The Whale Sanctuary Blog

News updates … Opinion … Commentary … Press releases … Background info … Archives.

More from Nova Scotia

While in Nova Scotia looking at potential sites for a sanctuary, Dr. Marino gave talks to undergraduate and graduate students ...

National Shamu the Whale Day

September 26th is National Shamu the Whale Day, and all day our friends at Munchkin are donating 100 percent of ...

The Orca Protection Act

Governor Jerry Brown of California has signed into law the Orca Protection Act, thus bringing an end to the breeding and ...

Site Selection Team Visits Nova Scotia

Dr. Lori Marino, President of The Whale Sanctuary Project, and board member Charles Vinick spent a week in Nova Scotia ...

Belugas Are Whales, Too

Beluga whales are also central to the work of the project, and the waters of Nova Scotia are among their ...

Dr. Marino’s Talk at Superpod 5

Among the presentations at this year’s Superpod conference on San Juan Island, WA, was an introduction to The Whale Sanctuary Project ...

Why Sanctuaries, not Zoos

In an opinion column in The Washington Post, Whale Sanctuary Project president Dr. Lori Marino describes "three indisputable facts" with ...

New Technique Reveals Dolphin Brain Pathways

Two dolphins who died more than a decade ago on a North Carolina beach are now the focus of an ...

NPR Interview with Dr. Lori Marino

In this NPR interview on KTEP radio, Dr. Lori Marino, President of The Whale Sanctuary Project, discusses the scientific evidence ...

National Aquarium Plans Sanctuary for Their Dolphins

  This morning, the National Aquarium in Baltimore announced plans to build a seaside sanctuary, either in Florida or the ...

See You at Superpod 5!

Several members of The Whale Sanctuary Project team will be at Superpod, the annual gathering of orca enthusiasts on San ...

Choosing a Location

Choosing the right home, as any realtor will tell you, starts with finding the right location. And site selection for ...

A whale and her family

News Release: Launch of Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project ha officially launched today with this release to the major media:

Science Magazine Profiles Whale Sanctuary Project

An article posted on Science magazine by David Grimm announces the formation of The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) and discusses the benefits ...

Seaside Sanctuaries – Challenges & Rewards

By Heather Rally Whales and dolphins are perfectly adapted to life in the ocean. Orcas, for example, are far-ranging apex-predators, ...

Sanctuary Engineering and Site Selection

The first, and most important, factor in engineering a seaside sanctuary is site location. You need protection from extreme surface ...

The Benefits of a Seaside Sanctuary

A seaside sanctuary will be more natural for the cetaceans in them in so many ways: acoustically, water quality-wise, and ...

Orcas and Munchkins

Shortly after The Whale Sanctuary Project was incorporated, we received a donation of $200,000 from Munchkin, Inc, a company well-known ...

Founding Donation

In January, 2016, we received a donation of $10,000 from Jan Pettifor, a passionate advocate for the retirement of orcas ...

Origins of the Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project had its origins at a meeting at the University of British Columbia in August, 2015. The ...

SeaWorld’s Decision to Stop Breeding

SeaWorld’s decisions to stop breeding captive orcas and to eliminate theatrical shows by 2019 are significant steps forward. But people ...

Off to the Island

The ferry is full of people crowding up onto the top deck for glimpses of dolphins, harbor seals, eagles and ...

We’ll Meet Again . . .

The group needs a name. I suggest “Superpod” in honor of what we’ve seen and shared over the week. It’s ...

Custody Battle Over a Captive Orca

A very unseemly custody battle is going on between SeaWorld and the Canadian circus Marineland over orca Ikaika, whom SeaWorld ...

Super-Intelligence

Scientists have several ways of measuring the size and complexity of the brains of different animals. Whatever way you look ...

Orca Dinner Party

The orcas have found a shoal of salmon. They need 200 pounds of food every day, and Chinook salmon is ...

Orcas at the Other End of the World

The orcas line up and then create a very precise wave that will lift one side of the ice floe ...

Out on the Ocean, Surrounded by Orcas

Seven of us are headed out toward the open sound, and Spencer, captain of our whale-watching boat, is confident we’re ...

Luna: the Orca Who Wanted to Be Friends

Orcas need each other’s company. So, Luna did the next best thing to finding his family: he started making friends ...

T Is for Transient

As well as the “resident” pods (J, K and L pods) who spend most of their time around the islands ...

Grandma J2’s Birthday Party

On July 2nd, Grandma J2 celebrated her 100th birthday. They held a party in her honor on San Juan Island, ...

First Sighting

Almost immediately, dorsal fins are popping out of the water. You see them for just a second or two as ...

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