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Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
A dolphin called Arnie with a shell

Dolphins catch fish using giant shell tools

In Shark Bay, Australia, two groups of dolphins have figured out how to use tools...
Common dolphins at surface

Did you know that dolphins have unique personalities?

We all have personalities, and between the work Christmas party and your family get-together, perhaps...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Holly. Image: Miray Campbell

Meet Holly, she’s an incredible orca leader

Let me tell you the story of an awe-inspiring orca with a fascinating family story...
Humpback whale. Image: Christopher Swann

A story about whales and humans

As well as working for WDC, I write books for young people. Stories; about the...
Risso's dolphin at surface

My lucky number – 13 years studying amazing Risso’s dolphins

Everything we learn about the Risso's dolphins off the coast of Scotland amazes us and...

June is Orca Awareness Month!

Welcome to Orca Month!  The third annual celebration for WDC and 12th overall focuses on sharing the story of the endangered Southern Resident orcas and inspiring people to take action to protect them.

After the Southern Resident orcas were added to the endangered species list in 2005, longtime orca education and advocacy group Orca Network founded Orca Awareness Month to bring together orca fans and raise awareness of the threats to this unique community.

With only 76 members left in the population (and Tokitae, the last surviving Southern Resident orca to be held in captivity), the Southern Resident population is at its lowest point in over 30 years.  Threatened by a lack of prey, contaminants in their home waters, and increasing acoustic and physical disturbance, now is the time to take action to protect these iconic orcas and their home.

Sound the Alarm

This year’s unifying theme for Orca Month asks people to speak up, raise their voices, and make changes to help the Southern Residents.  WDC is a founding member of the Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA), which has been co-sponsoring Orca Month since 2016, helping reach even more people in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.  This year, we’ve developed a specific list of actions we are urging the newly-formed Southern Resident Recovery Task Force in Washington State to consider.  These actions are not unique to Washington, and can help the Southern Residents anywhere in their range.  So if you’re a resident of a West Coast state or British Columbia, please reach out to your state officials and ask them to take action to save the Southern Residents.

WDC is the leading group for Orca Month events in Oregon, and we work to share the Southern Residents’ story and engage Oregonians in efforts to protect the Southern Residents and their coastal home. This year, we’re celebrating in Oregon with documentary screenings, a “pints and science” pub talk, coordinating a regional beach cleanup with partners in Washington, and joining World Oceans Day at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  We’ll also have information available at various locations along the Oregon Coast.

Orca Month is for everyone, even if you’re an orca lover living far away from the Northwest.  You can share their story with your friends and family, and reach out to your elected officials to ask them to protect the things that help Southern Resident orcas – the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, funds for salmon restoration, and support for coastal and watershed recovery.  Every voice is needed, and every voice matters, if we are to save this unique and wonderful community of orcas that we’re lucky to know as neighbors.

And remember, no matter where you are, you live in a watershed.  Your choices and actions do impact the ocean, even if you’re land-locked!  You can take action this month to help orcas, they salmon they depend on, and the waters they live in.

However you choose to celebrate Orca Month, we hope you’ll let us know, and join us to Sound the Alarm for Southern Resident orcas.

WDC’s Orca Month events and efforts would not be possible without support from the Jessica Rekos Foundation.