Where are the orcas, what are they doing and what are they saying? Monika Wieland Shields and the team at Orca Behavior Institute collect and compile vital long-term behavioral and acoustic data on killer whales in the Salish Sea and beyond.
OBI’s work helps to uncover critical trends and unmistakable correlations between endangered Southern Residents and the species they rely on most, Chinook salmon. The science is used to move the dial toward an assured future existence for the beloved whales.
In this introduction, Monika also discusses 2020’s dismal Fraser River Chinook test catch, touches on the mystifying acoustic language of the Southern Residents that even Tokitae, still held captive inside a Florida tank, hasn’t forgotten, and raises concern over the current round of federal responses to the salmon-extinguishing effects of the four lower Snake River hydropower dams.
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