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KELȽOLEMEĆEN
Learn about the different ecotypes of KELȽOLEMEĆEN in the Pacific Northwest
Endangered: SRKW
Learn a bit about the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales
Threats to SRKW
Learn about the four main threats to SRKW conservation
W̱SÁNEĆ Culture
Learn about the Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE, language, and culture as saltwater people
KELȽOLEMEĆEN
Learn about KELȽOLEMEĆEN
Killer whale | orca | blackfish | Orcinus orca
There are three ecoytypes of KELȽOLEMEĆEN in the Pacific Northwest. Each one is culturally distinct and each live and hunt separately with unique habits, language, and territory.
RESIDENT
Southern (SRKW) and Northern (NRKW) populations
Dorsal fin with a rounded tip, open saddle patch
Fish-eaters
BIGG’S / TRANSIENT
Relatively straight dorsal fin, closed grey saddle patch and slanted eyepatch
Marine mammal eaters
Largest of Pacific ecotypes
OFFSHORE
Dorsal fin rounded at tip and often nicked, relatively faint closed saddle patch
Shark-eaters
Smallest of Pacific ecotypes
Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW)
Endangered:
Learn about SRKW
1 CLAN
3 PODS
75 INDIVIDUALS
The Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) are one population of KELȽOLEMEĆEN (orcinus orca) that call the Salish Sea home. It is made up of one acoustic clan (J clan) that consists of three pods: J, K, and L. As of December 2023, there are 75 individuals within the SRKW population:
34 in L pod, 25 in J pod, and 16 in K pod
Fast facts: SRKW….
Are fish eaters
>80 % SȾOḰI¸
(Chinook Salmon)
Migrate seasonally
Alaska - California
Migrate with the salmon
Use sound and echolocation
Use clicks, whistles, and calls to communicate, hunt, and navigate
While the Northern Resident population has been increasing by ~4% each year, the SRKW population has been declining since 2005. As fish eaters inhabiting busy waters, the SRKW are vulnerable to declining fish stocks, noise disturbance from increasing vessel traffic, oil spills, and contamination.
THREATS TO SRKW
Learn about threats to SRKW
Orcas in BC are among the most contaminated mammals in the world
PREY AVAILABILITY
SȾOḰI¸(Chinook salmon) stocks have experienced significant declines due to habitat degradation, overfishing, and climate change. As a result, SRKW are forced to spend more time and travel greater distances to forage, resulting in lower reproduction and higher mortality
~50% of Pacific salmon populations are in decline and ~50% of Chinook salmon populations in BC are endangered
OIL SPILLS
The impact of a major oil spill is potentially catastrophic. Approximately 750 tankers and barges transport 55 billion litres of oil and fuel through critical SRKW habitat in the Salish Sea each year. An additional 350 oil carrying tankers are expected annually after the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is completed.
NOISE DISTURBANCE
Underwater noise disturbance in the Salish Sea impacts the ability of SRKW to communicate and use echolocation to hunt, and can impair hearing. Sources of underwater noise disturbance include cargo traffic, whale watching vessels, sonar, construction, and dredging.
~ 4200 Vessels transit the strait of Juan de Fuca each year
CONTAMINATION
Chemical pollution from human activities on land expose the SRKW and their prey to contaminates. Individual SRKW have been found to have the highest levels of chemical contamination reported in mammals. Chemical contamination causes damage to SRKW reproductive, nervous, and immune systems, potentially preventing population recovery.
The W̱SÁNEĆ People
Learn about W̱SÁNEĆ people
Who we are as saltwater people
is very sacred to us. We come from the Saanich Peninsula, Southern Gulf Islands and most of the San Juan Islands. We have called this beautiful area “home” for 10,000 to 30,000 Years and possibly even longer.
Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (Our Homeland)
the emerging land, is made up of 4 communities: W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip), W̱SÍḴEM (Tseycum), BO,ḰE,ĆEN (Pauquachin) and SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) Traditionally, the Saanich Peninsula was the headquarters where the W̱SÁNEĆ People built their permanent winter homes.
W̱SÁNEĆ,
are Salt Water People. The SWKENE (sea) was very important to our way of life. Historically, most of the year was spent fishing, hunting, and gathering on the ocean in temporary homes. Still to this day we hunt, fish and gather our resources throughout TŦE SĆELÁNEṈ EṮ W̱SÁNEĆ (The Saanich Moons).
The W̱SÁNEĆ People
is the language of the W̱SÁNEĆ people and is a member of the Coast Salish language group. Historically, SENĆOŦEN was an oral language transmitted intergenerationally for place names, stories, and histories. The written alphabet was developed in 1978 by the late Dave Elliot to preserve the SENĆOŦEN language and history, and strengthen the W̱SÁNEĆ connection to land and waters.
SENĆOŦEN
“Our people lived as part of everything. We were so much a part of nature, we were just like the birds, the animals, the fish. We were like the mountains. Our people lived that way. We knew there was an intelligence, a strength, a power, far beyond ourselves. We knew that everything here didn’t just happen by accident. We believed there was a reason for it being here. There was a force, a strength, a power somewhere that was responsible for it. That is the way our people lived. They lived according to that belief, according to that knowledge. The universe lies before you…”
-David Elliott Sr. (Saltwater People, School District 63 (Saanich, 1990))