Orca Network News - January, 2012
the Southern Resident orcas, orcas worldwide, and their habitats January 1, 2012 through January 31, 2012. January 29, 2012 (Northern Advocate - New Zealand) These eating habits are important because they are examples of orca culture, Visser says. Around the world orca have different cultures and even different dialects. Traditions are passed down through the generations, just like humans, she says, stretching an arm towards the Poor Knights Islands in the distance to make another point. She says what we do know about the animals is that they are self-aware, sociable and extremely intelligent. Her point is this: an orca in captivity is a miserable orca. She has agreed to join with Peta, America's biggest animal welfare organisation, to take on powerful US marine park SeaWorld. In the coming months, if a judge allows the motion, she will be a key part of an unusual and controversial court case designed to challenge the captivity of five captive orca in the US (there are thought to be 42 captive orca worldwide and possibly thousands of dolphins) by using the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which bans slavery. Professor Steven Wise, who visited New Zealand a few years ago to speak to Auckland University law students, has long been investigating using the law to get rights for imprisoned animals but says the 13th Amendment is not the way to go. He fears a judge will simply rule orca are not slaves under the constitution and thus deal a blow to all future legal challenges. Plan to dart tag Puget Sound orcas raises concerns January 25, 2012 (Seattle Times) Federal biologists plan next month to attach tiny satellite devices on Puget Sound's endangered orcas off the West Coast to better understand where they go during winter. But some whale experts worry the tags - about the size of a 9-volt battery with two darts - could injure the orcas. The orcas spend summer months in Puget Sound, but "that's only half the story," Hanson said, adding "we don't know where they spend the bulk of their time." Tracking the animals in the winter would pinpoint their range of travel and help inform their critical habitat, he said. Visual sightings and ship surveys have shown the animals travel as far south as Monterey, Calif., and as far as the north coast of British Columbia during winter, but the information isn't sufficient, Hanson said. Ken Balcomb, senior scientist with the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash., said the dart tags are too invasive. "I don't believe the injury to the animals is warranted," said Balcomb, who keeps a running census of the orcas. "It's an injurious process. It sticks barbs in the whales that are serious attachment devices that do cause injury and can potentially become infected." 
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