Dead baby orca reveals harmful chemical levels
A necropsy of a 10-day-old orca that washed up in Norway in 2017 has revealed that even as calves, these iconic whales are full of harmful chemicals, a new study finds.
The young killer whale (Orcinus orca) was one of eight deceased orcas that researchers in Norway examined. Of these, seven (including the calf) had levels of the banned flame retardant polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) that were high enough to cause health problems in the animals, the researchers found. And all had lower levels of some newer pollutants of which little is known and haven’t yet been banned.
Perhaps the most striking finding was that the neonate killer whale was as polluted as the adults. This means that these new pollutants are also being passed on from mother to calf.
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