Granny (orca)

The orca Granny (J2)

Granny, also known as J2, is an orca, or killer whale, estimated by some whale researchers to be 105 years old, which, if correct, would make her the oldest known living orca.^[1][2][3][4] Granny had been captured with the rest of her pod in 1967 but was too old at that time for a marine mammal park, so was released.^[5][6] In 1967, Granny was estimated to have been born in 1911.^[7]

Description

The unique dorsal fin of J2 Granny, showing her half-moon notch, taken as she swam through Haro Strait in Washington State in 2007

Granny is recognizable from the gray "saddle patch" just behind her dorsal fin, and a half-moon notch in her fin. Simon Pidcock of Ocean EcoVentures said he has seen Granny thousands of times, and that the markings on orca fins are like fingerprints.^[2]

Now that orca studies have been going on for several decades, the exact age of many whales is known. The age of older orcas, such as Granny, is estimated by their offspring; they give birth around age 15, and stop having offspring around 40; by adding the generations together, ages can be estimated.^[8] There are also photographs of Granny from the 1930s and the size and growth of Granny and the other orcas is also used in the age estimates.^[2] In Granny's case, she was photographed in 1971 with a male orca, J1 Ruffles, who was thought to be Granny's son. Ruffles was estimated as at least 20 years old, and as scientists believed him to be Granny's last offspring, her own age was estimated at about 60.^[7] Granny's age is estimated with a margin of error of 12 years.^[9]

J pod

Granny, along with several of her descendants, travels in the J pod, a group of about 25 orcas.^[10] J pod, along with Pods K and L, are the "J clan", which is part of the southern resident killer whale population. They frequent the inland waters of British Columbia and Washington State in the summer months, but roam from southeast Alaska to central California. They have completed a journey as far as 800 miles in a week.^[10]

A well-known male orca thought to be Granny's son is J1 Ruffles. He was last seen in 2010.^[7] According to researchers, Granny also has multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren travelling in the pod with her.^[10]

The southern resident killer whales are the most studied population of killer whales in the world. Many whales in this population were captured in the 1960s and 1970s for use in sea parks, and others were killed by hunters attempting to capture them.^[6]

Legacy

As the oldest known orca, Granny is used in arguments against keeping whales in captivity, referencing the allegedly reduced lifespan of whales in captivity.^[11] The oldest orca in captivity is the 50-year-old Lolita who is at the Miami Seaquarium. The average lifespan for a captured orca is 20 to 30 years.^[12] Of Granny's age, Captain Pidcock of Ocean Ecoventures Whale Watching said "[...] it’s mind-blowing to think that this whale is over 100 years old. She was born before the Titanic went down. Can you imagine the things she’s seen in her lifetime?"^[7]

Granny was also used as a focal point of environmental efforts that resulted in the Endangered Species Act protections for orca. Environmentalists estimate that Granny may have a PCB load of up to 100 parts per million, and that her descendants' reproductive systems may have been damaged by exposure to pollution.^[13] Additionally, Granny and her family are at risk from declining West Coast salmon populations.

Granny was featured in a children's book on orcas titled Granny's Clan: A Tale of Wild Orcas by Sally Hodson.^[14]

Orca lifespan

Estimates of lifespans for wild orcas vary. SeaWorld says wild lifespans are 30–50 years for females, and 19–30 years for males.^[15] These estimates are similar to the estimates from a 2005 study.^[16] Marine conservation groups argue that these estimates are low due to the effects of hunting, pollution, and capture on the wild populations, and that natural wild orca lifespans are equivalent to that of humans, with male orcas living up to 75 years and female orcas living up to 80 years.^[17]

References