We all love our local southern resident orcas, but they continue to struggle as they face ongoing strain on their local habitat and food supply. The Seattle Aquarium along with numerous local leaders, researchers, conservationists and partners from the Orca Salmon Alliance are advocating for greater protections for this iconic species and the salmon they depend on for food.
We at the Aquarium wanted to give a brief update on what is happening and share some news on steps the Orca Salmon Alliance has taken and what policy leaders are doing to help save this iconic species.
We have all been gripped by the heartbreaking images of our Southern resident orca Tahlequah (also known as J35) as she mourned the death of her calf this past week. At the Seattle Aquarium we are all grieving along with the rest of the world. And though we are sad, we are viewing this as a wakeup call around the health of the Salish Sea and our mission of Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment.
Seattle Aquarium Community Engagement Manager Darcie Larson recently had the opportunity to assist scientists from NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center with their research on the local endangered orca population, the Southern Resident killer whales, which consist of J, K and L pods.
