World’s Oldest Killer Whale Believed To Be Dead

The world’s oldest killer whale known as Granny, estimated to be 105 years old and matriarch of small pod of Puget Sound orcas has not been seen for months and is presumed dead. Researchers say her death is a huge blow to what is already a struggling population. Ken Balcomb of the Centre for Whale Research in North America’s Pacific Northwest says his organisation considers her deceased. Mr Balcomb has been studying the pod for nearly forty years says he had last seen Granny with her pod North through the Haro Strait as they were on the hunt for food.

Easy to identify

Over the last few years’ researchers had witnessed Granny assume the leadership role of the J-pod which is one of three family groups that comprise the Southern Resident Killer Whale population. These killer whales are genetically unique and are made up of about 80 or so orcas that are classified as endangered in both the US and Canada. Granny was easy to tell apart from other killer whales thanks to her half-moon nick on her dorsal fin. Researchers first identified Granny during the 1970’s and estimated she had been born in 1911 with a 12-year margin of error.

Been a bad year for killer whales

The disappearance of Granny marks the end of a difficult year for orcas that ply the Salish sea. There have been at least six other whales from the population that researchers say are either missing or presumed dead. This stands in sharp contrast to 2015 when the population added eight new baby orcas. The population has not had an easy relationship with its neighbours on the West Coast. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s dozens of killer whales were caught and sold to aquariums and theme parks all over the world. The ones that were left behind had to deal with exposure to chemicals that local industry allowed to run off into the sea. This made the population some of the world’s most contaminated marine mammals.

Struggle to survive

In the most recent years the killer whales have faced a struggle to survive which has intensified as a result of declining stocks of salmon and an increase of vessel traffic in the waters they swim through. Canadian researchers have also warned that an oil pipeline project that was recently approved by the Canadian government would result in a huge increase in oil tanker and barge traffic which would pose a further threat to the population.