The Whale Sanctuary Blog

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 ...

Posted April 15, 2016 in Opinion

Off to the Island

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

Posted March 11, 2015 in Learn More

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 ...

Posted July 16, 2011 in Learn More

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 ...

Posted July 15, 2011 in Learn More

Super-Intelligence

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

Posted July 14, 2011 in Learn More

Orca Dinner Party

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

Posted July 14, 2011 in Learn More

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 ...

Posted July 14, 2011 in Learn More

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 ...

Posted July 14, 2011 in Learn More

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 ...

Posted July 14, 2011 in Learn More

T Is for Transient

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

Posted July 13, 2011 in Learn More

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, ...

Posted July 13, 2011 in Learn More

First Sighting

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

Posted July 12, 2011 in Learn More