Ken Balcomb explains why we need to save the endangered southern resident killer whales

1. Alt 4 at the Burke

3. J50 September 6, 2017

4. J50 September 3, 2018

5. The “Resident” Story derives from the
North Atlantic Ocean fish-eating ecotype
SRKW
NRKW
Alaska RKW
Aleutian RKW
Kamchatka RKW
Kamchatka RKWJapan RKW

6. Sea Level - the Pleistocene to now
Holocene
Humans
Resident Transient

10. “Resident” KW mortality and Chinook
Salmon Abundance

11. “Resident” KW and Chinook Salmon

12. West Coast Chinook Salmon Runs
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13. West Coast Chinook Salmon Runs
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Canada/DFO
Responsibility

14. West Coast Chinook Salmon Runs
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Canada/DFO
Responsibility
California
Responsibility

15. West Coast Chinook Salmon Runs
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Canada/DFO
Responsibility
California
Responsibility
Our Responsibility

20. We still call them “Resident”
SRKWs in Core Summer Habitat 118 Days, often members of all three pods!

21. Shall we still call the fish-eaters “Resident”? Do
we want them as neighbors?
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NumberofJ,K,andLPodWhalesPresentinCoreSummerHabitat
Number of Southern Resident Killer Whales Present in Core Summer Habitat
J, K, L Pods - May - September 2017
L Pod
K Pod
J Pod
Geography Code: CORE
77 Whales prior to loss of J52, then 76 whales
* 7/1: Resident calls heard on the
hydrophones during the night.
8/4: Resident calls heard on the
hydrophones during the night.
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* 9/12: 19 Ls not confirmed to be present in
the "core summar habitat", but likely to be
present based on loca ons the previous day
and the following day.
** 9/21-9/22: Whereabouts of J pod whales
and L87 uknown. Believed to be in the Strait of
Georgia, north of current curi cal habitat.
****
Copyright 2017 J. Cogan. / Center for Whale Research. Use in media releases, independent research, presenta ons, and publica ons requires wri en approval from Center for Whale Research
SRKW Presence in Core Summer Habitat
May – September 2017
Small groups of SRKWs in Core Summer Habitat on 43 days in 2017!

22. The Salish Sea needs Recovery - Yes
But, the whales urgently need hundreds of thousands of non-toxic Chinook to survive,
and that is why I have been advocating immediate recovery of the Snake River.