Page 24 - Orca Network News Today

An oil spill that began on Saturday reached a new phase on Monday, and divers were able to begin a plan to plug and recover any remaining oil that went down with the Aleutian Isle, a 49-foot vessel that sank off the west side of San Juan Island.

49-foot boat goes down west of Sunset Point, near Sidney, with about 9,800 litres of diesel and oil on board

Six young orca calves were separated from their mothers in 1970 and sold to marine parks. Only one is still alive at the Miami Seaquarium

Tucked away in the northwest corner of the U.S., nearly 28,000 miles of shoreline surrounds the natural wonders of Washington—from the nearly 1 million acres encompassed in Olympic National Park through the oak woodlands, subalpine meadows and ponderosa pine forests sprinkled across the state.

It's estimated the young calf is only a few months old, and its future is still up in the air.

June marks the 16th annual celebration of Orca Action Month in Washington state and seventh annual celebration in Oregon and British Columbia.

Members of the Lummi Nation are fighting for the return of Sk'alich'elh-tenaut or Tokitae, who was captured in August 1970 and sold to the Miami Seaquarium.

Experts say the small population of gray whales are returning to Pacific waters earlier than usual. 

The orca known at the Miami Seaquarium as Lolita was captured in Penn Cove as a calf in the 1970s. Now, the race to free her is more urgent than ever.

West Seattle news, 24/7