Southern Resident orcas are a single population of killer whales made up of three close-knit family groups, or pods: J pod, K pod and L pod.
Other killer whales feed on fish, octopus and marine mammals, but the diet of Southern Resident whales is almost entirely salmon.
Another orca wearing a salmon hat was photographed during a 2019 survey by the marine conservation group Ocean Wise.
Even if J27’s fish-wearing doesn’t signal a return of salmon hats among the Southern Resident orcas, what does the behavior mean?
In fact, strong social connections between Southern Resident orcas might explain why salmon-wearing became so popular in 1987, Garrett added.
Persons:
”, Stephanie Raymond, ” Raymond, Jim Pasola, “, Howard Garrett, Orca, Deborah Giles, ” Giles, holler, Garrett, orcas, Giles, Instagram, ” Garrett, “ I’m, Mindy Weisberger
Organizations:
CNN, North America, Puget Sound, Orca Network, Sound, Southern, Northern, Scientific
Locations:
North, Pacific, “, Southern, San Juan