The Whale Sanctuary Blog Archives
2024

For Wikie and Keijo, a Fork in the Road Ahead

As Marineland Antibes prepares to close its orca exhibit, two possible futures await the mother and son orcas.

Posted November 8, 2024 in News

The Honourable Murray Sinclair: 1951-2024

We are saddened to hear of the passing of the Honourable Murray Sinclair, the Anishinaabe senator, judge and leader in ...

Posted November 5, 2024 in News

Whales, Waves & Buoys

How the new Wine Harbour buoy will help ensure a safe environment for whales at the sanctuary.

Posted October 31, 2024 in News

Jane Goodall, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sylvia Earle Endorse Sanctuary for French Orcas

A letter to the Minister for Ecological Transition, Energy, the Climate and Risk Prevention re. the future of the mother-and-son ...

Posted October 29, 2024 in News

Dr. Jane Goodall Presses for Orcas in France to Be Retired to Sanctuary in Nova Scotia

In a letter to the French Government, Dr. Jane Goodall has strongly endorsed the Whale Sanctuary Project's proposal for the ...

Posted March 31, 2024 in News

Bringing Wikie, Keijo & Inouk to Sanctuary

In response to the urgent need of three orcas held in Marineland Antibes, a French marine entertainment park, the Whale ...

Posted March 27, 2024 in News

Bill Reintroduced to U.S. Congress to Bring an End to Public Display of Captive Whales

The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act would end the future capture and breeding of whales for public display.

Posted February 5, 2024 in News

One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project Propose Collaboration with Marineland Antibes to Retire Three Orcas to Sanctuary

A fully cooperative effort among staff and management of all parties is key to a successful outcome for Inouk, Wikie ...

Posted February 2, 2024 in For the Media, News

A Tale of Two Baby Orcas

“It’s a boy!” newspapers on the West Coast exclaimed when photos from biologist Maya Sears, taken in the Salish Sea, ...

Posted January 9, 2024 in News, Opinion

In Memory of David Reuben

This week, we received the sad news that David Reuben, one of our most generous and committed supporters, has passed ...

Posted December 21, 2023 in News

Update on Results of the ESA III Study and Laboratory Analysis

These studies of sanctuary waters, sanctuary lands on shore and submerged soils in the ocean will help us chart a ...

Posted December 5, 2023 in News

How We Can Give Sanctuary to the Whales Who Cannot Wait

The loss of yet more orcas and beluga whales at entertainment parks this year means we can no longer work, ...

Posted November 27, 2023 in News

Tokitae’s Necropsy

Having reviewed the results of the orca Tokitae's necropsy, as released to the Miami Seaquarium by the University of Georgia ...

Posted October 17, 2023 in News

Diving into the Final Environmental Site Assessment

On July 24th, a team of divers assembled at the sanctuary site in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, to conduct ...

Posted September 23, 2023 in News

Tokitae the Orca’s Legacy

For everyone following the progress of the Tokitae over the past year, the news of her sudden death, last week, ...

Posted August 23, 2023 in News

Tokitae the Orca Has Passed Away

Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort. Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she ...

Posted August 18, 2023 in News

Professional Standards Published for Whale & Dolphin Sanctuaries

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries publishes best practices for cetacean sanctuaries. The guidelines are the product of a pioneering collaboration ...

Posted June 28, 2023 in News

Taking a Dive at the Sanctuary Site

Alexandra's first in-water field survey to advance our understanding of key areas in sanctuary waters and to identify species of ...

Posted June 5, 2023 in News

Historic Initiative to Return Orca Lolita to Home Waters

The Miami Seaquarium has entered into an historic and legally binding agreement with the nonprofit organization Friends of Lolita to ...

Posted March 30, 2023 in News

Conference – “Toki: Present and Future” Day of Listening, December 13th

On Tuesday, December 13th, Friends of Toki (formerly known as “Friends of Lolita”) will host the “Toki: Present and Future” ...

Posted December 1, 2022 in News

Orca from 2019 Whale Aid Rescue Spotted with Pod

One of the 97 orcas who were rescued from the infamous "whale jail" in 2019 and returned to their ocean ...

Posted October 3, 2022 in News

Update on Environmental Assessments at the Sanctuary Site

These studies are not only to understand the environment for the whales and the sanctuary infrastructure, but to provide data ...

Posted September 27, 2022 in News

New Legislation Would End Whale Captivity in United States

A bill has been introduced into the United States Congress to prevent the future capture and breeding of whales for ...

Posted July 28, 2022 in News

Independent Veterinarians Complete Their First Assessment of Tokitae (Lolita) at Miami Seaquarium

An update on the progress of the independent assessment of the physical and mental health of the orca Tokitae (generally ...

Posted June 2, 2022 in News

Our Year-End “Ask Us Anything” Webinar

In this webinar, Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick answer a wide range of questions: from when the sanctuary will ...

Posted December 17, 2021 in News

Public Notice re. Canadian Navigable Waters Act

The following is an official public notice regarding our request to the Canadian Minister of Transport for approval of the ...

Posted December 1, 2021 in News

Message from the Sanctuary Site

A brief video message from Charles Vinick, Whale Sanctuary Project executive director, taped at the wharf that overlooks the sanctuary ...

Posted December 8, 2020 in News

Letter to Russian Government re. Ban on Capture of Cetaceans

Letter to the President and Prime Minister of Russia in support of a ban on the capture of cetaceans for ...

Posted May 30, 2020 in For the Media, News

Statement on Russia’s Efforts to Release All Whales from “Whale Jail”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has issued the following statement regarding the continuing efforts to return to the ocean all the ...

Posted October 25, 2019 in For the Media, News

Third Group of Orcas Released from Whale Jail

Russian authorities have begun the transport and release of a third group of orcas from the “whale jail.” In response ...

Posted August 2, 2019 in For the Media, News

Salish Sea Orca Sanctuary Project Kicks Off Public Meetings

Starting July 16, the Whale Sanctuary Project will kick off a series of public meetings across the Salish Sea region ...

Posted July 15, 2019 in For the Media, News

Invitation to Meetings in Washington State

The Whale Sanctuary Project is holding a series of town meetings in Washington State to discuss the concept for a ...

Posted June 30, 2019 in For the Media, News

Release of First Orcas and Belugas from “Whale Jail” Raises Growing Concerns

Serious questions are being raised about the care of the orcas and beluga whales who are being returned to the ...

Posted June 27, 2019 in For the Media, News

Jean-Michel Cousteau and Whale Sanctuary Project Team on Returning Whales to Ocean

Russia has begun the process of returning the whales that were illegally captured last year back to the area where ...

Posted June 26, 2019 in For the Media, News

Effects of Chronic Stress on Captive Orcas

A new paper demonstrates that the poor well-being and high mortality rates of orcas (killer whales) in captive facilities can ...

Posted June 25, 2019 in For the Media, News

Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Letter to President Putin

Letter from Jean-Michel Cousteau to President Putin regarding the 97 orcas and beluga whales who were captured in order to ...

Posted June 17, 2019 in For the Media, News