A rare sight off the Louisiana coast is surprising experts and could have them re-evaluating the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
WWL-TV reports that killer whales spotted in the Gulf of Mexico now has the attention of U.S. government experts.
Scientists are trying to find out why orcas, which don’t come close to the mouth of the Mississippi River, are there now.
“This is really an amazing story that you have told. We have not heard about this before,” marine biologist Moby Solangi, president of The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) in Gulfport, tells WWL-TV.
On Saturday, a group of friends fishing in the Gulf, 50 miles south of South Pass, spotted a pod of orcas at least 100 miles from their natural, deep, cold water habitat. They sent the video to WWL-TV, who contacted experts at IMMS.
“That is concerning, you know,” says Solangi. “It’s when these animals start showing signs of change, we need to pay attention.”
IMMS has alerted The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as was done when young pygmy whales, near death, beached themselves in Mississippi months ago. They were 200 miles away from their home.
“It’s been remarkable,” Solangi says of the pygmy whales, the only ones to survive in captivity. “We have never expected this. We never expected them to live more than a couple of days.”
Working with NOAA, the pygmy whales could be released in a month.
The orca video has scientists asking questions since mammals, in the area where the BP oil spill flowed for 87 days in 2010, are moving, and a larger number of dolphins and turtles are dying.
“That certainly disrupted their habitat,” says Solangi. “There’s no question. These are top predators, and if they’re moving somewhere, something may be going on.”
