Right whale lives on, pilot whale adoption, and abandoned orcas
Big Blue Bulletin #52
Welcome to the latest edition of the Big Blue Bulletin – things have changed just a little bit around here as featured stories will now focus on whales, dolphins, and porpoises, with a little bit of commentary from me thrown in as well. Still, you can expect good news, bad news, and a cute creature in your inbox every Friday.
Let’s dive in 🐬
Ocean news
🗞️ Big news of the week -
💀 Whale presumed to be dead reappears after 3 years
Researchers off the coast of Massachusetts got a great surprise when they spotted a familiar, but unexpected face. Calvin, a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, last seen entangled in fishing gear in 2020, is still alive!
She was identified during an aerial survey around 55 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, swimming among a group of over 60 whales. It had been three years since anyone had seen her, and with her last sighting showing serious entanglement injuries, many feared the worst.
Calvin was orphaned at just eight months old after her mother was killed in a ship strike, and she’s since survived eight entanglements and given birth four times. This is a vital contribution for an endangered species with fewer than 360 individuals left. As the New England Aquarium put it: resilience like Calvin’s is extraordinary — but it won’t be enough to save the species without serious action to stop ship strikes and entanglements.
🗺️ NASA Image of the Day: Mapping the tiny plankton that feed giant right whales
Scientists have used satellite images from 2009 to detect swarms of Calanus finmarchicus—the tiny zooplankton that North Atlantic right whales (like Calvin) depend on.
The study shows the copepods’ natural red pigment can be picked up from space, offering a potential tool to map whale feeding grounds without going out to sea. If refined, it could help scientists forecast where whales are likely to feed and help to reduce deadly vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements.
📸 Blue whale gathering stuns wildlife watchers in San Diego
A remarkable gathering of blue whales off the coast of San Diego has left whale watchers stunned. Footage shared by tour operator Gone Whale Watching shows multiple blue whales surfacing in close proximity, an encounter described as “a sight few have ever witnessed.”
Though spotting a single blue whale often takes hours of scanning the open ocean, San Diego’s waters are proving to be a seasonal hotspot. Founder of the tour Domenic Biagini says few places on Earth offer the same consistency of sightings during early to mid-summer, calling the region one of the best in the world to see these ocean giants.
👶 Friend or food: Why are Iceland’s orcas taking in pilot whales?
Researchers in Iceland have observed an unusual sight in recent years: baby pilot whales swimming among pods of orcas.
One such encounter, described in a new study, took place in June 2022 when scientists spotted a newborn pilot whale calf moving alongside a female orca in what’s known as the echelon position — a close and protective swimming pattern typically seen between mothers and calves.
The same thing happened again in 2023, and scientists are now trying to work out what’s going on. Are the orcas adopting the calves? Using them for play or hunting practice? Or are they prey they simply haven’t eaten yet?
While the orcas in this region mostly eat fish and showed no clear signs of aggression towards the calf, researchers aren’t ruling anything out. Cross-species adoption is rare but not unheard of in dolphins and now, possibly, killer whales too.
🇫🇷 Orcas left trapped in abandoned French marine park four months after closure
Two orcas and a dozen dolphins have been left stranded inside a closed marine park in southern France, sparking growing concern for their welfare.
Drone footage released by activists at TideBreakers shows Wikie and her son Keijo still circling the tanks at Marineland Antibes near Cannes, four months after the park shut its doors in January. Some of the dolphin pools appear algae-filled and deserted, with the animals left swimming in silence.
Campaigners have called the situation “dangerous” and “despairing”, as French authorities continue to search for a suitable rehoming site. So far, no European facility has been approved to take the orcas leaving them stuck in the life-threatening conditions.
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by New England Aquarium.
Eight entanglements for poor Calvin. Eight! What a survivor! And horror story for the plight of our giant cousins in the sea. Kudos to the people who keep dis-entangling her and others.