The waters of the Pacific Northwest are busy and noisy, which is bad news for orcas. The endangered whales are having to “yell” to make their calls heard over all the marine traffic, which means more energy used, more food needed and even more stress on the orca population.
Environmental and indigenous groups have banded together to sue the Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Services for harming marine mammals with sonar. According to the plaintiffs, the Navy’s military exercises have fatally impacted federally protected species. Now they are calling for limits on the Navy’s access to this biologically rich area.
A Pacific Northwest artist has set up a special underwater sound system so Orca whales can hear him play the guitar, and the whales sing along. Liam Moriarity of KPLU-Seattle recorded the jam session and speaks with the artist about communicating with another species through music.