Friday Harbor, Wash. – After several weeks of public voting with more than 7,500 votes counted, four Southern Resident Community Orca calves have new names! The newly named babies are: Moby (J-44), Star (J-46), Sooke (L-112), and Cousteau (L-113).
Receiving a name is an important event. It acknowledges the whale has survived their first winter, making their chances for long term survival much greater. These active, young whales have returned with their pod and have been seen throughout the summer. They have now been entered into the Orca Adoption Program.
The Orca Adoption Program was started in the spring of 1984. The rationale behind the creation of the adoption program was that if each orca were given a name and history, people would understand its unique personality and complex social relationships, and form a connection to the whales. At the time the Orca Adoption program was created, a Congressional bill to ban live captures of killer whales was pending; it subsequently passed. Today, thousands of people know Ruffles (J-1), Granny (J-2) and other Southern Resident orcas through the Orca Adoption Program.
An Orca Adoption is a wonderful way to connect with these magnificent orcas. Symbolically adopting a whale in the Southern Resident Community also supports the mission of The Whale Museum which, since 1979, has been promoting stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea eco-system through education and research. In addition to providing exhibits and the Orca Adoption Program, the Museum provides programs including: the Soundwatch Boater Education, Marine Naturalist Training, San Juan Islands Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the Whale Hotline. The Whale Museum can be found on-line at www.whalemuseum.org.
Orca Adoptions make wonderful gifts for family and friends. For more information, contact the Orca Adoption team at (360) 378-4710 ext. 24 or send an email.
To download a copy of the announcement, click here.
After a calf receives a name, it is entered into the Orca Adoption Program and is available to be symbolically adopted. It is only through an understanding of the orcas' needs for a healthy habitat and plentiful food resources that we can develop the conservation policies which will ensure their survival. The Whale Museum is committed to providing a variety of education programs to share information on how we all can help. Orca Adoptions help support this mission. Adopt-an-Orca today! Click on Meet the Whales to select the whale you want to symbolically adopt.
