orca mourning ritual
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
The Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in Canada could drive a critical population of orcas to extinction. The first calf born in three years has just died and is being carried on the back of its grieving mother.
But it’s not too late to stop this disastrous pipeline -- and massive pressure on Canada’s Prime Minister and Finance Minister could stop this project in its tracks.
A,
She was pregnant for 17 months, and moments after giving birth, her newborn calf died.... This orca mother is on her seventeenth day carrying her deceased baby -- and now the pod has joined the ritual by helping to carry the calf's lifeless body. This heartbreaking display of grief is something that we can prevent from happening again -- if we stop the Trans Mountain pipeline.
This orca mother is part of a dangerously threatened population on the northwest coast of North America where, if the dangerous Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline is built, massive oil tankers would be moving daily loads of bitumen right through the heart of these majestic animals' territory. The noise alone from the tankers is enough to drive the orcas to extinction.
The whales can only grieve the loss of their newborns -- but we have the power to give them a voice. There is still time to stop the sale of the dangerous Trans Mountain pipeline -- the Canadian government is furiously trying to close the sale by the end of August. A massive global outcry can stop this. The orcas are relying on us to prevent further tragedies.
The calf was only alive for 30 minutes before it died. And its death is part of a growing reality: the southern resident orca population is in critical danger. As Chinook salmon populations go down, so does the orcas’ vital food source. These incredible whales are already stressed and suffering, but the Trans Mountain pipeline could drive them to extinction.
The Trans Mountain pipeline would pump dirty bitumen from the tar sands -- the largest source of climate destroying greenhouse gas emissions in the Canada -- through the territory of over 100 Indigenous communities. This dangerous pipeline not only threatens the vulnerable orca population but also violates the land and treaty rights of many Indigenous nations.
Indigenous and conservation groups have been fighting to stop the dangerous Trans Mountain pipeline to protect this endangered orca population, and yet the Canadian government has just agreed to buy the pipeline from its original owners -- U.S. oil giant Kinder Morgan.
Building this pipeline is a death sentence for these vulnerable whales -- but we still have time to stop it. Prime Minister Trudeau is vulnerable to international pressure. Together, we can stop this dangerous pipeline and save the whales.
SumOfUs has fought for orcas before -- and won. When a chilling documentary about orca captivity was released, 1.7 million SumOfUs members like you sprang to action to get California to ban orca captivity and stop SeaWorld from profiting off these majestic animals.
Because of your petition, the ban passed and orcas can no longer be held in the state.
We can win this. Prime Minister Trudeau deeply cares about his personal reputation and brand, and that makes him incredibly vulnerable to pressure from us. If we work together now, we can stop this dangerous pipeline and save the whales.
Thanks for all that you do,
Emma, Amelia and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
Killer whale mother still carrying dead newborn 16 days later, CBC, 8 August 2018.
Oil vs orcas: Trans Mountain opponents tell federal court tanker traffic endangers whales, CBC, 04 October 2017.
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