orca

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Whale as Old as the Titanic Spotted in the Pacific

'Granny' spotted leaping near the coast of Washington

(Newser) - Whale watchers off the coast of Washington saw a welcome sight last week—a killer whale nicknamed "Granny" who is believed to be an astonishing 105 years old, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . Granny's more formal name among scientists who have studied her for decades is J2, and...

SeaWorld Ending Orca Shows, Breeding

Whales now in captivity will be 'the last generation'

(Newser) - Months after the California Coastal Commission imposed a breeding ban on its San Diego park, SeaWorld says it will end its orca breeding program for good. Breeding will end at all three US parks this year, meaning the killer whales now in captivity will be "the last generation,"...

SeaWorld: Blackfish Whale Has Potentially Deadly Illness

Tilikum, who's killed 3 people, has a lung infection

(Newser) - Tilikum, the killer whale at the heart of the SeaWorld-damning documentary Blackfish, has a lung infection that could possibly kill him, the Orlando Sentinel reports. SeaWorld announced the 35-year-old whale's illness Tuesday. "I wish I could say I was tremendously optimistic about Tilikum and his future, but he...

Here's Why Europe's Killer Whales Could Go Extinct

Study finds high levels of contamination from PCBs

(Newser) - Decades after they were banned, chemicals known as PCBs continue to pose a threat to marine mammals in the waters off Europe. The situation is especially dire for killer whales, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "We think there is a very high extinction risk for killer whales as a...

SeaWorld Ending Orca Shows at San Diego Park

Next year will be the final year

(Newser) - Big news from SeaWorld: CEO Joel Manby announced Monday that next year will be the final year featuring killer whale shows at the San Diego park. Starting in 2017, a "new orca experience" with a "strong conservation message" will debut, he said, per CNN . As the AP puts...

This Photo Just Made Scientists' Entire Week

6th orca calf born since December spotted off San Juan Island

(Newser) - Scientists are celebrating after a days-old orca calf was spotted off the west coast of Washington state's San Juan Island on Saturday. The calf was born into one of three pods of Southern Resident orca whales, known as "J Pod," which happens to have the best record...

SeaWorld Gets Blessing to Expand Orca Tanks

Activists outraged at government's recommendation

(Newser) - The government recommends allowing SeaWorld to expand the killer whale facility at its San Diego park, outraging environmentalists who say the tanks could be used to breed more orcas to be kept in captivity. The staff of the California Coastal Commission made the recommendations today ahead of the regulatory board'...

Blackfish Continues to Hit SeaWorld Where It Hurts

Q2 profits plunged 84%

(Newser) - Animal-rights activists celebrated a victory yesterday after SeaWorld announced an 84% drop in profits in the wake of continued controversy over its treatment of captive orcas. The Guardian reports SeaWorld's second-quarter income plummeted from $37.4 million to $5.8 million year-over-year. The company, which operates 11 theme and...

Rescuers Keep Beached Orca Alive Until Tide Comes In

It took 8 hours

(Newser) - A dramatic whale rescue unfolded in British Columbia this week, as rescuers kept alive a stranded orca for eight hours until high tide returned. The female whale likely got stranded on rocks off the coast while chasing a seal, reports the Globe and Mail . Rescuers kept gawkers to a minimum...

Oregon's Fake Orca Goes Belly-Up

Solution to Astoria's sea-lion problem doesn't go as planned

(Newser) - An effort to use a fake, life-sized orca to scare off hundreds of sea lions crowding docks off the Oregon coast ended, at least temporarily, with the fiberglass creature belly-up after it was swamped by a passing ship. Still, Jim Knight of the Port of Astoria says the sea lions...

Grandma Sues SeaWorld Over Killer Whales

Joyce Kuhl sues for at least $2B over treatment of orcas

(Newser) - A South Carolina grandmother is suing SeaWorld in Florida for at least $2 billion over its alleged mistreatment of killer whales—the latest salvo in a series of attacks against the entertainment company, the Orlando Sentinel reports via the Guardian . In the new class-action suit, Joyce Kuhl is demanding her...

Why Killer Whales Live So Long After Menopause
Why Killer Whales Live So Long After Menopause
new study
Mar 6, 2015 9:21 AM CST

Why Killer Whales Live So Long After Menopause

Study: These matriarchs become essential group leaders

(Newser) - Female orcas typically stop breeding around the age of 40, which is roughly the time when their male counterparts tend to, well, die off. But once the females hit menopause, they can rather unusually live another 50 or so years—and now scientists think they know why. Because they've...

Movie Helps Sink SeaWorld Chief

Atchison steps down amid dropping attendance

(Newser) - As SeaWorld attendances drop and the share price heads toward Davy Jones' locker, the theme park company's chief executive is stepping down. CEO and President Jim Atchison will depart in January and an undisclosed number of workers will be laid off, reports the Orlando Sentinel . A company spokesman wouldn'...

Orca Found Dead, Then Story Worsens

Endangered creature was pregnant, had teeth sawed out

(Newser) - That an endangered orca was found dead on the eastern side of Vancouver Island Thursday was itself gloomy news: Named J-32 and nicknamed Rhapsody, it was part of a population that had only 78 members, and thought to be one of only 18 able to reproduce. But the completed necropsy...

Naked 'Orcas' to Protest SeaWorld at Macy's Parade

Activists wearing only body paint will squeeze into bathtub

(Newser) - Next Thursday is a day to give thanks for family, life's blessings, and the fact that we're not shivering naked at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But PETA activists are doing just that in protest of the SeaWorld float by sporting only black-and-white body paint to resemble...

Report: 2 Killer Whales Have Been Crying for Months

Activists say 2 orcas in 'solitary confinement' for months in Moscow

(Newser) - While they wait for an oceanarium to open, a pair of killer whales are sitting in temporary facilities in Moscow—and their cries have been audible for months, animal advocates say. The orcas are living in terrible conditions, the activists say, calling the animals' separate tanks "solitary confinement cells"...

Whale Watchers See Orcas Fight Mom, Drown Her Baby

In Monterey Bay, battle goes on for 2 hours

(Newser) - Whale watchers witnessed quite a grueling battle this week when a group of twenty orcas attacked a female gray whale and its calf off the California coast, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Like a pack of coyotes, the orcas tried separating the child from its mother—who fought back valiantly...

Bill Would Ban Orca Shows at SeaWorld

California legislator say it's cruel to keep killer whales in captivity

(Newser) - A lawmaker in California wants to put an end to SeaWorld's orca shows. Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Santa Monica Democrat, proposed legislation that would prohibit the shows featuring trained killer whales, reports CNN . If passed, it would affect only the park in San Diego, not SeaWorld's other locations...

Killer Whales Trapped in Ice Free Themselves

Local officials had warned that orcas were running out of time

(Newser) - The killer whales trapped in encircling ice 19 miles off the coast of northwestern Quebec have apparently freed themselves, reports the CBC . Officials had earlier warned that the pod was in danger. The dozen whales were discovered trapped in the ice Tuesday by an Inukjuak hunter, and cold weather had...

Whale Nearly Drowns Sea World Trainer in Video

Ken Peters pats orca's back, barely escapes alive

(Newser) - A chilling video of an attempt by a Sea World whale to drown her trainer has been shown at a hearing concerning workplace safety at the amusement park. The female orca Kasatka grabs trainer Ken Peters by one of his feet during a performance and drags him deep underwater in...

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser