Extinction
Extinct
Extinct in the
wild
Threatened
Critically
endangered
Endangered
Vulnerable
Threatened
Lower risk
Conservation dependent
Near
threatened
Least
concern
Domesticated
Data deficient
(according to IUCN)
Hunting: Orcas were targeted in commercial whaling for the middle
part of the twentieth century until the hunting came to an abrupt halt
in 1981 with the introduction of the moratorium on all whaling. Today,
no country carries out a substantial hunt although Japan usually takes a
few individuals each year as part of its controversial program of
"scientific research". As well as hunting for their meat, orcas have
also been killed because of their supposed competition with fishermen.
They are also occasionally killed out of fear of their reputation as
'killer whale'.
Environmental threats: Like other animals at the highest levels
of the food chain, the orca is particularly susceptible to poisoning via
bioaccumulation of PCB’s in the body. The most likely effect would be a
reduced rate of reproduction or a decreased ability to fight off disease
(immune depression). Another stress for killer whales include extensive
whale watching which causes changes in the orca's behaviour and heavy ship
noise can interfere with their acoustic communication and echolocation.
Capture:
The
start of capturing orcas for aquaria started in the US in 1962. By the
time capturing orcas was forbidden in 1977, around 60 orcas were already
living in captivity. Afterwards, 60 more orcas were captured until the
definite stop in 1991.
Over the world, it is calculated that about 130 orcas live in captivity
for human entertainment with the most famous one Keiko, the star of
‘Free Willy’, who died in December 2003 after several attempts to set
him free.
In Argentina, it was recently forbidden to capture orcas for any reason
and it is listed on the ‘Red Book’ as under ‘low risk’ and ‘conservation
dependent’ (SAREM - Argentine Association for the Study of Mammals).
Internationally, the orca is listed on the Appendix II of CITES
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora
and Fauna) and classified by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) as
‘conservation dependent’.
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