albino—a person or animal without pigment in their skin, hair and eyes
altruism—selfless concern for others
anthropocentrism—the belief that humans are the rock stars of all living things
anthropodenial—a word invented by animal researcher Frans de Waal that means “a blindness to the humanlike characteristics of other animals or the animal- like characteristics of ourselves.”
anthropology—the study of human societies
anthropomorphizing—thinking a god, animal or thing has emotions or experiences similar to ours
apexpredator—a predator at the top of a food chain
baleen—a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales
Bigg’s whales—mammal-eating orcas in the Salish Sea named after Michael Bigg, the Canadian scientist who discovered that there are different types of orcas
biosonar—sonar that’s biological—part of an animal’s wiring—and not technological (see echolocation)
botanist—someone who makes a scientific study of plants
breach—a whale’s leap out of the ocean and into the air
cetacean—the Latin word for members of the whale family
collagen—protein that holds a body together, like biological glue
commercial whaling—catching and killing whales to sell their body parts
dialect—a set of calls, or songs in the case of birds, that is unique to areas, populations or social groups. Some scientists prefer the term language.
dorsal—the fin on an orca’s back; dorsal means “back”
echolocation—the use of sound waves (or sonar) to locate, find or identify something by the way the sound echoes (or bounces) off the target
empirical data—information acquired by observation or experimentation
food chain—a series of living things that are linked to each other because each feeds on the next
geoglyph—an image made of carefully arranged stones
gyres—large systems of rotating ocean currents; now often used to refer to swirling islands of plastic waste in the ocean
industrial whaling—catching and killing huge numbers of whales to sell their body parts
keratin—a strong natural protein that forms hair, nails, hoofs, horns, feathers, etc.
matriarchal—led by a matriarch, which in orca society is the oldest female and leader of the pod or pods
melanin—pigment that adds color to skin, hair and eyes
mirror self-recognition—a test based on the theory that if an animal can recognize itself in the mirror, then it is “self-aware”
northern residents—resident orcas who range from Alaska to BC
ocean acidification—when ocean water turns acidic—and poisonous—due to chemicals and climate change
offshores—orcas in the Pacific Ocean whose primary food is sleeper sharks
PCBS—synthetic industrial chemicals toxic to orcas and pretty much everything else on the planet
petroglyph—an image drawn or carved into stone
pod—a whale community, so named because fishermen used to say whales stayed together “like peas in a pod.”
rorqual—any of the large baleen whales that have relatively small heads, short, broad plates of baleen, and deep furrows on the skin
saddle patch—the distinct marking on the back of an orca
Salish Sea—the waterways in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of southern British Columbia and northern Washington State
southern residents—the famous fish-eating orcas who live primarily in the Salish Sea
sonar—a method of detecting, locating and determining the speed or size of objects through the use of reflected sound waves
spindle neurons—the cells in the brain that process emotions
sprouter—a teenage male orca whose dorsal fin has suddenly grown or sprouted
spy-hopping—whales or other marine mammals poking their heads out of the water to check out what’s happening on the surface
superpod—a large gathering of whales
taxonomy—rules scientists use for categorizing living things
vocalizations—the sounds an orca makes
zooplankton—super-tiny fish like krill that float rather than swim and are the fave food of baleen whales