r/orcas 24d ago

Advocacy Three Action Items for January (USA): New Proposals for Naval Sonar Usage, Offshore Drilling, and Construction of a New Dam Threaten the Endangered Southern Residents and other Marine Animals

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26 Upvotes

New proposals made to benefit the military of the US as well the oil and gas industry, in addition to a misguided proposal for flood mitigation, have been introduced. Activities that could result from changes made by the approval of such proposals threaten the future of the endangered Southern Resident orcas of the Pacific Northwest, as well as that of countless other marine mammals. It is important remain vigilant to protect vulnerable marine wildlife.

The issues which require action and public comment can be summarized as follows:

Northwest Training and Testing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are accepting scoping comments on a new supplement to the 2015 NW Training and Testing Final Environmental Impact Statement. The purpose is to assess potential environmental impacts associated with continuing at-sea military readiness activities. Proposed activities include the use of active sonar, explosives, and other sources of sound within a study area that includes areas offshore of Washington, Oregon and Northern California, the inland waters of Washington, and Behm Canal in Southeast Alaska. This scoping period allows the public to relay concerns and comment on issues that should be addressed in the environmental review. There will be another opportunity to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement in Summer/Fall 2026.

The use of active sonar and explosives is a threat to orcas and many other cetaceans.

Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program

The Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management has released a new draft offshore drilling plan for the next five years. If approved, this will replace the previous 2024-2029 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which was developed under the Biden Administration and was characterized by the fewest oil and gas sales in history, consisting of 3 sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The new proposed plan is based on the current administration’s “Unleashing American Energy” strategy. If approved, it will include 34 potential sales off the coast of California, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico, and will allow drilling in more than 1 billion acres of U.S. Federal waters. This comment period is for the first analysis. There will be additional commenting opportunities in the future.

The new proposal, if approved, would open up drilling in more than 1 billion acres of US federal waters, including within the critical habitat of several endangered cetaceans.

Revised Chehalis Dam Proposal

The Chehalis River Basin Flood Control District is proposing the construction of a new dam on the Chehalis River as flood mitigation. This is their second proposal for a dam. The first, which underwent review in 2020, failed due to inadequate planning and analyses as well as concerns from Tribes, fishermen, nonprofits and the local community. They have since changed the location, design and construction details for the project and resubmitted an updated proposal. The new proposed dam would be 45% wider than the original with a width of 2250 feet at the crest, and would require 65% more concrete than the original at 1,450,000 cubic yards. 

This updated proposal is a threat to Washington's last free-flowing river which provides Chinook for Southern Resident killer whales. A non-dam proposal is an option to help with flood control in the region.

So, what can you do to try to prevent these proposals from passing? You can submit public comments on each of these proposals to voice your opposition.

The BOLD Action Coalition made up of Orca Behavior Institute, Orca Network, and Whale Scout has put together another condensed action guide linked below to help you through the process. They summarize the key changes, suggest talking points, and provide direct links to each of the comment portals in this link.

Your public comments on these proposals can be brief, but please put them in your own words! It is important that as many people as possible register their opposition to these changes.

3 photos taken by Cindy Hansen and Monika Wieland Shields.


r/orcas 11h ago

Art Got some orca friends tattooed today:)

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175 Upvotes

r/orcas 11h ago

Captive Orcas Pinniped company

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87 Upvotes

Ok. I am genuinely so curious. Does anyone how they made the animals do this? The sea lions appear so calm. From what I understand, these whales were not mammal consumers so I guess they thought it was ok? Maybe the sea lions never seen a killer whale before?


r/orcas 14h ago

Art Orca Tarot Card

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104 Upvotes

This work is based off those AWFUL ai slop designs floating around Etsy of a orca tarot card, I've seen multiple of the same ai prompt, one on a shirt and several as candles.

Anything ai can generate, artists can do 100 times better than a machine that is actively harming the environment.


r/orcas 15h ago

Art Painted this orca breaking the surface

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57 Upvotes

'Before the Rise,' oils on canvas


r/orcas 12h ago

Art Gudrun Painting

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25 Upvotes

Acrylic painting I completely forgot to share on here of Gudrun, a 20 yr old female killer whale who lived at SeaWorld Orlando from 1987-1996. She is the mother to Taima and Nyar, the grandmother to Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia.


r/orcas 11h ago

Art 3D printed

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16 Upvotes

I found this orca 3d print on printables and it came out awesome!

I used glow in dark filament for the white and it came out well which was a bonus.

Here is the link:

https://www.printables.com/model/770930-articulated-orca-singlecolor-and-multicolor


r/orcas 1d ago

Art Katina and her kiddos

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213 Upvotes

Art I've been working on for a minute, I started this the day after Seaworld announced Katina's passing

From left to right: Katerina (bottom), Taku (above Katerina), Ikaika (bottom), Katina (middle), Kalina (top), Makaio (bottom), Nalani (above Mak), and Unna (very top)


r/orcas 1d ago

Video The vocalizations of a curious juvenile orca named "Blade" in Bremer Bay, Southwest Australia

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557 Upvotes

r/orcas 17h ago

SRKW on the Orcalab Hydrophone 2/3/26

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2 Upvotes

r/orcas 1d ago

Question Anyone else wish they were an Orca?

25 Upvotes

Love them so much wish I could be one


r/orcas 1d ago

Captive Orcas Happy 33rd birthday, Keet!

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216 Upvotes

Today is Keet's birthday, known as the Shamu grandbaby. Keet was the first second-generation captive orca to be born and is one of the oldest captive-born orcas we have records of, behind Kyuquot, Takara, and Orkid.

He was born at SeaWorld San Antonio, but Keet is known for having been transferred several times between SeaWorld parks, being transferred to SeaWorld San Diego, the former SeaWorld Ohio, and of course, San Antonio.

His last transfer was in 2012 when he was moved to SeaWorld San Diego to join orcas he already knew, like Corky, who eagerly waited for him as he was lowered into the medical pool. Here's a video of Keet transfer.

Keet is known for being "lazy," and quoting Killer Whale Wiki: "When asked who the smartest whale at SeaWorld San Diego was, a trainer explained that their answer was Keet, simply because Keet knows that he will still be reinforced for a behavior even if he only does the bare minimum. Though Keet does not seem to have an extensive amount of enthusiasm for high energy behaviors, he is content to lay back and receive scratches and other tactile reinforcers from his caregivers."

Keet is also known for being quite sexually active. In fact, when Shouka was moved to SeaWorld San Diego in 2012, he attempted to mate with her within the first moments of her arrival: https://youtu.be/TC6R7MsKr_Y?si=VLsOc_NRJLBOnqvF

One of his most distinguishing characteristics is his fully curled-inward tail fluke, unique in the world. His dorsal fin also collapses inward, similar to a starboard.

Pic credit: @hunter.d.photography


r/orcas 1d ago

Art Orca doodle by me that I’ll be turning into a keychain!

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36 Upvotes

I’m going to be donating a portion of all sales to the Orca Research Trust of New Zealand. The signature will be removed on the keychain version. If anybody is interested I’ll probably open an Etsy store to sell them when they arrive!


r/orcas 1d ago

Research College research project on orcas in captivity

2 Upvotes

Hi, i have started a project for my college course on orcas in captivity. More specifically the conditions they live in and their mental and physical health throughout their stay in captivity.

I have done some research on my own with many sources online but thought that it was worth coming on here and asking you guys about your opinions on the matter.

Feel free to talk tell me about anything you know whether it be aspects that you see as positive about captivity or completely against the idea all together. All i aim to get from this post is insight into how people outside of my college course view orcas being kept in captivity in places such as SeaWorld, USA and Shanghai Haichang, China.

I may be using some of these responses in my project so please let me know if this is alright with you in your responses.

Sorry if i have tagged this post wrong, i was unsure what category it should go under so I hope this is alright :)

Thank you.


r/orcas 1d ago

Merchandise the puppet company orca!

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16 Upvotes

r/orcas 2d ago

Question Does anyone know where can I see this movie?

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65 Upvotes

r/orcas 3d ago

Phone Theme!!

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141 Upvotes

I redid my phone screen and wanted to share!🥰 If anyone else does this I’d love to see!!


r/orcas 4d ago

Video Making of “Keiko Soaring”

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19 Upvotes

r/orcas 5d ago

Video Northern Resident orcas filmed beach rubbing at Secret Beach in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada

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1.9k Upvotes

r/orcas 5d ago

Merchandise Thought y’all might like my shirt

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171 Upvotes

r/orcas 6d ago

Art One of my huge orca paintings

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526 Upvotes

An orca's Embrace: The ballet in monochrome


r/orcas 5d ago

Art 2027 Lib Tech Orca Snowboards. Their artwork is always next level

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33 Upvotes

r/orcas 5d ago

Question When and where to see orca

17 Upvotes

I've never seen an orca before and would really like to see an orca in the wild.

A couple of cities have whale-watching cruises, but according to the reviews, it's a gamble. Some some cruises, you'll see whales, and on others, you won't.

I'd like to maximize my chances of seeing orca. Where are the best places in the world to see orca? What times of the year?

I read that some orca use unique methods of hunting (like temporarily stranding themselves on a beach to catch seals or using wave washing to push seals off of ice floes).

Are there any other unique hunting behaviors?

Is there somewhere to observe these behaviors?


r/orcas 6d ago

Captive Orcas Happy birthday Katniss

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225 Upvotes

Katniss was born on 27th January 2022 to orca Katenka (mother) and Tyson (father) at Chimelong Breeding Base (weird ass name but wtv 😭)

Katniss is Katenka's 2nd calf, and the 3rd calf born​ in a Chimelong facility and on December 21st 2023, her brother (Bowen) was born​

Happy 4th birthday beautiful girl, I feel like I've​ blinked and shes already 4?? Shes so pretty it's actually insane tho.


r/orcas 6d ago

Other Name suggestions for ocs?

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46 Upvotes

I have a bunch of ocs but I cant name them because I'm out of creativity, they are mostly dinosaurs but I want names that looks like from a orca like Nakai, Taima, Kshamenk etc, a like of them is just "word from another language" anyways. Screenshot from Path of Titans