We aren't the only people to have been looking for orca in the Strait of Gibraltar recently. Orcazine's Leonard Boekee has written about his trip out on the water.
http://orcazine.com/in-search-for-orcas-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/
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Via Far East Russia Orca Project:
Two orcas taken in illegal capture in Russia: We have news today that two killer whales were captured in recent weeks in Nikolaya Gulf, in the southwestern Sea of Okhotsk, the Russian Far East. The captors are reporting that the orcas were actually taken in 2013 and spent the winter in Nikolaya Gulf. This is impossible because the Gulf is completely frozen in winter. Word is that the orcas are being transported toward Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 356 km NE of Khabarovsk. Final destination is unknown. “These captures appear to be illegal,” says Erich Hoyt, WDC research fellow and co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project which has been studying orcas in the Kamchatka area for 15 years. “No quotas have yet been issued for orca captures in 2014, following disagreements between the Russian Federal Fisheries and the scientific advisory board in Russia who recommended zero captures. Without a quota which is necessary to get a permit, the captures would be illegal.” This photo shows one of the previous orca captures of a female orca who has become known as Narnia. She is now in Moscow. The Penn Cove orca capture anniversary commemoration event is taking place today on Whidbey Island, Washington State (USA). Visit Orca Network & read below for more information.
Lolita (also known as Tokitae) was captured during this tragic event on August 8th 1970 and she has been in captivity ever since. She resides in the world's smallest orca tank, alone. To advocate for Lolita's rehabilitation and release back into the wild, where her close family members are still sighted regularly, there will also be a protest today outside the Miami Seaquarium, where Lolita is held, in Florida between 1400-1530 EDT. An update from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme about the necropsy conducted on the orca found dead in North Uist, Scotland last week. The orca is still yet to be ID'd.
"Killer Whale update Just to update you on the killer whale stranding we necropsied last week on North Uist. Thanks to Jac and co for locating it, and John for agreeing to a 6am start to move the carcase out of the surf, we were able to undertake a full necropsy and reserve the skeleton for eventual collection by the museum. The male wasn't in great body condition and hadn't recently fed. We found some marine debris in the first stomach, and whist obviously not helping, this thankfully didn't seem to have directly damaged the stomach. Attached some photos, in particular the asymmetric tooth wear. This could be due to this animal's possible feeding strategy of suction feeding smallish fish, eg mackerel or herring. We should know more about the population this is from once these photos have been cross checked with photo ID collections. Other tests still underway, more soon..." Wildlife workers have reportedly rescued an orca after it stranded at Ras Noos beach in Dhofar Governorate, Oman.
http://whalesandmarinefauna.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/whale-stranded-on-dhofar-beach-rescued-oman-sultanate/ Earlier this year, we reported that captive Icelandic orca 'Bingo', held in Japan's Port of Nagoya Aquarium, was believed to be in a poor state of health. Today we have received the incredibly sad news that Bingo has passed away.
The news comes from the Aquarium's website and has been translated using Google Translate to read as: 4:57 August 2, 2014, at the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium medical killer whale pool, the killer whale "bingo" in spite of the hard treatment, I was suddenly passed away. I would like to thank everyone and thanks to many were please watch warmly until now. - http://www.nagoyaaqua.jp/aqua/topi/20140802/index.html Bingo was captured from Icelandic waters in 1984 at around the age of two. Bingo was one of eight wild-caught Icelandic orca remaining in captivity. |
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