Global Captive Orca Population

BlobfishBoy said:
Maybe we would see Kamogawa getting an expansion? Grandvista may have to do it if it means they’ll be able to receive more males.

Port of Nagoya could theoretically receive more whales but I’m unsure if they want to mess with the social structure by having an unknown male mix with Earth + Lynn.
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An expansion at Kamogawa is long overdue and as you say, if they do acquire any more males they probably will have to although I'm not entirely sure whether they do have the space around the current complex.

Nagoya could easily accommodate another male if they wish - holding two groupings like they previously did. They'd probably like another breeding female though, alongside Lynn.
 
BlobfishBoy said:
Port of Nagoya could theoretically receive more whales but I’m unsure if they want to mess with the social structure by having an unknown male mix with Earth + Lynn.
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I’ve heard that Lynn is a bit “special” and up until Stella was transferred she was swimming underneath her like a calf so I think that without Stella the Nagoya pod is doomed
 
A young female killer whale calf has stranded in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA earlier today. After some debate, she was transferred to Long Marine Laboratory.

If she’s deemed non-releasable, she’d have to go to SeaWorld San Diego right?


Captive Cetacean News on Instagram: "Earlier today(10th of September), a young female killer whale stranded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States. She was on the beach for not more than 9 hours, as rescue teams arrived in debate of if she should be released, or if she should be transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any pod nearby, the decision was made to transfer her to Long Marine Laboratory. @pointlobosfoundation and @marinemammalcare were the main organizations to help with the rescue of the calf. She is likely from a pod of CA killer whales, who inhabit the Pacific waters of California. Photos & Sources (along with the Point Lobos Foundation tagged above): https://kion546.com/news/monterey-county/2024/09/10/beached-baby-orca-at-carmel-state-beach/ https://www.ksbw.com/article/killer-whale-calf-stranded-california-carmel-river-state-beach/62143421"
 
BlobfishBoy said:
A young female killer whale calf has stranded in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA earlier today. After some debate, she was transferred to Long Marine Laboratory.

If she’s deemed non-releasable, she’d have to go to SeaWorld San Diego right?


Captive Cetacean News on Instagram: "Earlier today(10th of September), a young female killer whale stranded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States. She was on the beach for not more than 9 hours, as rescue teams arrived in debate of if she should be released, or if she should be transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any pod nearby, the decision was made to transfer her to Long Marine Laboratory. @pointlobosfoundation and @marinemammalcare were the main organizations to help with the rescue of the calf. She is likely from a pod of CA killer whales, who inhabit the Pacific waters of California. Photos & Sources (along with the Point Lobos Foundation tagged above): https://kion546.com/news/monterey-county/2024/09/10/beached-baby-orca-at-carmel-state-beach/ https://www.ksbw.com/article/killer-whale-calf-stranded-california-carmel-river-state-beach/62143421"
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Wishing the best for this young female. Hopefully she is able to be re-released; but she does look very young, so that aspect concerns me.

If she is deemed non-releasable, San Diego would be the best option. Not only being the closest, but they also have arguably the best individuals for her to be introduced too (like Corky and Keet).
 
Sacchi said:
First captive whale from this population, right?
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If this orca is a Biggs/Transient Killer Whale, which is probably the case, then no. Back in the days when SeaWorld and other marine parks were capturing orcas in the Pacific Northwest they did capture Biggs along with the Southern Residents. None of those captured Biggs are alive to this day, but some of their descendants do still live at SeaWorld parks being the offspring of breeding whales of different eco types. For example, Malia at SeaWorld Orlando is 25% Biggs and 75% Icelandic.

It should be noted there is also a chance this calf could belong to the offshore ecotype, which lives further offshore of the Western U.S. However, it is far more likely she is Transient as they are by far the most frequently spotted in the Monterey area.

Even though she is not the first of her eco type to be in captivity, this is still much for significant for a different reason. This is one of the only (if not the only, please correct me if I’m wrong) live orca beachings in the U.S outside of Alaska and again as far as I’m aware, the second time an orca calf has been taken into Rehab into U.S waters with the first being Springer. Again please correct me if I’m wrong.

Let’s hope she gets better.
 
I hope she’s healthy or can be brought back to health. I hope release is possible as well but they need to identify her pod and find them quickly. According to an insta account she’s so young that her teeth haven’t even come in yet but I don’t believe there’s an official source on that as of now.
 
BlobfishBoy said:
I hope she’s healthy or can be brought back to health. I hope release is possible as well but they need to identify her pod and find them quickly. According to an insta account she’s so young that her teeth haven’t even come in yet but I don’t believe there’s an official source on that as of now.
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Based on the photo, the calf doesn't even look a year of age so this could be correct. If so, the calf would have to be only a few months old, making it crucial to identify her pod asap.
 
Jambo said:
Based on the photo, the calf doesn't even look a year of age so this could be correct. If so, the calf would have to be only a few months old, making it crucial to identify her pod asap.
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I agree, one thing that worries me in regards to finding her pod is how fast traveling and wide ranging these Transient orcas tend to be. It’s not unheard of for a pod to be spotted in the waters of Northern Washington and then be spotted off of Southern California within a span of just a few weeks. Unlike residents, they have a huge range and don’t stay in one place for long. So I can picture a potential release (if she is ready) being incredibly fast paced with them getting word of her pod being spotted in the Monterey Bay Area and then needing to get her out on a boat and into the water with her pod before they leave the bay and continue on with their travels. The transient orca pods especially at this time of year pop in to the bay unpredictably and spontaneously often just for a day at a time. While of course reuniting her with her pod is entirely the ideal outcome, I really am curious to see how the logistics of returning a transient calf to her pod would work out because of the differences the ecotype has compared to the more stationary and predictable resident populations.
 
Vaquita5 said:
I agree, one thing that worries me in regards to finding her pod is how fast traveling and wide ranging these Transient orcas tend to be. It’s not unheard of for a pod to be spotted in the waters of Northern Washington and then be spotted off of Southern California within a span of just a few weeks. Unlike residents, they have a huge range and don’t stay in one place for long. So I can picture a potential release (if she is ready) being incredibly fast paced with them getting word of her pod being spotted in the Monterey Bay Area and then needing to get her out on a boat and into the water with her pod before they leave the bay and continue on with their travels. The transient orca pods especially at this time of year pop in to the bay unpredictably and spontaneously often just for a day at a time. While of course reuniting her with her pod is entirely the ideal outcome, I really am curious to see how the logistics of returning a transient calf to her pod would work out because of the differences the ecotype has compared to the more stationary and predictable resident populations.
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Agreed, and considering the large variety of smaller transient pods that travel the West Coast waters, it would be equally difficult to determine which exact pod she belonged to. Going back to Springer, it was far easier as there were really only a few select pods she could be traced back too. In this case, it's very different if we're talking transients here.

A similar case that springs to mind is Pascuala, a young female calf who was captured off the Mexican coast back in 2007, only a few weeks old. Her pod couldn't be found and she was going to be sent across to Seaworld San Diego for further accommodation but this was never achieved due to laws being present prohibiting such a move.
 
The calf passed away during transport.

I believe this is the first time a killer whale has ever died during transport. I'd bet something was wrong with it health-wise. It'd explain it beaching and dying during transport. It's very sad that it didn't survive.

x.com
 
BlobfishBoy said:
The calf passed away during transport.

I believe this is the first time a killer whale has ever died during transport. I'd bet something was wrong with it health-wise. It'd explain it beaching and dying during transport. It's very sad that it didn't survive.

x.com
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A orca kshmenk was rescued with also died during transport
 
BlobfishBoy said:
The calf passed away during transport.

I believe this is the first time a killer whale has ever died during transport. I'd bet something was wrong with it health-wise. It'd explain it beaching and dying during transport. It's very sad that it didn't survive.

x.com
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I'm not surprised. Poor thing was VERY young to be separated from her family. Even if she didn't have a health issue before the separation, a calf that young surely can't do well being away from mom for long.
 
BlobfishBoy said:
The calf passed away during transport.

I believe this is the first time a killer whale has ever died during transport. I'd bet something was wrong with it health-wise. It'd explain it beaching and dying during transport. It's very sad that it didn't survive.

x.com
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Was it mentioned where she was being transferred too?
 
Jambo said:
Was it mentioned where she was being transferred too?
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Long Marine Lab.

Some new info has come out about the calf. Apparently it was a male and is thought to have been less than one month old. The necropsy has been done, which found him to be in good body condition with no obvious health conditions. Cardiac failure during transit is thought to be the cause of death.

Baby killer whale dies after Monterey Bay beach stranding
 
Orca obsessed said:
How will this baby be affected as its inbred will she misscarage like Neocia’s pregnancy or will all be well like Nalani and Keijo? This is what I wonder…
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Well, it's an Aunt/Nephew pairing, so....

If a live calf results from it, said calf will have a COI of 25%. That's.... pretty bad, but unfortunately, not the worst that I've seen.

You can usually get away with one generation of severe inbreeding like that, presuming that none of the previous generations were inbred at all.

Frankly, I'm appalled that this pair was allowed to breed in the first place. Nevermind encouraged to do so from the sound of things! I don't think that a getting crowd-pleasing, bouncing baby orca is worth that kind of risk.
 
Orca obsessed said:
How will this baby be affected as its inbred will she misscarage like Neocia’s pregnancy or will all be well like Nalani and Keijo? This is what I wonder…
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Probably turn out fine. Inbreeding tends to become a problem if its continuously done through generations. Not saying that what they are allowing to happen is the right thing to do. Zoological institutions goal is to maintain a genetically diverse population.
 
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