Biology And Ecology News

"Discovery of New Population of Shark-Hunting Orcas in Northeastern Pacific"

Researchers from the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries suggest that a group of 49 orcas observed hunting marine mammals in the open ocean off California and Oregon could represent a new population of killer whales. These orcas, distinguishable by cookie-cutter shark bite scars and physical differences from known ecotypes, have been encountered multiple times from 1997 to 2021. The researchers hope to gather more data, including acoustic and genetic information, to further investigate the unique characteristics of this potential new population.