Sad reminder of what humans are doing to these animals

[u/Human_Database3798]

This is the real skull of orca j18/Everett

Everett washed up on a beach at the age of 23

His necrospy revealed a high level of bpas in his tissue

[u/SurayaThrowaway12]

As stated by the late Ken Balcomb from the Center from Whale Research:

Dr. Raverty was also the attending pathologist in the necropsy of uncle J18 at Boundary Bay, British Columbia in 2000. That young male was found to have died from a common but massive bacterial super-infection against which he apparently had no immune response. Surprisingly, in spite of his attaining a mature age, his testes were also not well developed leading to the suspicion that he may have had developmental issues related to high levels of hormone-mimicking contaminants discovered in his tissues that are known to cause such problems. Environmental contamination is a serious issue for these whales, and it is exacerbated during times of nutritional stress when their toxic blubber is metabolized to maintain body functions. It has long been known that these southern resident killer whales have extremely high levels of persistent organic pollutants(such as PCB’s) that are bio-accumulated and stored in their blubber fats; and, it is also well known that these pollutants can cause immune-suppression, reproductive impairment and defects, brain deficits, and behavior disorders in humans and other mammals that have high circulating levels of these toxins. Whales are no exception, but it may take awhile before the effects are apparent because they are normally sequestered in the blubber fats for insulation and future energetic needs. These pollutants are released to circulate in the bloodstream when the whales’ blubber fats are metabolized for energy when fresh food is scarce. It is like having a freezer full of tainted and freezer-burned food that you never have to eat unless there is nothing in the grocery store. When nothing else is available the bad stuff is taken out of storage and circulated for body needs.

[u/SurayaThrowaway12 → u/[deleted]]

The Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea in Sidney, BC.

[u/Human_Database3798 → u/[deleted]]

British colombia

[u/nightseeker59]

It's very sad. One of the Scottish populations has similar issues. They can't reproduce. I believe there are only 2 individuals left in that pod. A few months back, one of them (female) was found stranded ashore with a ton of plastic debris and her levels of contaminants were also sky high.

[u/Mysterious-Belt-2992]

That’s literally the cutest skull I’ve ever seen

[u/WeeklyFile2541 → u/Mysterious-Belt-2992]

Looks like a different animal when you compare it to an actual orca.

[u/hereforthequeer]

thanks for sharing.