The world’s oldest killer whale, fondly known as “Granny”, has been presumed dead, scientists at the Center for Whale Research, Washington, said this week. Granny, whose official name was J2, was estimated to be 105 years old. “By the year’s end she is officially missing…with regret we now consider her deceased,” wrote Ken Balcomb, the director of oranisation. Granny was regularly spotted among the southern resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest until October 12, 2016, when she disappeared, said Balcomb.
Balcomb said Granny’s age has been disputed over the years. In 1987, she was estimated to have been around 45 years old, but was more likely close to 76. “She is one of only a few “resident” whales for which we do not know the precise age because she was born long before our study began,” Balcomb wrote.
Professor Darren Croft from the University of Exeter, UK, who leads a research project on killer whales told BBC News, “in recent years her world has changed dramatically with dwindling salmon stocks and increases in shipping threatening the survival of this incredible population.”
Female killer whales, who live beyond their reproductive years, are known to help their families survive and share their knowledge of when and where to find food. The loss of J2 has now brought the killer whale population in the Pacific Northwest down to 78, reported The Washington Post.
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