Scientists find southern killer whales of the Pacific have access to enough food, deepening mystery of their struggles
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A pair of marine mammal scientists at The University of British Columbia, has found that claims that a lack of access to salmon is what is driving the crash in population numbers for southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are wrong.
In their paper published on the open-access site PLOS ONE, Burak Saygili and Andrew Trites describe how they consulted with sport anglers and whale-watching crews to learn more about the orcas' access to chinook salmon.
Prior research has shown that the southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are struggling. Not only are their numbers dwindling, but the number of offspring is dropping dramatically. And nobody knows why.
Southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are a group of orcas that live off the coast of North America, from California to British Columbia, in parts of the Salish Sea. The latest census showed that there are now just 73 of them, living in three pods. The whales swim north during the warmer months and then head south again as winter arrives.
