2024 News[]
The following is a timeline of news and updates published in 2024 regarding various killer whale populations, captive killer whales, strandings, births, deaths, transfers, rescues, and more. Information is added and updated when available. Dates are listed in a DD/MM/YY format.
| December | |
|---|---|
| 31/12/24 | J pod, along with J35 Tahlequah, was observed by researchers on December 31. They did not see J61, leading them to believe she had passed away. The next day on January 1, 2025, Tahlequah was seen pushing J61's body. |
| 30/12/24 | A new Southern Resident Killer Whale calf was spotted in J pod, traveling with the J19s and J16s. The calf was given the designation J62 on the 31st of December. |
| 20/12/24 | J35 "Tahlequah" a Southern Resident Killer Whale who made headlines in 2018 for carrying her newborn daughter's body for 17 days and over 1000 miles was seen with a new calf, J61. The calf was confirmed to be a female on December 23. |
| 15/12/24 | CA216C, the mom of 5-year-old CA216C1 Frosty, has had a new calf: CA216C2.[1] |
| November | |
| 22/11/24 | Keto, a 29-year-old killer whale dies at Loro Parque. |
| 20/11/24 | Loro Parque announces Keto, the oldest killer whale at the facility, had been unwell for several weeks. |
| 14/11/24 | A young female killer whale was found stranded in the Kamchatka Peninsula region of Russia. They was dehydrated, with cracked skin and visible wounds. The calf was transported with the use of heavy equipment to the mouth of a river 10km from where she stranded and was released. Authorities confirmed the calf swam away.[2] |
| 4/11/24 | PTN-031 "Eden" is seen with her first calf.[3] |
| 3/11/24 | L pod returns to Penn Cove for the first time in over 50 years. The last time being in 1971 when the pod was rounded up and several calves were taken for the aquarium trade. |
| October | |
| 29/10/24 | K26 Lobo, a 31-year-old Southern Resident killer whale was declared missing after not being seen since July 2024.[4] |
| 15/10/24 | On October 15, 2024, L90 Ballena and L83 Moonlight were seen, but neither had L128 by their side. L128 was listed as missing and presumed deceased.[5] |
| 7/10/24 | A female killer whale in poor condition stranded in St Helena Bay, South Africa. Her pod was nearby and in distress. The following day (October 8) when rescuers arrived at first light, she had passed away. [6] A necropsy revealed the whale had issues with her gut, including visible lesions, and her teeth were discoloured. These findings suggest that a combination of illness and age may have contributed to her stranding and eventual death.[7] |
| 5/10/24 | On October 5th, L90 Ballena, L128, and unrelated female, L83 "Moonlight", were spotted on the Eastern Edge of Swiftsure Bank. L128 was in very poor condition and emaciated. They were not observed swimming next to their mother, but instead with Moonlight. Ballena was nearby, foraging. Moonlight approached a research boat with L128 on her rostrum, who had gone limp. It appeared she was trying to 'revive' the calf by jiggling it. The encounter with whales ended shortly after it was believed they had taken a small breath, and returned to Moonlight's side. [8] |
| 2/10/24 | A pod of 4 killer whales strand in the estuary on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia on October 2. The pod was unable to escape the shallows the first refloating attempt, but all members managed to swim away on October 4.[9] |
| 1/10/24 | L85 Mystery (31 year old male), K34 Cali (22 year old male) and J60 (1 month old male) are declared deceased by the Center for Whale Research. |
| September | |
| 17/09/24 | In 2024 (exact date unknown) a juvenile killer whale measuring 2.8 meters, live stranded on the North Island, New Zealand. It is unknown how long the calf had been stranded. No re-floatation attempts were undertaken, as total length indicated maternal dependency. The calf was euthanized.[10] |
| 16/09/24 | A killer whale was killed for consumption in St Vincent.[11] |
| 15/09/24 | L90 Ballena, a 31-year-old Southern Resident killer whale, is seen with her first calf in the Suan Juan Islands. The calf was just days old and later given the designation of L128. |
| 10/09/24 | A juvenile female killer whale calf live-stranded on Carmel River State Beach, California. She passed away in transit to Long Marine Lab for rehabilitation. |
| 1/09/24 | L85 Mystery (31 year old male), K34 Cali (22 year old male) and J60 (1 month old male) are declared deceased by the Center for Whale Research. |
| August | |
| 1/08/24 | Zina, a Russian killer whale held at the infamous "Whale Jail" who was released in 2019 was spotted in the wild with a pod. |
| July | |
| 1/07/24 | L85 Mystery (31 year old male), K34 Cali (22 year old male) and J60 (1 month old male) are declared deceased by the Center for Whale Research. |
| 07/24 | River Road Film illegally flew a drone above a pod of killer whales in British Colombia Canada in August of 2021, and were they were fined CA$30,000.[12] |
| June | |
| 24/06/24 | Ran 2, a 18-year-old icelandic killer whale, was transferred from Kamogawa SeaWorld to Kobe Suma Sea World and is reunited with her mother Stella, who had been transferred to the facility a month prior. |
| 18/06/24 | On June 15 or 16, a deceased killer whale calf washed ashore in Mahia, New Zealand.[13] |
| May | |
| 24/05/24 | Ran 2, a 18-year-old icelandic killer whale, was transferred from Kamogawa SeaWorld to Kobe Suma Sea World and is reunited with her mother Stella, who had been transferred to the facility a month prior. |
| 22/05/24 | In May, Jade and her calf Jingxi were moved to Chimelong Spaceship. On May 22, they were publicly for the first time. |
| April | |
| 26/04/24 | After over a month trapped in a lagoon, 2-year-old T109A3A Kʷiisaḥiʔis swims out of the lagoon and into open water. |
| 24/04/24 | Ran 2, a 18-year-old icelandic killer whale, was transferred from Kamogawa SeaWorld to Kobe Suma Sea World and is reunited with her mother Stella, who had been transferred to the facility a month prior. |
| March | |
| 29/03/24 | Stella, a wild caught icelandic killer whale, was moved from Nagoya Public Aquarium to Kobe Suma Sea World. The move separated Stella from her 10-year-old daughter Lynn, and 15-year-old grandson Earth. Stella was then held in isolation from her species at Suma. |
| 28/03/24 | Inouk, a 25 year old captive born icelandic killer whale, dies at Marineland Antibes. A necropsy reveals he died due to subacute fibrinous enteritis and peritonitis. His death occured after he ingested a metallic foreign body weighing less than 2 grams.[14] |
| 23/03/24 | T109A3 Spong and her 2-year-old calf, T109A3A, swim into Little Espinosa Inlet hunting harbour seals. As the tide receded, Spong became stranded on her side. Despite rescuers best efforts to save her, she drowned when the tide came in. With Spong's death, it launched a massive operation to rescue her now orphaned calf. Necropsy results revealed Spong was pregnant with another daughter.[15] |
| 16/03/24 | Lovey, a killer whale at Kamogawa SeaWorld goes into labor and gives birth. Sadly the calf did not survive. |
| February | |
| 7/02/24 | T036B Tattertip, a killer whale from the Transient Killer whale population, was seen with her new calf T036B4, who sported fetal folds.[16] |
| 7/02/24 | The pod of trapped killer whales are believed to have escaped when the ice shifted overnight.[17] |
| 6/02/24 | A pod of 13 killer whales became trapped in ice in Northern Japan. Efforts were made to try and free the trapped individuals, but the ice was too thick. [18] |
| 02/24 | A video was uploaded to Instagram showing a 50-year-old man trying to "body slam" a killer whale in New Zealand. The man was later fined NZ$600.[19] |
| January | |
| 27/01/23 | Researchers have an encounter with J pod, but J60 is nowhere to be found. He is declared missing and presumed deceased.[20] |
| 26/01/24 | Naya's calf, born on December 29, 2023 passes away at 28 days old from a cardiac malformation at Moskvarium. The death once again leaves Naya the last killer whale at the facility. |
| 7/01/24 | J60, a male Southern Resident killer whale was seen for the last time. He was with J42 "Echo," one of several females he was seen with during his short life. J60 had a depression behind his skull, indicating he wasn't getting enough nutrients from his mother. [21] |
- ↑ Baby reveal!
- ↑ Beached orca whale rescued in Kamchatka
- ↑ New baby orca on the peninsula
- ↑ Encounter #110
- ↑ Encounter #110
- ↑ South Africa killer whale stranding
- ↑ Orca found in St Helena Bay: Necropsy to reveal cause of death
- ↑ Encounter #99
- ↑ Stranded killer whales make their way to sea in Russia
- ↑ Evaluation of ballistics euthanasia applied to stranded cetaceans using ethological and post-mortem computed tomography assessment
- ↑ Endangered whale species caught and killed in St Vincent
- ↑ B.C. film company fined for flying drone too close to orcas
- ↑ (June 18th, 2024 - New Zealand) Project Jonah New Zealand
- ↑ Mort d’une orque au Marineland d’Antibes : Inouk avait avalé un bout de métal (Death of an orca at Marineland d'Antibes: Inouk had swallowed a piece of metal)
- ↑ Stranded killer whale was pregnant, necropsy shows
- ↑ T036B's new calf
- ↑ Killer whale pod trapped by sea ice in Japan has seemingly escaped, local official says
- ↑ JUST IN: At least 13 killer whales are trapped in ice in northern Japan. Officials are unable to launch a rescue operation
- ↑ ‘Shocking and stupid’: Man fined for trying to ‘body slam’ orca
- ↑ Center for Whale Research ~ Encounter #8
- ↑ Center for Whale Research ~ Encounter #4
1 comment
This should be updated before the year is out.