Puget Sound

185 Stories

Environment

Famous orca mom carries another dead calf around Puget Sound

Two newborn calves joined the Northwest's endangered orcas in December. By New Year’s Eve, one of them was dead — and being carried around on its mother’s nose.
John Ryan
Environment

Endangered orcas’ circle of life: one baby dies, another is born

A baby orca at first believed to be J61, which hadn't been seen for nearly a week, turned out to be a brand-new baby instead. Researchers now presume J61 is dead.
John Ryan
Environment

Newborn orca brings holiday cheer — and fear — to Seattle whale watchers

What might be the world’s most famous orca has given birth again.
John Ryan
Animals

'Sometimes you only get one shot.' Restoring salmon habitat and rejuvenating a South Seattle beach

Logs are being adjusted and plans are in place for floating gardens to be deployed into the cove of Be’er Sheva Park in South Seattle. The goal is to bolster fish habitat as part of a larger project to rejuvenate a Lake Washington beach that serves historically Black and diverse neighborhoods.
Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez
Environment

Too much cyanide in Puget Sound? EPA to review state regulations

Federal officials have agreed to take another look at how Washington state regulates a deadly poison — cyanide.
John Ryan
Environment

Endangered Northwest orca population drops as 3 males die

Three members of the Northwest’s population of endangered orcas died over the past year.
John Ryan
Environment

Sister seas on opposite shores face same foe: polluted runoff

“Why do we think it takes 40 or 50 years to fix an estuary, a series of rivers, or even a bay? If you stop putting shit in these rivers, they get better fast."
John Ryan
Animals

Why the Salish Sea's new baby orca surprised researchers
Natalie Akane Newcomb

KUOW Staff
Environment

River otter drags child off dock, under water in Bremerton

A river otter pulled a small child off a dock and dragged it underwater at the Bremerton Marina Thursday morning.
John Ryan
Environment

Shhh! The orcas can’t hear their dinner

When an orca hunts salmon, it clicks and buzzes. It sends a beam of sounds from its nasal passages into the murky depths in hopes that the sound waves will bounce back and reveal the location of its next nutritious meal. Those hopes are often dashed when noise from passing vessels drowns out orcas’ sonar signals.
John Ryan

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