Granny, world's oldest known orca, presumed dead

SEATTLE, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Dr. Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research said the world's oldest known Orcinus orca -- called J2 but affectionately known as Granny -- is missing and presumed dead.

Granny is believed to be as old as 105. In 1976, Balcomb first observed and photographed Granny, who lived in an area known as the Salish Sea near Vancouver and Seattle. Balcomb said he last saw Granny on Oct. 12 when she swam further north of her whale group, known as a pod.

"Perhaps other dedicated whale-watchers have seen her since then," Balcomb said in a statement. "But by year's end she is officially missing from the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, and with regret we now consider her deceased."

Researchers were recently studying Granny's pod to gain insight on menopause, as only humans, orca and short-finned pilot whales are known to undergo menopause in the animal kingdom.

"It was inevitable that this day was going to come but it is very sad news and a further blow to this population," Darren Croft, a researcher from the University of Exeter who studied Granny, told BBC News, adding that Granny in her later years had "been helping her family group to survive by sharing her knowledge of when and where to find food."

Balcomb said researchers saw Granny thousands of times in the past 40 years, recently becoming the lead of her pod. Croft suggested Granny was a survivor.

"She lived through the live captures and in recent years her world has changed dramatically with dwindling salmon stocks and increases in shipping threatening the survival of this incredible population," Croft said. "Although J2 is gone we will continue to benefit for many decades to come, from the incredible data collected on her life over the last 40 years by the Center for Whale Research."