Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




WHALES AHOY
103-year-old killer whale seen cruising northern Pacific Ocean
by Brooks Hays
Vancouver, British Columbia (UPI) May 15, 2013


Killer whale �Granny,� (on left) the 103-year-old matriarch of the Southern Resident killer whale community, last week led J-Pod up from California into the Strait of Georgia just in time for Mother�s Day in the Northwest. Image courtesy Simon Pidcock.

Granny is back, and she's rolling deep -- 25 whales deep. "Granny" is what scientists call the matriarch of a pack of killer whales known as the "J-Pod," or the "Southern Resident Killer Whales." And Granny is estimated to be 103 years old.

Thought to be born roughly a year before the Titanic sank, Granny was recently spotted cruising the cold northern Pacific waters off the coast of British Columbia. The majority of killer whales don't make it past 70 years old.

But onlookers say Granny is still sprightly and strong-willed. She was first spotted by Simon Pidcock of Ocean EcoVentures, who was guiding a local whale watching tour in Canada's Strait of Georgia, which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland.

"I've seen Granny in these parts about 1,000 times over 13 years," Pidcock told The Vancouver Sun. "She looked really healthy and playful. It was good to see them foraging, finding fish here."

Just a week ago, Granny and her gang were spotted several hundred miles south along the coast of Southern California.

Ken Balcomb, from the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Washington, says whales didn't always have to travel so far to find food.

"The era of dam construction in the U.S. decimated the salmon supply," Balcomb told the Sun. "[Orcas] used to be able to cherry-pick salmon runs. Now they forage for them."

.


Related Links
Follow the Whaling Debate






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WHALES AHOY
Japan whaling town sued by dolphin activists
Tokyo (AFP) May 15, 2014
Animal rights activists said Thursday they had sued a major Japanese whaling town internationally condemned for its dolphin hunts for banning "foreign-looking" visitors from its whale museum. Sarah Lucas, head of "Australia for Dolphins," filed a lawsuit on Tuesday at the regional court of Wakayama, western Japan, where the town of Taiji is located, demanding an end to "discrimination based ... read more


WHALES AHOY
Glasses-free 3-D projector

Electrons hurtle into the interior of a new class of quantum materials

'Wolfenstein' videogame a Nazi-fighting adventure

The Tallest Skyscrapers Currently Under Construction

WHALES AHOY
Harris providing tactical communications to country in central Asia

Production Ramps Up on next Advanced EHF Birds

A Multi-Billion Dollar Military Satellite Market

Sagetech to Study Micro-Mode 5 Transponder for US Navy

WHALES AHOY
SpaceX supply capsule heads back to Earth

Replacing Russian-made rocket engines is not easy

Pre-launch processing begins for the O3b Networks satellites

US sanctions against Russia had no effect on International Launch Services

WHALES AHOY
Iran to Host Russian Satellite Navigation Facility

Moscow to suspend American GPS sites on Russian territory from June

NASA Uses GPS to Find Sierra Water Weight

China's Beidou navigation system makes breakthrough

WHALES AHOY
China Southern orders 80 A320 planes: Airbus

Russia investing in aircraft manufacturing

Staying On Task in the Automated Cockpit

Malaysia PM urges aircraft changes to prevent another MH370

WHALES AHOY
A Lab in Your Pocket

Molecular Foundry Opens the Door to Better Doping of Semiconductor Nanocrystals

New lab-on-a-chip device overcomes miniaturization problems

US chip giant Intel to pump $6 bn into Israel: minister

WHALES AHOY
Earth Science Applications Travelogue: Maury Estes

GOES-R Propulsion and System Modules Delivered

Experts demonstrate versatility of Sentinel-1

Kazakhstan's First Earth Observation Satellite to Orbit

WHALES AHOY
Dangerous nitrogen pollution could be halved

Study lists dangerous chemicals linked to breast cancer

Study strengthens link between neonicotinoids and collapse of honey bee colonies

China detains 60 people over incinerator protest




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.