Bibliography & Sources

This book details the complicated past of orcas in the Pacific Northwest. Now beloved as regional icons, we often don't take pause to realize the twisted history between captivity and the protections of wild animals. I cannot do justice to the intricacies that this book details. It changed a lot of my views, hardening some and softening others. It is a must-read for those wanting to understand how and why cetacean captivity became a part of our society. 

This book describes the deaths, dead bodies, injuries, and illnesses of killer whales. 

MLA Source Citation

Colby, Jason. Orca. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Written by a former senior 1 killer whale trainer, Beneath the Surface delves into what it's really like, on a day to day basis, inside a marine park. Hargrove tells stories that gave me shivers, and understands the humanity of killer whales more intimately than most. It's a story of extreme sacrifice and real bravery. If you want to understand SeaWorld's training practices, requirements, and business model, this book is definitely worth the read. 

This book describes violent behavior and death. 

MLA Source Citation

Hargrove, John. Beneath the Surface, Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish. Palgrave Macmillan Trade, 2015. 

This is an Eyewitness Handbook that details every known cetacean. It's a wealth of baseline information. Ever wanted to know the average length of a pygmy sperm whale? This encyclopedia has got you covered. I used to bring this book to school with me and just read it whenever I got the chance. 

MLA Source Citation

Carwardine, Mark. Eyewitness Handbooks, Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises; The visual guide to all the world's cetaceans. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, New York, 1995. 

This 150 page series of essays is like reading the Bible if your religion was whales. That's a bad description but it's hard to describe! This book combines biology, theology, and philosophy through the needle-eye of whales. I loved it. Although a little esoteric for those not deeply interested in whales, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and trust that I will be rereading it for many years to come. 

MLA Source Citation

Moe, Peter Wayne. Touching This Leviathan. Oregon State University Press, 2020. 

I found this 1988 book in one of my local thrift stores, and it was like coming across a time capsule. In the back is an ID guide for the Southern Residents of 1988. It calls now-matriarchs babies, that's how old it is. I used it to bulk up my matriline information. 

MLA Source Citation

Osborne, Richard, et al. A Guide to Marine Mammals of Greater Puget Sound. Island Publishers, 1988. 

Neiwert's book covers a wide rage of subjects, each of which I found interesting and compelling.  

MLA Source Citation

Neiwert, David. Of Orcas and Men- What Killer Whales Can Teach Us. Abrams Press, 2015

Inherently Wild is a treasure trove of useful information about captive killer whales around the world. The author has painstakingly published minute details about each orca and their life, something that I really could not live without. Many of the photos from MarineLand Ontario, Mundo Marino, and Chinese, Japanese, and Russian parks were obtained through this site. Most of the information on captive orca aggression comes directly from their site, also, so if you want to read or watch more about it, click the link below. 

Some pages of this site describe injury and animal death. 

Orca Pod Wiki was the first site I ever visited when I first began to study whales. The site is immaculate in their attention to detail, and their valuable contributions have not gone unnoticed by me. To whoever runs this blog- from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You're the one who sent me on this wild path. If you want to learn more about individual captive whales, be sure to check them out.

Voice of the Orcas is primarily a website which features the testimony of former trainer and Animal Care professional Cynthia Payne. Her words will chill you.

Some parts of this site describe animal injury and death.

This wiki is useful for some information on American captive belugas, but it is missing a lot of information. Nonetheless, I used it because it is one of the only resources I could find on this topic. 

This is the website for Whale Watch Australia, and I sourced a lot of my information on Bremer Bay orcas from their site. They also have information on sperm and pilot whales.

Ceta-Base is a database full of information on almost all of the word's known captive cetaceans, historical and current. It's such a great resource, and I wish I'd known about it sooner!

The Center For Whale Research is one of the longest standing whale research programs in existence. It's because of the CWR and its founder, Ken Balcomb, that we know anything at all about wild whales in the Pacific Northwest. They haven't just contributed to modern cetology, they invented it. If you want to contribute to their project, check out their photos and encounters, or sign some petitions, click the link below.

Orca Network is a non-profit group dedicated to raising awareness about the orca population in the Pacific Northwest. The group has also created the detailed Free Lolita/Tokitae campaign, which you can read about on their site. They also release email reports containing photos, videos, and written accounts about the whales, if that interests you. 

The Whale Museum is in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. The Museum displays whale bones and baleen and teaches visitors about the Salish Sea's wild whales. The museum also gives all the Southern Residents their names and has a special 'Orca Adoption' program, where you can adopt a whale and receive information and updates about your adoptee. If this interests you, go to the Whale Museum's website. I have K37 Rainshadow as my adoptee!

The Whale Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of cetacean captivity as we know it. The group has successfully freed whales, dolphins, and belugas held in Russia's "Whale Jail", and is working towards bringing previously captive killer whales and other cetaceans into sea-sanctuaries. You can more about what that means and how it will be accomplished on their website. 

The SeaLife Trust Beluga Sanctuary is a first of its kind sanctuary built for two female belugas, Little White and Little Gray, who lived in Shanghai, China for ten years before being brought into the care and rehabilitation of the SeaLife Trust. On August 10th, 2020, both belugas were moved to the sea-pen in small med pools, where they acclimated to the water and weather of Iceland before being given access to the whole bay allotted to them in October of 2020. Little White and Little Gray are doing well, and recently experienced rain and the northern lights for the first time in many years. I personally couldn't be happier for them. I believe that what they did will become the blueprint for other formerly captive cetaceans to follow in their footsteps.

Norwegian Orca Survey is a non-profit research group dedicated to the survey and study of Norway's native killer whales. They collect data on the group's feeding habits and population. They also assist stranded or entrapped marine mammals in the region. The organization also monitors Hvaldimir, a beluga who is believed to have been formerly captive in Russia. Hvaldimir swam all the way to Norway, and has taken unofficial sanctuary there ever since. He is friendly towards humans and frequently approaches boats, which can often pose a physical danger to him, and NOS wants to make sure that he stays safe. He has been cut by boat rudders at least once, and so anyone on the water in the region should be aware of him.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation is a research organization focused on the protection of both wild and captive cetaceans. They have helped with the SeaLife Trust beluga sanctuary and with the Russian Whale Project. They also monitor northern right whales and are attempting to put a stop to cetacean captivity and whaling in Norway and Iceland. There are lots of great articles on their site, so be sure to check them out. 

There are some images of dead baleen whales on this site. 

NOAA is the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, a branch of the US government. Their site has many articles about marine mammals, both wild and in captivity. They are often the leading researchers of American marine mammals. They do really great work. 

The North Gulf Oceanic Society studies the killer whales native to Alaska, specifically, Alaskan Residents, Gulf of Alaska Transients, and Chugach Transients. They have not performed a census since 2008. However, the information that they do have is very accurate and interesting. 

The California Killer Whale Project is dedicated to photographing and cataloguing California's Transient killer whales. They also occasionally see Southern Resident and Offshore killer whales. CA Transients hunt a myriad of interesting prey, making them super interesting to photograph and study. 

This lengthy article, published in Outside Online Magazine, is about SeaWorld's Animal Care veterinarians, and their jobs and experiences while working in various parks in various conditions. From a mother dolphin drowning her newborn calf, to a certain incident  in 1987 between Kotar and Kanduke, this article will break your heart, yet remind you who was there at the end of the day.

This article contains descriptions of violence.

This National Geographic article explains why orcas are inherently ill suited for captivity compared to other animals. 

Another Outside Online article, this one discusses the often forgotten death of senior trainer Alexis Martinez at Loro Parque, in Tenerife, Spain, in 2010. In the article are excerpts from Martinez's diary, about his worry for the four young orca's safety and their lack of social organization. In the end, Martinez was killed by the largest whale at the park, a male named Keto. Martinez suffered what can only be described as a violent death.

This article contains descriptions of violence.

This article, also found in Outside Online, talks more in depth about Tilikum, a bull orca involved in the deaths of three people over the course of his three decade long stint in captivity. 

This article contains descriptions of violence.

Although slightly more in depth, this scientific article discusses the deaths of two male captive killer whales: Kanduke and Taku, both of whom died of mosquito transmitted encephalitis, or brain swelling, a fate they would not have suffered in the wild. 

Although Wikipedia may not seem like a reliable source, I double checked with their sources cited to make sure that everything came from a verified, scientifically sound source. I learned a lot about Antarctic Type killer whales from this article. 

This New York Times article is about Wikie and Moana, two killer whales at MarineLand Antibes who have learned how to mimic human speech. In the article, you can hear what the animals' vocalizations sound like. 

This short article helped me to gather information on Daniel P. Dukes and his death. 

This article contains descriptions of violence.

This Wikipedia article helped me to find out the specifics of Keltie Byrne's death.

This article contains descriptions of violence. 

This Wikipedia article helped me to find out the specifics of Alexis Martinez's death. 

This article contains descriptions of violence.

This is an article written by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation about illegal Icelandic whaling, specifically of baleen whales. It saddens me that whaling is still going on, anywhere in the world, and I will be reading more about it. 

This article contains images of dead baleen whales.

This is the raw NOAA statement on the Georgia Aquarium's request to import 18 Russian belugas captured in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2015.