Southern Resident killer whales are more than just iconic creatures

Something to understand about killer whales is that they are a really important species in terms of the ecosystem. They are a keystone species, which means they’re really key for ecosystem function. They are an indicator species; they tell us about the health of an ecosystem. And they are an umbrella species, which means that anything we do to protect them is going to impact, and have cascading effects on, the rest of the ecosystem. 

Consider, for example, that what is currently affecting Southern Resident killer whales is lack of food availability, contaminants, and underwater noise pollution. To help Southern Resident killer whales survive, we need to do something about all of these issues. 

And these are all things that we are asking for in an emergency order. 

There are things we can do and these are things that will improve the quality and health of the ecosystem so that we can continue to have Southern Resident killer whales. 

When we think about Southern Resident killer whales and biodiversity we are also thinking about cultural diversity. Killer whales are a quintessentially cultural species that is comparable to humans. They have different dialects, they eat different foods, they have slightly different social systems. 

We want to preserve this cultural diversity. “What’s at stake is: ways of being. What ancient memory banks are being purged, what rich files of life’s library are being erased? What’s at stake is communities of individuals who know who they are in the world because they know one another. Each whale is a node in a web of relationships.”

Carl Safina, Becoming Wild