Britain’s only resident orca pod – No breeding for 20 years

Hebridean Orca pod studyJanuary 2012. This week, BBC’s The One Show has been showcasing the endangered killer whale population that inhabits waters off the west coast of the UK and Ireland. Mike Dilger experienced an amazing encounter with four of the nine killer whales left in this population. With group numbers so low, it is likely that this community will go extinct in our lifetime.
No calves for 2 decades
In collaboration with Dr. Andy Foote, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and many others, the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) have found that of the group, four members are male and five are female. All individuals within the community interact with each other, although certain individuals are more regularly sighted together. As Mike mentioned on Tuesday evening, no live calves have been recorded since research began almost two decades ago, it is likely that the females are post-reproductive and due to their social isolation they are unlikely to recruit any killer whales from other populations. This means that the conservation status of this group is critical.

Sightings off Ireland & Wales
Photo-ID has also helped HWDT better understand the wide-ranging nature of these apex predators. Although dubbed the ‘west coast community', sightings off Ireland have been reported, and on one occasion all nine individuals were present off the Cork coast. The extremely distinctive male, ‘John Coe', was also sighted off the Pembrokeshire coast in 2008 and 2007.


Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/uk-orcas.html