Puget Sound

10 Stories

Orca Who Carried Dead Calf Has a New Baby

Tahlequah captured the world's attention in heartbreaking manner in 2018

(Newser) - She became one of the most famous killer whales in existence for all the wrong reasons, but now Tahlequah is making headlines for happier ones. The orca in Puget Sound first came to the world's attention in 2018 when she carried her dead calf for 17 days across 1,...

Captured 53 Years Ago, This Orca Is Going Home

Miami Seaquarium working on arrangements to return 'Lolita' to Puget Sound

(Newser) - She was captured in the waters of Puget Sound in 1970 at age 4. More than a half-century later, plans are underway to return the orca known as Lolita to those same waters, reports the Miami Herald . The killer whale has been held all this time at the Miami Seaquarium,...

These Critters Just Landed Man in Jail With $1.5M Fine

Wash. seafood company owner admits overharvesting sea cucumbers for years

(Newser) - The owner of a Washington-state seafood company will spend two years in prison for overharvesting sea cucumbers and pay $1.5 million in restitution—the second such big bust in the West in just over a year. Hoon Namkoong, 62, was also sentenced Friday to three years of post-prison supervision....

A 'Gut-Wrenching' Mother's Grief in the Puget Sound

Orca won't let go of her calf, who died shortly after being born Tuesday off the Washington coast

(Newser) - What's being described as a "gut-wrenching" scene is playing out in Puget Sound, and it's been going on for at least three days. The Seattle Times reports on J35, an orca who gave birth on Tuesday only to witness her calf die 30 minutes later—and she'...

After Diver Kills Octopus, New Rules in Puget Sound

Washington state restricts hunting at 7 spots

(Newser) - A wildlife panel in Washington state has stepped in to protect the octopuses of Puget Sound, reports the Seattle Times . The state's Fish and Wildlife Commission yesterday banned the hunting of the giant Pacific octopus at seven popular diving sites. The move comes after a gruesome scene last fall...

Wash. Landslide Sweeps Away Home

Causes 33 others to be evacuated

(Newser) - Geologists and engineers are assessing the stability of a scenic Puget Sound area after a large landside thundered down a hillside, knocking one house off its foundation and threatening others. That heavily damaged home and 33 others were ordered evacuated after the landslide broke loose yesterday in the Ledgewood community...

Dead Whale Yields Golf Ball, Other Junk

But experts mystified as to what killed young gray whale in Puget Sound

(Newser) - A gray whale found dead in Washington state's Puget Sound had been scarfing down shrimp—and also a golf ball, woody debris, algae, pieces of rope and plastic, and some sort of flat spongy material. The garbage was minimal and not the cause of death, which remains under investigation,...

Cops Hunt for Missing 'Erratic' Mom, Son

She's spotted falling in parking lot, asking for directions

(Newser) - Washington cops continue to hunt for a young "erratic" mom and her 8-year-old son after her minivan was found half-submerged off a Puget Sound road. Backsliding alcoholic Shantina Smiley, 29, was spotted falling in an Olympia parking lot and asking strangers for directions before heading off the opposite way...

Underwater Billboards? They're Suspicious in Seattle

Seafood standby heavily promoting 'recently' discovered underwater ad campaign

(Newser) - After unearthing plans laid long ago by its founder, a legendary Seattle seafood restaurant is pulling underwater advertising billboards out of Puget Sound—though Ivar’s accompanying advertising blitz and founder Ivar Haglund’s notorious record of self-promotion have residents smelling something fishy, the Times reports. “If I was...

Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble
 Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble 
Oct 25, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble

(Newser) - The orca population in Washington’s Puget Sound is dropping, and scientists think a scarce food supply is to blame, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. A poor year for chinook salmon—and another is in the forecast—forced the killer whales to spend energy searching further afield for food. Two mature...

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