Orcinus Orca - Blog Posts

Wildlife tourism isn’t always a more ethical choice.

I often see people who are under the assumption that wildlife tourism is free from ethical concerns, or that it’s inherently a more ethical choice than visiting a zoo/aquarium.

Wildlife tourism encompasses a wide variety of activities that involves watching wildlife in engage with their natural habitat. This includes safaris, whale watching, birding, photography tours, and a host of other activities. Wildlife tourism by itself can be an ethical way to see wildlife, however that is not always the case. There’s actively many harmful parts of wildlife tourism, that people may overlook since the animals are “free.”

So.. what would be some examples of unethical wildlife tourism?

- Whale petting in Baja Mexico. This activity actively contributes to the habituation of whales and disrupts their natural behaviors. Habituated whales are at a higher risk of encountering boat strikes - which can lead to physical injury or even death.

- Fake/bad acting sanctuaries. Sanctuaries are not always ethical, and many advertise activities such as elephant rides, elephant bathing, and advocate for people to touch/hold animals. The training methods they often utilize use fear or coercion, this is often actively stressful to the animals, and can be particularly dangerous to the tourists engaging with these animals.

- Swimming with whales. Studies show that commercial swim with whale tours can negatively impact the behaviors of some baleen whale species. These behaviors include avoidance and decreased rest time.

Spoiler: Injured wildlife

Is there ethical wildlife tourism?

Absolutely! Wildlife tourism should be done with respect for the animals. There should be careful steps taken to avoid habituation and harassment of wildlife.

Some of my favorite options include visiting a national park, bird watching, and doing careful research to find ethical whale watching companies. Additionally, many AZA accredited zoos offer animal interactions that are done in a safe & non-stressful manner for the animals. These may even include giraffe feedings and up close educational encounters.

🪼 Intro 🪼

I go by Pacific. I have a huge interest in marine mammals - especially dolphins, orcas, and sea lions!

My other posts will often be about conservation and zoos/aquariums.

🐬 About Me 🫧

★ I support accredited zoos & aquariums. I believe that they’re a valuable tool in both conservation & public education. I think the majority of animals can thrive in captivity, if cared for properly.

★ I consider myself anti captivity/pro-welfare with orcas. Although I wish we didn’t have captive orcas, I believe the last captive orcas should still live out their final years in a high quality zoological setting.

★ I’ll often post about endangered or extinct species. Conservation is a huge interest of mine!

★ I may post about dog training & animal training on the side.

★ I’m hoping to work with marine animals one day.

★ I’m a wildlife photographer. One of my dreams is to photograph wild orcas!

🐬 Favorites 🐬

★ Extinct species - Caribbean monk seal.

★ Sea lion species - Australian sea lion.

★ Cetacean - Orcas, bottlenose dolphins, & commerson’s dolphins.

★ My favorite orcas - Chimo, Keiko, Kamea, and Frosty.

★ Cephalopods - Bigfin squid & humboldt squid.

🦈 Before You Interact 🦈

★ I’ll likely block you if you’re aggressively anti captivity. This includes orca related captivity as well. I personally see a lot of toxic behavior from these sorts of people.

★ Pro captivity people are welcome here! I’m always interested in hearing more POVs.

★ Under 16 or over 20 - feel free to follow & interact with my blog, but keep it casual please. Respect any boundaries I set. Do not expect to be viewed as a friend, as it makes me uncomfortable.

★ NSFW accounts - I likely will block these. I just don’t feel comfortable with that content!

★ Dolphin hate - I am willing to dispel a lot of the harmful myths surrounding dolphins. However I will not allow blatant dolphin hate on my blog.

let’s swim with mama

J63 is the first southern resident calf born in 2025 and likely the first calf of J40 “Suttles”!

unfortunately, southern resident calves have around a 50% mortality rate within their first year of life. a lot of this seems to be from a lack of food availability due to overfishing and disturbances from boats.

right now, under the trump administration, FWS and NOAA are trying to change the definition of “harm” in the endangered species act in a way that would weaken environmental protections. this will severely impact the already endangered and struggling southern resident population. calves like J63 will have even lower chance of survival if this proposed rule goes through. public comments to oppose this decision are open until may 19th.

more information + suggested talking points for public comments here

submit a public comment here

source: center for whale research

J62!!!

source: center for whale research

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, also known as “Tokitae” or “Lolita”, was a Southern Resident killer whale likely from L-pod. She was born around the mid-1960s. Many suspect her mother is L25 “Ocean Sun”, but there has never been confirmation.

In August 1970, Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was one of around 80 killer whales rounded up for capture in Penn Cove, Washington. Based on her size, she was between 2-7 years old at the time. In the capture, led by Ted Griffin and Don Golsberry, 5 whales drowned and 7 whales, including Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, were taken away.

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was purchased by a veterinarian at Miami Seaquarium named Jesse White for $20,000. She was transported to Miami Seaquarium in September 1970. White named her “Tokitae”, a Coast Salish word that roughly translates to “nice day” or “pretty colours” in English.

She was originally kept separately from the other orca, a male Southern Resident called Hugo. Hugo had been captured 2 years prior from Vaughn Bay, Washington.

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut and Hugo would often talk to each other between tanks, Southern Residents have a unique language which includes specific dialects within their pods, meaning that the two of them were able to communicate in ways that they could not with any other population. Miami Seaquarium eventually placed them together in a single 80-by-35 ft tank. The they mated often, but never had any living calves. Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was given the stage name “Lolita”.

Hugo experienced severe stress due to his situation. In March 1980, he died after ramming his head into the wall of the tank.

Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was housed with other cetaceans, but remained the only orca at the aquarium for the rest of her life. Despite her isolation, she held on to her home. She was heard multiple times throughout her decades in captivity singing a song that is only heard within L-pod.

In 2015, NOAA removed the exclusion of captive whales from the Endangered Species Act and included Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut in the listing of Southern Residents. NOAA stated there was a “strong case” that she was a Southern Resident after analysing her mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA. However, because she was captured 2 years before the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was considered “pre-Act”, meaning she did not qualify under it.

The Lummi Nation never stopped fighting for Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut to be brought home. They consider her a relative. In July 2019, two Lummi women, Squil-le-he-le and Tah-mahs, invoked the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in an attempt to bring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut home. NAGPRA gave them legal grounds to sue Miami Seaquarium if they refused to return Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut to the Salish Sea.

In August 2019, the Lummi gave her the name “Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut”, which roughly translates to “member of Sk’aliCh’elh” in English. Sk’aliCh’elh being a family of orcas in the Salish sea.

Squil-le-he-le visited Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut in Miami and performed healing songs for her. Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut was very receptive to this. Squil-le-he-le was quoted saying “She was singing with me. She was vocalizing with me,” in an interview with The Planet.

In March 2023, the Miami Seaquarium (now owned by The Dolphin Company) partnered with Friends of Toki and began the process of transferring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut to a sea pen in her home waters.

This decision was controversial given Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut’s age (around her late 50s) and her chronic health conditions. She hadn’t been transported anywhere in over 50 years, causing concern for the stress that transport to Washington could cause her. There were also concerns that she might not be able to survive the re-exposure to the bacteria in the ocean after living in a tank of clorinated water for so long, or that she could possibly expose the wild Southern Residents to the infections she developed in captivity.

Others, especially the Lummi, argued that she deserved to live the remainder of her life in her home waters, which she clearly remembered.

In August 2023, the Miami Seaquarium announced that Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut had passed away. Her cause of death was attributed to multiple chronic health conditions. On the day of her death, over 3000 miles away, members of all 3 Southern Resident pods (J,K, and L) were gathered together in what is known as a “superpod”. Gatherings of multiple Southern Resident pods have become more rare in recent years.

The Lummi were not consulted before the autopsy was performed.

Finally, in September 2023 her ashes were returned home and there were multiple ceremonies laying her to rest.

No Southern Resident had been seen in Penn Cove since the captures in the 1970s, but in November 2024, L-pod returned. Among them was Ocean Sun.

Footage: Kat Martin, ScubaFilmFactory, Miami Herald, KING 5 Seattle, AnaCarlaNJ, H2Omammals, DaddysJournie, KING 5 Seattle

Audio: Susannah Joffe, sacredsea.org