handling their listing:

Commercial-Hunting: Unlike baleen whales, killer whales have not been massively and systematically hunted, but sometimes they were killed for their fat, skin, flesh and internal organs. In modern times, some native tribes of the Arctic still capture orcas to survive. However, in specific regions hunting to market their bodies has been more common than initially believed. This practice has decreased, there is still hunting in Japan, Greenland, Indonesia and some parts of the Caribbean.

Capture for Entertainment: Orca intelligence makes them attractive to humans, as they are capable of learning to perform aerobatics. Therefore, live catches of killer whales are sometimes made for displaying them in aquariums.

Habitat Pollution: Water pollution directly affects their health. For example, in the coastal waters of British Columbia (Canada), the presence of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is so high that it is a risk for three populations of orcas visiting areas. In addition, oil spills are very dangerous accidents that directly affect their body or indirectly through decreased prey.

Excessive Noise: Killer whales are very sensitive to noise since they use echolocation, so military and industrial activities that generate excessive noise tend to disturb them.

Decreased prey: Habitat pollution or any other disturbance to it, as well as overfishing, reduces the number of prey available to orcas.

Collisions with boats: The crash with any vessel can cause orcas mild to severe wounds that have the potential to get infected and cause their death.

Problems with fishermen: Many of them see the orcas as a threat because they have learned to steal the fish from them. For example, fishermen in Brazil say that killer whales are able to consume 50 percent or more of the swordfish catch. Although some choose to implement inoffensive actions to deter killer whales, others with less patience can shoot them.

Climate-change: It is an increase in the temperature or in the water level of the oceans affecting their composition, which can also alter the availability of its usual prey.

Description of Recovery Plan

The National Marine Fisheries Service  developed a recovery plan under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect, which was published in a preliminary form in 2005. After more consideration, incorporating new research, and assessing all the factors, the Final Recovery Plan was published in 2008. There has been a substantial controversy around which specific risk factor has had the greatest impact on the species’ decline. Therefore, the plan lays out an adaptive management approach that utilizes the most reliable scientific data to address each factor specifically. 

The major facts outlined in the Recovery Plan can be broken down into nine categories: (1) prey availability, supporting salmon restoration efforts; (2) pollution/contamination, cleaning up contaminated sites and working to minimize continuing inputs; (3) vessel effects, evaluating, improving, and researching guidelines for vessel activity near SR killer whales; (4) oil spills, preventing oil spills and improving response preparation; (5) acoustic effects, continuing agency coordination ESA and MMPA to minimize impacts from anthropogenic sound; (6) education and outreach, enhancing public awareness and educating public on actions they can take; (7) response to sick, stranded, injured individuals by improving rescue response and conducting autopsies and generic health assessments; (8) transboundary and interagency coordination, coordinating and monitoring research and complementary recovery planning with Canadian agencies, and Federal and State partners; and (9) research/coordination, conducting research to facilitate and enhance conservation efforts, including an annual census to monitor trends. 

The ultimate goal of the Recovery Plan are to either delist or downcast the “southern resident” population of killer whales. Because the direct cause of species imperilment is unknown, this wide range of approaches is the most comprehensive way to restore the species.

To read the entire recovery plan, click here: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/whale_killer.pdf

Personal Action

A lot of the forces that are causing killer whale endangerment are seemingly out of the public's control. We cannot necessary preserve its habitat or use human-interference strategies. It may be easy to get discouraged, but I still believe that there are ways I can help. First of all, connecting with an anti-captivity group will help improve the condition of captive orcas and work towards their eventual release. Some of the following organizations are doing great work: Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Animal Welfare Institute, Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International. 

Additionally, other types of activism such as lobbying to local governments, writing letters, informing friends and family, and generally having your voice heard are great ways to get involved. I have already been getting the word out to people around me and have looked into ways to volunteer with one of the above organizations.
For more ways to get involved, check out these links below:

Additional Resources
6 steps to get involved: http://www.takepart.com/photos/6-ways-rescue-killer-whales-captive/self-educate

This is a very interesting story of Lolita, a killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium, and her endangered status: http://www.local10.com/news/killer-whale-at-miami-seaquarium-to-receive-endangered-status/31094332

Works Cited

"Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) - Scientific Classification." Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) - Scientific Classification. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-infobooks/killer-whale/scientific-classification/>.

Kirby, David. "6 Ways You Can Help Save Captive Killer Whales Right Now." TakePart. Participant Media, 5 June 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.takepart.com/photos/6-ways-rescue-killer-whales-captive/self-educate>.

National Marine Fisheries Service. 2008. Recovery Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca). National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region, Seattle, Washington.  

Press, Rich. "Killer in Distress." NOAA Fisheries. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/podcasts/2013/12/killer_in_distress.html>.

Tongen, Todd. "Killer Whale at Miami Seaquarium to Receive Endangered Status." Local10. Associated Press, 5 Feb. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.local10.com/news/killer-whale-at-miami-seaquarium-to-receive-endangered-status/31094332>.