Debbie and Haley dive into another marine mammal episode, and this is one that really lured Debbie in. Springer was an orphaned orca calf in Puget Sound off Vashon Island, Washington, in January 2002. While the rescue efforts took 6 months to execute, countless people worked together to successfully find a way to carry out the first rescue, rehabilitation, and release of an orca. This not only brought hope to everyone on the rescue team, but also brought awareness and education to the public about how they can help.

Let's Connect:

insta: @creaturemeetsculture

creaturemeetsculture@gmail.com

Sources:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale

https://thewhaletrail.org/wt-species/transient-orcas/

https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/meet-the-different-types-of-orcas/

https://ioa.factsanddetails.com/article/entry-383.html

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/11/3/231368/92619/Revised-taxonomy-of-eastern-North-Pacific-killer-whales-Bigg-s-and-resident-ecotypes-deserve-species-status

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale/populations

https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/meet-the-different-types-of-orcas/

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/11/3/231368/92619/Revised-taxonomy-of-eastern-North-Pacific-killer-whales-Bigg-s-and-resident-ecotypes-deserve-species-status

https://www.dal.ca/news/2023/02/23/killer-whale-pilot-whale-calf-2023.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/dalhousie-university-research-iceland-orca-caring-for-newborn-pilot-whale-1.6757945

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1903844116

https://www.wildorca.org/the-grandmother-effect/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/dalhousie-university-research-iceland-orca-caring-for-newborn-pilot-whale-1.6757945

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/saving-southern-resident-killer-whales

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/northern-southern-killer-whales-2018.html

https://whalemuseum.org/pages/how-to-help-the-orcas

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00146.x

https://orca.wa.gov/get-involved/

https://seattleaquarium.org/act-for-the-ocean/getting-started/helping-our-local-orcas