Killer Whale: - Orca Network

Photo by Robert Pitman
Dear ACS Member,
I simply could not be more excited or proud to share this issue of Whalewatcher, devoted exclusively to killer whales, with you.
Intelligent, highly social, magnificently powerful - they are the unchallenged sovereigns of the world’s oceans. Killer whales captivate
our imaginations - they are our sea-faring counterparts – with stable social bonds, languages, ideas, and behaviors that are passed on
from generation to generation. They are, indeed, whales with a culture.
In killer whale societies, as in our own, identity is defined by the company you keep and what you do. It’s staggering to imagine how
far we’ve progressed in our understanding of these cognitively complex, ecologically diverse, charismatic creatures. Once universally
reviled as voracious, cold-blooded, multifarious predators, we now know that geographically isolated killer whale populations have
evolved an incredibly diverse and divergent array of life history strategies, from acoustics, and prey specialization, to behavior and
morphological features.
We also now understand that humans and killer whales share much in common – and that some threats to killer whales now intersect
with human lives. Persistent, industrial toxins such as PCBs and PBDEs (a group of chemicals used as flame retardants in a wide range
of products including clothing, computers, electronic equipment, motor vehicles, carpets, and furniture) have accumulated to such
high concentrations in some killer whale populations that individual animals qualify for treatment as “hazardous material.” The fate
of some populations is determined by the availability of prey species that have been overfished, while still others suffer from habitat
degradation.
Our activities are changing the ocean environments in ways that are detrimental and unimaginable, and animals at the top of the
marine food chain, like killer whales, quite literally bear the legacy of our past and present mistakes. There may be few other species
so like ourselves, and perhaps killer whales and people share another common trait – the ability to connect with and demonstrate
empathy toward another species – and each other. In our complicated relationship with nature, it may be a bond unlike any other.
The American Cetacean Society is indebted to Robert Pitman for serving as guest editor of this very special issue, as well as the
outstanding array of contributing authors, illustrators, and editorial team. And of course, thank you – for your support of ACS – and
for caring about whales, dolphins, porpoises, and the healthy habitats on which they depend.
Contents
Executive Director
American Cetacean Society
An Introduction to the World’s Premier Predator – by Robert Pitman................................................................................2
How Do We Study Killer Whales – by John Durban and Volker Deecke..............................................................................6
Killer Whales Around the World
Killer Whales of the Pacific Northwest Coast: From Pest to Paragon – by John K.B. Ford.............................................15
Killer Whales in Alaskan Waters – by Craig Matkin and John Durban..............................................................................24
North Atlantic Killer Whales – by Andy Foote.....................................................................................................................30
Crozet: Killer Whales in a Remote But Changing Environment – by Christophe Guinet and Paul Tixier....................33
Centerfold: Ecotypes and Forms Drawn to Scale – by Uko Gorter......................................................................................34
Antarctic Killer Whales: Top of the Food Chain at the Bottom of the World – by Robert Pitman............................39
Killer Whales of California – by Alisa Schulman-Janiger, Nancy Black, and Richard Ternullo.....................................46
Killer Whale Evolution: Populations, Ecotypes, Species, Oh My! – by Lance Barrett-Lennard.......................................48
Predators, Prey, and Play: Killer Whales and Other Marine Mammals – by Robin W. Baird..........................................54
Killer Whale Conservation: The Perils of Life at the Top of the Food Chain – by Lance Barrett-Lennard and Kathy Heise..58
About Our Authors......................................................................................................................................................................63
Selected References......................................................................................................................................................................65
Whalewatcher Vol. 40 #1
Guest Editor - Robert Pitman, Co-editors - Uko Gorter, Kaye Reznick