SMITHSONIAN'S PICK TEN MOST AWE-INSPIRING SEA CREATURES OF 2024! NEW DISCOVERIES

 What a contest!  Truly unique individuals! An awesome list.

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE : 10 MOST AWE-INSPIRING SEA CREATURE MOMENTS OF 2024

Orcas with salmon hats?  300 year old coral?  Whale in the wrong ocean?  Which of these will awe-inspire YOU?

KILLER WHALES AFTER BLUE SHARK : HE GOT AWAY BECAUSE KILLER WHALES NO LIKE

YAHOO NEWS : Sacramento Bee : Enormous sea creatures investigate a ‘startled’ blue shark off California 

Excerpt:  This CA140B pod of orcas, known as Louise’s family after their matriarch, are regular visitors to the Monterey area and are seen several times a year, Talty said. Most killer whale sightings take place in April and May near Monterey.

“What a rare and lucky encounter today between two unique species!” Monterey Bay Whale Watch said on Facebook.

Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They can reach up to 32 feet and more than 12,000 pounds.

Orcas can live up to 90 years and are a top predator, with 100 teeth. They feed mainly on other marine mammals and fish, along with seabirds and marine turtles.

Blue sharks can reach up to 13 feet long and weigh more than 450 pounds, according to Brittanica. They feed mainly on fish, squid and crustaceans.

RIC O'BARRY'S DOLPHIN PROJECT - ORCAS IN CAPTIVITY - 60 in THE WORLD : LOLITA - TOKITAE DEAD

Lolita is dead after a half century in captivity, which caused me to search for Whales in Captivity.

DOLPHIN PROJECT

Excerpt:

Many captive orcas were born and bred in captivity, but this was not always the case.  Beginning the in the 1960's, orcas have been caught for entertainment display. One of the most infamous was the mass capture in Penn Cove, Washington.  On August 8, 1970, a total of seven whales were taken fromL pod (one of the resident orca pods), while 5 died in the process.  Among the captures, Lolita (Tokitae) is the last remaining survivor.

At least 160 0rcas have died in captivity... Keep Reading!

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Siren here.  I have mixed feeling about animals such as whales, dolphins, and other sea creatures in aquariums and the like.  My feeling is that if it were not for the zoo, as a child living in-land, I might not have been aware of sea lions... and I do go to aquariums.  But even the largest tanks cannot provide a natural life for these creatures.  It seems many of them go crazy or live perhaps shorter lives than they would in the wild.  Yet in the wild they also face being eaten or killed.  What kills the larger creatures the most is ships - container ships - sailing vessels.