COUPEVILLE — Learn about the whales of the Pacific Northwest on Jan. 24 at the Orca Network’s annual Ways of Whales workshop.
Marine mammal experts will discuss the different types of whales that live or migrate to the Northwest, what they eat and threats to their health and habitat. This year, the workshop will focus on endangered southern resident orca community, which has lost seven members from last year to this. Researchers will also discuss recent scientific discoveries.
The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Coupeville Recreation Hall at 901 NW Alexander St. It costs $20 per person.
Presentations will include:
• Peggy Krahn of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center on the effects of toxins on orcas and changes in prey eaten by the southern resident orcas,
• Pete Schroeder of Global Research and Rescue on what researchers learned from reuniting the orphaned northern resident orca “Springer” with its pod, as well as studies on bacteria and other pathogens found in orcas.
• James Goedert of the University of Washington’s Burke Museum on his discovery of fossils from the earliest-known whales.
For information, log onto Orca Network at http://www.orcanetwork.org. For reservations, e-mail or call 360-678-3451.
