Orca news, features and articles
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Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinctResearchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.
By Patrick Pester Published
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Orcas are harassing and playing with baby porpoises in deadly game that has lasted 60 yearsScientists may have finally figured out why a population of orcas in the Salish Sea have been tossing porpoises around and taking them into their mouths without eating them.
By Sascha Pare Published
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Scientists investigate mysterious case of orca that swallowed 7 sea otters wholeThe female orca was found far from her normal hunting ground with six whole sea otters in its stomach and one lodged between its oral cavity and the esophagus.
By Elise Poore Published
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Opportunistic orcas have developed a new feeding behavior that appears to be killing themMore orcas have died entangled in fishing gear in Alaska this year than in previous years, which may be linked to a "new behavior" where they feed in front of ascending fishing nets.
By Sascha Pare Published
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Lolita, the 2nd-oldest orca in captivity, who was set to be released to the wild, has diedLolita, also known as Tokitae, died before she could be returned to her native waters in the Pacific Northwest.
By Harry Baker Last updated
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Watch orca tear open whale shark and feast on its liver in extremely rare footageThe orca "slurped in the liver and then the whale shark just fell and descended down, with no movement," James Moskito of Ocean Safaris told Live Science.
By Hannah Osborne Published
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'An enormous mass of flesh armed with teeth': How orcas gained their 'killer' reputationFrom Pliny the Elder to the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, historians and naturalists have found many ways to describe these fascinating apex predators.
By Hanne Strager Published
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White Gladis the orca may have been pregnant when she started attacking boatsWhite Gladis was so hellbent on stopping boats in the Strait of Gibraltar that she engaged in attacks instead of protecting her newborn calf.
By Sascha Pare Published
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Orca rams boat off Scottish coast, 2,000 miles away from original attacksThe behavior may be "leapfrogging" between orca populations, and it could be in response to human activities such as fishing.
By Sascha Pare Published
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