The Lingering Curse That’s Killing Killer Whales

Two months ago, a female orca named Tahlequah captured the world’s attention by carrying the body of her dead calf for 17 days. Now, a second orca from the same group—a 3-year-old female named Scarlet—has also likely died; she was incredibly emaciated over the summer, and hasn’t been seen for three weeks. Her death means that this community of orcas, known as the southern residents, now includes just 74 survivors—a worrying 30-year low. The collapse of the salmon that these animals eat is likely the main reason for their decline. But they’re also facing other major threats, including extremely high levels of human-made toxins in their bodies.

One class of such chemicals, known as (PCBs), are known to cause cancer, suppress the immune system, disrupt hormonal signals, and impair. They estimated that even in the absence of any other threats, PCBs will probably cause the collapse or severe decline of 10 out of the 19 orca populations they studied within the next century—the southern residents included.