A dead orca has washed ashore in Tramore, Ireland. A necropsy will be conducted tomorrow & the skeleton is to be preserved, via the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group: 
http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2275%3Astrandings-stranding-detail&data_&rId=4404

More information: http://www.evoke.ie/news/killer-whale-washed-up-waterford-beach

A great gift, with all profits going to the Orca Research Trust:

We are excited to announce the release of “Nobby the Orca – the true story of his rescue”, a highly educational and inspiring children’s’ book co-authored by Dr Ingrid Visser. The Orca Research Trust’s mission is to Protect Orca & their Habitat, through Conservation, Education & Scientific Research and we are delighted to have this book available to support our mission.

If you would like your own copy or know who will love this as a gift, then you can purchase this book through the Orca Research Trust. 

"The Ontario government will announce on Tuesday a massive overhaul of conditions for captive marine mammals that include an outright ban on the acquisition and sale of killer whales."

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/01/27/ontario-to-overhaul-rules-for-marine-mammals-ban-sale-of-killer-whales.html?app=noRedirect

Winter at OrcaLab - a blog from Whale and Dolphin Conservation: http://uk.whales.org/blog/roblott/2015/01/winter-at-orcalab

An interesting historical perspective on South African killer whales from the Marion Island Killer Whales research project: 
http://www.marionkillerwhales.com/news/2014/5/27/ef6n2fid8pqqb8jsleeyigogjokzjh

From Marine Connection: Canary Islands - orca calf found dead

An orca calf was found washed up dead on Sunday in the La Herradura area of El Hierro, the southernmost of the Canary Islands. The find has surprised the scientific community because orca are rarely seen in this area. The calf is said to be approx. 2 metres long and approx. 100 kilo in weight. A necropsy will be carried out.

Read more (in Spanish): http://cadenaser.com/emisora/2015/01/20/radio_club_tenerife/1421766089_818212.html

"Chinook salmon are the killer whales’ primary food. Chinook salmon runs originating in the Columbia/Snake River watershed are the singular most important food source for the killer whales’ survival. Chinook salmon are endangered species themselves. There are not enough Chinook salmon to sustain even the 77 Southern Residents Killer Whales that are alive today...

According to hundreds of scientists, removal of the four Lower Snake River dams is the single most effective way to generate the abundant Columbia Basin salmon that Southern Resident Killer Whales need to survive and recover. Judge Redden, the judge who presided over the decades long Columbia/Snake River legal case involving salmon and hydropower, also believes the dams need to come down. Yet as the orcas spiral towards extinction, the federal government refuses to consider dam removal, and instead spends billions of dollars on unreasonable and speculative habitat restoration measures to avoid significant changes to dam operations.

It is time for Congress to authorize removal of the four lower Snake River dams. Please join us in calling for Congress to pass legislation to remove these concrete barriers to the orcas’ continued survival."

Sign & Share: https://www.change.org/p/rick-larsen-stand-with-us-and-support-removing-the-four-lower-snake-river-dams-to-save-the-southern-resident-killer-whales-from-being-dammed-to-extinction