2021 News

The following is a timeline of news and updates published in 2021 on various killer whale populations, captive killer whales, strandings, births, deaths, transfers, rescues, etc. Information is added and updated when available. Significant death or birth events are explicitly labeled in the 'contents' tab for easier navigation.

## December

#### **December 2nd:**

Four offshore killer whales were sighted near Laguna Beach, California. The four individuals were identified as male O362, female O104, and two of her offspring. This is the first time this group is sighted since 2015.

## November

#### **November 21st:**

CA216C1 "Frosty" is sighted again off the coast of Central California with his pod.

#### **November 18th:**

A male killer whale has stranded in Mariager fjord, near North Jutland in Denmark. The whale appears active but his body condition has been described as 'not super'. Emergency services are awaiting high tide to see if the whale will refloat itself.

#### **November 8th:**

SN160 "Sakkara" of the west Iceland killer whale population has been sighted with a newborn calf. The calf, who has not yet received an ID, is Sakkara's third offspring.

#### **November 4th:**

Ula, Morgan's two-year-old calf that passed away on August 11th, died of intestinal torsion (twisted intestines), a new documentary made by ZEMBLA reveals.

#### **November 3rd:**

Transient female T046B2 "Akela" has given birth to her first calf.

## October

#### **October 28th:**

CA216C1 "Frosty", the leucistic juvenile killer whale, has been sighted with his family. He appears strong and in good body condition.

## September

#### **September 22nd:**

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) has published a series of documents outlining its response to Toa's stranding near Plimmerton, New Zealand, in July.

#### **September 21st, L47 has died:**

The Center for Whale Research has declared L47 'Marina' missing and likely deceased. The 47-year-old female has not been seen among her offspring and matriline since February 27th. Her death brings the total number of Southern Resident killer whales down to 73.

#### **September 16th:**

A killer whale became stranded in shallows in Gertner Bay, Russia, this morning and was successfully refloated.

#### **September 15th:**

SeaWorld has reported the necropsy results of 6-year-old Amaya, who died on August 19th, to NOAA. The necropsy results (obtained by PETA through a Freedom of Information Act request) reveal that Amaya passed away from an unspecified gastrointestinal disease.

#### **September 14th:**

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced that three Southern Resident killer whale females are in the late stages of pregnancy. They are 22-year-old J36 "Alki", 20-year-old J37 "Hy'Shqa", and 42-year-old J19 "Shachi".

#### **September 8th:**

Scottish-Icelandic killer whale 151's death likely came as a result of entanglement, necropsy results show.

#### **September 7th:**

A young killer whale has live-stranded in Barra, Mozambique, more than 70 meters from the water. The community assisted in attempting to re-float the whale but it died overnight. It is not clear if the whale died naturally or if it was killed. In this area, whales and dolphins are commonly used as a food source among locals and by the time officials got on scene to take samples of the whale, they reported that "there is not much left" of the whale.

#### **September 6th:**

A killer whale identified as SN0666 in Iceland and 151 of the 27's pod in Orkney, Scotland, has been found deceased on Papa Westray, Orkney. 151 was estimated to be around 5 years old.

#### **September 3rd:**

J56 'Tofino', a 2 year old Southern Resident killer whale, has been sighted in poor body condition. The female whale appeared notably thin and pale during an encounter in July of 2020, and recent images show that her condition has worsened.

#### **September 2nd:**

The pod of seven killer whales that have been staying inside Pāuatahanui Inlet, New Zealand, since August have reportedly left overnight. There is no sign of the pod.

#### **September 1st:**

The pod of seven killer whales in Pāuatahanui Inlet, Aotearoa New Zealand, have moved out of the inlet into the open ocean.

## August

#### **August 31st:**

Attempts were made to herd the pod of seven killer whales staying inside Pāuatahanui Inlet, Aotearoa New Zealand, back out to sea using boats for three hours. The attempt failed and the whales are still in the inlet.

#### **August 27th:**

1. Photogrammetry data conducted over Springer and her family revealed that Springer is currently pregnant with her 3rd offspring. Several other Northern Resident killer whales are also suspected to be pregnant.
2. A pod of seven killer whales have entered Pāuatahanui Inlet, Aotearoa New Zealand, and appear to be stuck.

#### **August 19th, Amaya has died:**

BREAKING NEWS: Amaya, a 6-year-old female killer whale, has passed away unexpectedly at SeaWorld San Diego. A necropsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.

#### **August 10th, Ula has died:**

BREAKING NEWS: Ula, a female killer whale residing at Loro Parque, has passed away just shy of her 3rd birthday. Ula had been battling a gastrointestinal inflammation since April, though her exact cause of death has not yet been determined.

#### **August 6th, K21 has died:**

K21 'Cappuccino' has likely passed away, Center for Whale Research states in a blog post commemorating K21. The approximately 34-year-old male Southern Resident was last seen in extremely poor body condition with visible 'peanut head' on July 28th.

## July

### **July 30th:**

Transient killer whale T146D 'Leah' was found stranded on Prince of Whales Island in Southeast Alaska and was kept wet by volunteers until high tide. She was then reportedly able to refloat herself. Speculations arise whether T146D may have become stranded as a result of the magnitude 8.2 earthquake that originated off of the coast of Alaska on July 28th.

#### **July 28th:**

Southern Resident killer whale K21 'Cappucchino' was sighted in the Salish Sea appearing visibly emaciated, extremely thin and with peanut head. Whale watchers report that K21 struggled to swim against the current to keep up with his family.

#### **July 24th:**

1. Toa was buried at sunrise by the local iwi Ngāti Toa. Before the burial, a quiet ceremony was held at dawn in honor of the young calf. Per the wishes of the Ngāti Toa, a necropsy will not be carried out to determine his cause of death.
2. Two completely 'white' killer whales were sighted off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.

#### **July 23rd, Toa has died:**

Toa, the killer whale calf that stranded near Plimmerton, north Wellington, earlier this month, has passed away after his health deteriorated rapidly overnight.

#### **July 21st:**

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has announced that L125, L86 Surprise's fourth calf born this February, is a female. The sex was officially confirmed during an encounter with L-Pod near Vancouver Island.

#### **July 17th:**

A deceased subadult killer whale has been found washed ashore on the northern side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in west Iceland. The individual was later identified as SN0117 "Ronja" from the west Iceland orca population. She had given birth to a new calf two months earlier.

#### **July 16th:**

Toa, the Aotearoa New Zealand killer whale calf, has been moved to a temporary landside holding pool due to oncoming bad weather. He remains in stable condition.

#### **July 13th:**

Search continues to track down Toa's pod in Aotearoa New Zealand waters. The calf is being provided with electrolytes through a tube to ensure it remains in stable condition.

#### **July 12th:**

A widespread search for the pod of a juvenile stranded killer whale near Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, is underway. Volunteers have been using helicopters, boats, and planes, to search for the pod. The young calf was photographed swimming alongside his mother 30 minutes before he had become stranded.

#### **July 2nd:**

AT-3 "Ewan" was sighted in Resurrection bay, Alaska, with his family. He and his family are the only 7 remaining killer whales that suffered through the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

## June

#### **June 17th:**

T046B1B "Tl'uk", the leucistic juvenile killer whale, has not been seen with his family since the end of April and has been declared missing.

#### **June 2nd:**

A new calf has been born to the Scottish-Icelandic 012's pod, which is also known as the SN0200's pod in Iceland. Shetland Wildlife reports that the new calf appears to already be 1-2 years old.

## May

#### **May 28th:**

A deceased male killer whale has been spotted in the shallows of Tapora, Aotearoa New Zealand. A necropsy was carried out with blessing from the local iwi and the cause of death is pending. The whale was buried on the island.

#### **May 26th:**

A90 "Pine", a 13-year-old female Northern Resident killer whale, has given birth to her very first calf. The calf is estimated to be only a few days old.

#### **May 13th:**

A new calf has been born to the Scottish killer whale pod known as the 169s.

#### **May 3rd:**

Scottish killer whale researchers have released a new, 2021 edition of the Scottish Killer Whale Photo Identification catalogue.

## April

#### **April 13th:**

SN0117 "Ronja", a female killer whale from the Icelandic killer whale population, was sighted with a newborn calf. This is her third offspring.

#### **April 12th:**

The group of orcas who were seen in the harbor of Ísafjörður earlier this month have been sighted in Breiðafjörður. All members were present except for SN0160 "Sakkara" and her two youngest offspring.

#### **April 4th:**

The group of SN0160 "Sakkara" who had been staying in a harbor in Ísaförður, west Iceland, have left the harbor this morning. There has been no sign of them outside of the harbor since.

#### **April 3rd:**

A pod of at least five killer whales have entered the harbor in Ísafjörður, west Iceland, on April 2nd. The whales were identified as SN0162 "Ajax", SN0164 "Delusion", SN0163 "Glut", SN0381 "Aldrei", and Delusion's calf SN0351, and are known to belong to the core group of SN0160 "Sakkara". The matriarch, SN0160 "Sakkara" was, however, not present along with her two youngest calves.

## March

#### **March 15th:**

Preliminary necropsy results have revealed that Skyla, the female killer whale who died on March 11th at Loro Parque, died as a result of intestinal torsion (twisted intestines).

#### **March 11th, Skyla has died:**

BREAKING NEWS: Skyla, a 17-year-old female killer whale residing at Loro Parque, has passed away unexpectedly. Skyla showed no prior indicators of deteriorating health. A necropsy will be carried out to determine her cause of death.

#### **March 9th:**

J58 "Crescent" has officially been confirmed to be female.

## February

#### **February 18th:**

J46 "Star", who was reported to be pregnant in 2020, has lost her calf. Drone images taken of J46 in December confirm that she was no longer pregnant at that time.

#### **February 17th, L125 is born:**

1. The Center for Whale Research has announced that a new calf has been born to L86 "Surprise" in L-pod. The calf, which has been given the ID number L125, belongs to the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population and is believed to be around a month old.
2. A young killer whale became stranded in shallows near the Falkland Islands while hunting for elephant seals and was quickly and successfully guided back into deeper waters.

## January

#### **January 26th:**

The first acoustic recording of a killer whale in South Africa was recorded.

#### **January 4th:**

A young killer whale has live-stranded at Bay of Newark near Tres Ness, Sanday. The whale is around 3 to 4 years old, thought to be a male, 3.4 meters in length, and appeared in good body condition. He was successfully refloated.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.ocregister.com/2021/12/02/rare-sight-killer-whales-show-up-4-miles-off-orange-county-coast/
2. ↑ https://avisendanmark.dk/artikel/aldrig-sket-f%C3%B8r-ved-danske-kyster-strandet-sp%C3%A6khugger-spotter-af-sommerhusturist-beredskab-afventer-h%C3%B8jvande
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/ketoflukes/status/1457739602555457542?s=20&t=WEWZCq\_uukUNSsL7hQk3UA
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyFIbmFcuqM&ab\_channel=Zembla
5. ↑ https://marineconnection.org/documents-released-on-stranding-of-orca-calf-tao/
6. ↑ https://x.facebook.com/CenterForWhaleResearch/photos/a.385286821490832/4670897949596343/?type=3&source=48
7. ↑ https://www.africanews.com/amp/2021/09/16/baby-killer-whale-rescued-in-russia-s-far-east/?fbclid=IwAR1aHdMOptBhA-1Kqa\_rzm16317soaxmOGXzmfTW56Q-bJZAmVtoun\_q1p8
8. ↑ https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DOC-NOAA-2021-002094&type=request
9. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Strandings/posts/4287544198003001
10. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/seasearch/posts/pfbid0ApRjHp6Wy2eb143Sg8R7gpU5XfBJAnusYgrZ2W6pp7rButmN1471An46Uca95qXPl
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/HughHarrop/status/1435165224022286338?s=20&t=LXnUBEIYUIDueOsTaShCVg
12. ↑ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/baby-j-pod-whale-ailing-emergency-rule-issued-to-keep-boaters-away/?utm\_source=facebook&utm\_medium=social&utm\_campaign=article\_inset\_1.1&fbclid=IwAR1UR3A4oGDqmtTlqAvtbQPpvzKfYa1f8uDXZsu3TplYci9c13Vcvq44lbs
13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/OrcaRescuesFoundation/photos/a.802697003098876/4272480972787111/
14. ↑ https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/126235044/orca-ushering-attempt-abandoned-after-three-hours
15. ↑ https://wildwhales.org/2021/10/04/springer-expecting-rescued-killer-whale-pregnant-with-her-third-calf/
16. ↑ https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/22/killer-whale-seaworld-amaya-dead-6-year-old/8235040002/
17. ↑ https://blog.loroparque.com/comunicado-de-loro-parque-7/?lang=en%3Freload%3D195118
18. ↑ https://www.whaleresearch.com/k21?fbclid=IwAR3iQSt\_rrDFVAl8Uaq2fgmtbI6CwBOTPi7bs0Xw8-Qasb-o0\_dFqQMiyaI
19. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/OrcaRescuesFoundation/posts/4171551756213367
20. ↑ https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/iconic-southern-resident-killer-whale-in-dire-condition-off-vancouver-island-1.5529510
21. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4156001311101745&set=pcb.4156001517768391
22. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57950919
23. ↑ https://twitter.com/DFO\_Pacific/status/1417658093832482825?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1417658093832482825%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1\_&ref\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvancouverisland.ctvnews.ca%2Fmonths-old-orca-calf-spotted-off-vancouver-island-confirmed-to-be-female-1.5517754
24. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/orcaguardians/photos/a.1735423366688248/2903640006533239/
25. ↑ https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2021-media-releases/4.30pm-update-on-stranded-juvenile-orca-in-porirua/?fbclid=IwAR3bKK8uWj95DwlRbMae6i\_\_JsQFrHeS8tnUWPPrMilcAuqhEVF\_orTtCaQ
26. ↑ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9782559/Baby-orca-NZ-race-against-time-lost-pod-beached-abandoned.html
27. ↑ https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/07/11/search-underway-for-orca-family-off-wellington-after-stranding-of-young-calf/
28. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/shetlandwildlife/photos/a.205316956164628/4602982663064680/
29. ↑ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/orca-found-dead-after-earlier-stranding-on-island-north-of-auckland/F2CXEKT7TCJSJRI4MEE4PE32PM/?fbclid=IwAR2Gv0btUiJs02a9LKvDvdqGnm6mC34pfSYiq3nrft7aqP6eooN53PsxYP8
30. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/12/scotland-newborn-orca-calf-seen-swimming-with-mum-off-coast-of-caithness-14567565/?fbclid=IwAR2Gv0btUiJs02a9LKvDvdqGnm6mC34pfSYiq3nrft7aqP6eooN53PsxYP8
31. ↑ https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/65508209/scottish-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-photo-id-catalogue-2021-working3
32. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/orcaguardians/photos/a.1735423366688248/2839050699658837/
33. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/orcaguardians/photos/pcb.2838398353057405/2838397903057450/
34. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/icelandic.orcas/photos/a.699698123491916/3677805935681105/
35. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/icelandic.orcas/photos/a.528036140658116/3673762036085495/
36. ↑ https://blog.loroparque.com/comunicado-de-loro-parque-3/
37. ↑ https://blog.loroparque.com/comunicado-de-loro-parque-2/
38. ↑ https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/vancouver-island/2021/3/9/1\_5340094.html?fbclid=IwAR38Ex2nYrMoN41Z18UyNEXRbvOM6LSzIh-P7SmN1Vi1vXi75LcxEuIUEm0
39. ↑ https://www.whaleresearch.com/l125?fbclid=IwAR1yOt4DZkjzoW3WMrxMpXX7gnbGwEhXgKCEaI-dogqTuk1N43FCbiHcaKY
40. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/OrcaRescuesFoundation/posts/pfbid0tp2n2wqMJcK5gtk2F39XgLBmvMUgp8e138pDjoUgkLCaMqXbRSNVFhvZ2VhF9FC6l
41. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3646363972065484&set=pcb.3646364228732125
42. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/BDMLR/posts/pfbid0wKcFK6tvpaiD6L995wu7kJBBhLXS2mLnYjJpcEgyFJqKPtwU34TTuTrvMdKFnz8dl