Granny (whale)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The orca J2 Granny

Granny (* around 1911; † late 2016), also known as J2 Granny , was a female killer whale (orca). It was considered the oldest known live killer whale in 2016, at an estimated age of 105.

description

J2 Granny's unique dorsal fin with a crescent shaped notch, taken in 2007 on Haro Street in Washington State

Granny was at its Sattelfleck ( English saddle patch ) behind its dorsal fin seen as well as a crescent-shaped notch in the dorsal fin.

Age

Granny's age was estimated from her offspring. Killer whales reach sexual maturity at the age of 15 and have no offspring after 40. If several generations live in the same group, their age can thus be reliably estimated. There are photos of Granny from the 1930s, and in 1971 she was photographed with J1 Ruffles, a male whale believed to have been her son. Ruffles was at least 20 years old at the time, and since he is believed to be her last descendant, her age was then estimated to be around 60 years. Wild female whales live on average around 60 to 80 years. Granny also had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren in her group.

Granny was caught with the rest of her group in 1967, but was already too old for a marine theme park , so she was released. She was last seen in October 2016 and pronounced dead in January 2017 at the age of 105.

J-Pod

Granny lived with several of her offspring in the so-called J-Pod , a group of around 25 killer whales. J-Pod forms together with K-Pod and L-Pod the so-called J-Clan , which in turn is part of the population of the so-called Southern Resident Killer Whales . This lives in the summer months in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State and swims from there to Southeast Alaska and Central California .

meaning

Granny's old age can be seen as a key argument against keeping whales in captivity, as they don't live anywhere near as old in captivity. The maximum age for whales in captivity is around 20 to 30 years on average. The oldest killer whale in captivity is 50-year-old Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium .

Granny played an important role in environmental efforts that led to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Environmentalists estimate that 0.1 ‰ PCBs have already accumulated in their bodies  and that the fertility of their offspring has been affected by pollution. In addition, Granny and her family are suffering from the decline in salmon populations on the US west coast.

Granny is described in Sally Hodson's American children's book about killer whales entitled Granny's Group : A Tale of Wild Orcas ( Granny's Clan: A Tale of Wild Orcas ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Victoria Woollaston: Her Heart Still Goes On: Killer whale called 'Granny' born the year before the TITANIC sank is the oldest in the world aged 103 | Mail online . Dailymail.co.uk. September 17, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ Kelli Bender: Granny, World's Oldest Orca, Returns to Home Waters at 103 Years Old: People.com Mobile . People.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 16, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.people.com
  3. ↑ a b c Frank Luba: BC's matriarch orca 'Granny' is still going strong at 103 . Theprovince.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ Abby Ohlheiser: Spotted: Granny, the 103-Year-Old Killer Whale and Her Family . The Wire. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ Jake Ellison: Oldest living orca 'Granny' visits NW over Mother's Day weekend - The Big Science Blog . Blog.seattlepi.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Orca 'Granny', 103, comes home for Mother's Day - British Columbia - CBC News . Cbc.approx. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ Hi Granny! World's oldest wild orca spotted off BC coast is probably older than your granny: SCIENCE . Tech Times. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ ML Lyke: Granny's Struggle: A black and white gold rush is on . seattlepi.com. October 10, 2006. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  9. ↑ http://www.whaleresearch.com/j2
  10. ↑ Killer Whales: The Natural History and Genealogy of Orcinus Orca in British Columbia . Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ Kirby, David: Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity .
  12. ↑ World's oldest known killer whale seen off BC coast ( Memento of the original dated May 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vancouversun.com
  13. ↑ ML Lyke: Granny's Struggle: When Granny is gone, will her story be the last chapter? - . In: seattlepi.com . Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ Sally Hodson: Granny's clan: a tale of wild orcas , 1st ed. Edition, Dawn Publications, Nevada City, CA 2012, ISBN 9781584691716 .