The Southern Resident killer whales lost another member – there are now only 75 left

The Center for Whale Research has confirmed the absence of 23 year old L92, Crewser. He was in the prime of life.

  The remaining Southern Residents have changed their use of the Salish Sea – which includes Puget Sound and extends up to the Georgia Strait in Canada – and may eventually find this region an unsuitable habitat for their needs unless we move swiftly and decisively to restore Chinook…

Nigel (L 95). Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research.

Read it an weep – a male orca in his prime was killed by an infection from an embedded tag in his dorsal fin. From this document (please see the end for more information on the tagging program):

National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada and the Animal Health Center, British Columbia Ministry of…

Two of our urban orcas have died, including Nigel from L-pod

Nigel (L 95). Photo by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research.

20 year old Nigel (L 95) and a two week old female calf were found a week apart in British Columbia, Canada. They both belonged to the Southern Resident Killer Whale clan. The necropsy (animal autopsy) reports are inconclusive at this point.

Nigel was tagged for a NOAA study, you can read about it here. The tag broke off, leaving…