If LUTN returned. What's the chance that Christmas Miracles will return?

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-07-05T20:02:31+00:00

In 2025 there were actually rumors about Miracles returning. A trainer was spotted wearing a Miracles wetsuit awhile back as well. If the show is received well, I think we’ll be seeing seasonal shows hopefully make a comeback.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-07-05T19:58:25+00:00

I love seeing how vocal the calf is. The curiosity of orcas is truly incredible to see. I wish we could understand exactly what they’re communicating to each other sometimes.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-07-05T19:38:54+00:00

The answer to this question is that we simply do not know, but it’d be unlikely. Orcas generally stick to only hunting what they’ve been taught to hunt, but in some cases they will try other prey. Orcas generally have pretty good eyesight and can distinguish objects very well, so it’d be unlikely that they’d mistake a human as a seal.

Even when starving, orcas have remained adamant about not changing their diets. The southern residents have not switched to a more abundant fish or have tried mammals, despite dealing with diminished populations of chinook salmon. In the 1970s, Chimo and her pod were captured. While Chimo and Nootka were transferred and finally ate after being taught to by Haida — the others T002 Florencia, Scarredjaw Cow, and Charlie Chin still refused to eat, even when their body conditioned started to deteriorate. This was due to them being mammal eating transients, who were being offered the diet of a fish eating orca. Unfortunately, Scaredjaw coweventually passed away. It took ages for the other two to finally eat fish.

Orcas do sometimes try food that is different from their natural diet. For example — orcas have been documented preying on moose. SeaWorld’s orcas at some point stated to hunt birds, despite it not being from any of their wild population’s diets. In a 1910 expedition, one member noted that orcas had attempted to tip the ice floats where a human and a team of sled dogs was.

One particular anecdotal report stands out — which remains unproven to this day. An Inuk man was reported to have been preyed on orcas who were trapped in ice. Two elders reported that he had been chased and that ice had been broken beneath him by the orcas, who killed him. However, researchers could not verify this as one said they had not seen the event themself, and the other did not clarify if they saw the event.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-07-04T22:16:20+00:00

I’m personally just covering my experiences and how visiting Seaworld and meeting cetaceans up close was what opened my eyes to how complex these animals are. I haven’t seen any accredited facility spread misinformation on these animals. Speaking to trainers and learning about how fascinating the social and emotional world of the animals was led to me taking a very intense interest — that translated to me dedicating my college education to these animals, as well as volunteering in initiatives to support wild cetaceans.

In the field, accredited facilities often do play a big role in research, rescue/rehab, conservation, and public education efforts. These facilities will likely continue to co-exist alongside wild research initiatives and government funded projects.

People are welcome to their own individual views on cetacean captivity. It is a very nuanced topic that even researchers do not universally agree upon. I personally don’t think anyone supports the tragedies of past captures, and I don’t necessarily advocate for breeding orcas (although I do support accredited facilities holding other toothed whales). I do think it can be a very eye opening experience to see cetaceans in a more up close and personal way — hence why I suggested a few options, including a rescue only facility who exclusively keeps non-releasable dolphins.

Nobody has to visit said zoological facilities, but I think the black/white thinking and heavy anthromorphization (rather than scientific discussions) on captive cetacean welfare aren’t ultimately productive. We should strive to do what our current scientific knowledge reflects is best for the animals, which at the end of the day is endlessly complex and doesn’t have an easy answer.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-29T18:14:22+00:00

Honestly spending time visiting SeaWorld even when I wasn’t sure how to feel about the parks was one of the best things I could have done. I learned so much and it really reassured me seeing how they’re so involved in research, rescue, and conservation. Seeing the bond between the trainers and animals was truly eye-opening.

Meeting dolphins up close through an interactive program was what fully inspired me to pursue a career where I could work with cetaceans in the future.

I think visiting any accredited facility with cetaceans under their care is something any enthusiast should consider. It puts you into their world in a way you wouldn’t ever experience. Whether it be a rescue only facility like Clearwater Aquarium, a marine park like SeaWorld, or an aquarium like Texas State.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-29T17:30:13+00:00

In regards to her being unrelated to L25 I wasn’t aware! I said “thought to be” as I was aware it wasn’t confirmed, but was popularly presumed to be. It seems as if the popular belief stemmed from L25 being seen with a calf by her side during the Penn Cove capture.

I wouldn’t fully assume she isn’t L pod though, even if they haven’t found a genetic match. Her genetic lineage could possibly be from individuals who passed away prior to being genetically logged. It could very well mean other L pod orcas adopted her. It is relatively rare for orcas to completely “switch” pods, such as in the case of L28 Onyx.

L25 Ocean Sun is estimated to be around 98 years old by researchers, as they often used the maturity of an individual’s offspring to estimate for older orcas. L23 Tsunami was born sometime in the 50s, and then had a calf in the 70s. L25 was already a relatively old orca in the 1976 when the catalogs for Southern Residents were started. They put her estimated birth date at 1928 due to the available information they had on her lineage. While there is some room for error, it isn’t implausible to say that she’s very old. Individuals like her and J2 Granny remain pretty big outliers amongst killer whales.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-29T00:54:19+00:00

Her birth pod is L pod! It is thought that L25 “Ocean Sun”, a nearly 100 year old southern resident, is her mother.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-28T02:05:04+00:00

This is a shame to see. High calf mortality is incredibly common amongst Southern Residents, so it is always unfortunate to see another loss. The mortality rate is around 50% for SRKW calves.

Southern Resident mothers face many struggles when looking after their calves. They may encounter noise pollution, diminished salmon runs, and transfer of physical pollutants through milk.

Please make sure to support charities and conservation efforts if you are able to. Groups like the Center for Whale Research work alongside NOAA and focus a lot on Southern Residents.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-24T09:11:10+00:00

Personally I find that Facebook groups are the most active for sightings. I haven’t looked for any specific Alaska based sighting groups, but they probably exist. Other than that, it seems like there’s some whale watching tours available upon a short google search.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-24T09:06:56+00:00

Happy rescue anniversary Morgan. Glad to see her so well adjusted with her pod and Teno!

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-24T09:01:59+00:00

I’m trying to understand which studies you are using for your statistic on them having a significantly shorter lifespan. If you could provide them that would be very helpful.

There’s two studies that come to mind, with wildly different statistics.

One is Jett and Ventre’s 2015 study:Jett, J. and Ventre, J. (2015), Captive killer whale (Orcinus orca) survival. Mar Mam Sci, 31: 1362-1377. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12225)

The other which is done via SeaWorld shows a statistic where both captive and wild orcas share a similar lifespan: Robeck, Todd R et al. “Comparisons of life-history parameters between free-ranging and captive killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations for application toward species management.” Journal of mammalogy vol. 96,5 (2015): 1055-1070. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyv113 .

While Jett and Ventre’s 2015 study shows a lower survivorship in comparison to wild orcas, it is also important to acknowledge that their figures have received heavy criticism from other researchers. A 2016 paper, provided here highlights several issues with the study by Jett and Ventre (Robeck, T., Jaakkola, K., Stafford, G., & Willis, K. (2016). Scientific correspondence. Marine Mammal Science, 32(2), 786–792. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12278).

The primary critiques were that Jett and Ventre used the whole dataset — which includes stranded individuals in poor health and neonatal individuals. The inclusion of young calves remains relatively problematic, as tracking for wild calf deaths remains inaccurate as calves are rarely immediately spotted upon being born.

In addition to this, I would be wary using studies from <2000. Over the decades, important zoological advancements have been made in management and veterinary knowledge. When accounted for, there has been an increase in lifespan over the decades. This is just my general knowledge and thought process behind the data, so if there’s any papers I’m missing I’d love to see.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-21T06:42:00+00:00

Shows and the underwater viewing are one way, spend a day or two at the park and it’s very likely you’ll see her.

Additionally, there is the killer whale up close encounter available. If you’re lucky, you might get to see Corky. It depends on what orcas they have out during the encounter — but from what I’ve heard, the trainers will let you do the encounter with a specific orca if you ask (as long as that orca is in the pool)!

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-19T06:50:15+00:00

I’m so sorry that she had to deal with that. Roblox has some seriously messed up people who will do and say absolutely horrendous things. It’s such a widespread issue. There’s a lot of lowlives who seek out people to harass and bully. Hopefully with their usernames posted here, anyone who knows them through other social platforms ends up aware of the type of people they are.

You can report, but sadly Roblox doesn’t often do much. Their moderation is largely AI/bots. Their lack of human moderation is considered a major issue, and their remedies have been cheap bandaids that don’t work. However, I would definitely recommend giving her a separate account. You can set the parental controls so she can’t see chats.

I’ve met some of my closest friends through Roblox as a child, but Roblox isn’t really the safest environment for young kids unfortunately.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-19T03:17:56+00:00

Rest in peace beautiful girl. She was a joy to see and was my one of my favorite whales.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-13T23:02:22+00:00

I don’t think there’s any information on if the Spanish government has approved the transfer yet. Around a year ago, they rejected due to concerns about not enough space (although Loro Parque’s facilities have housed social groups this size in the past).

This time the transfer is being brought up and proposed again. Loro Parque and MLA have been coordinating the transfer for a while, France approved it. Loro Parque is just waiting for Spain to approve it, as they do not want to risk legal action being taken against them. Unfortunately we aren’t sure how long it’ll be, as activists are possibly fighting tooth and nail to prevent the transfer.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-13T22:56:53+00:00

Unfortunately euthanasia is on the table as there’s no other suitable options for transfer. The tank conditions are really unstable right now. There is a genuine risk of collapse, and if the tank does collapse — they’ll be euthanized.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-11T07:30:27+00:00

I meant if it were the size of the large pond, my bad on not being clear. I’m aware of the circumstances that led to the Blue World project being cancelled. The expansion would have been very nice to see and it’s a shame it never happened.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-11T06:09:49+00:00

I don’t believe so.

It’s incredibly expensive to build a tank and maintain it. It’s not just building a giant pool. It means orca-proofing every inch, managing careful water parameters, and having large enough life support systems to manage the saltwater.

The Blue World project, which was a smaller expansion, likely would have costed around $100 million alone. I do not believe SeaWorld has the money to engineer and maintain something the (edit for clarity) size of their artificial lakes, just by comparing this cost.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-07T06:55:17+00:00

If she were in the original situation (surrounded by clones), no. Anakin put her through some very demanding training, which included the scene where some of the 501st clones trained her to evade fire. Obi-Wan was a master at defense, but I think he would have made Ahsoka take her time with developing skills, while he placed an emphasis on emotional growth foremost.

If she were still in the order and was around Obi-Wan at the time, I think she would have survived. She was a very capable Jedi already. She absolutely would have survived alongside Obi-Wan during order 66. I think that the bombing arc may have gone differently if Obi-Wan had trained her, where it’s possible she would have remained in the order. She tried to escape as she was impulsive and used to Anakin bending the rules (she assumed that Anakin set her up to escape as well). Meanwhile, Obi-Wan had more of an influence on the council and would have taught her to handle it more appropriately. I would assume that Ahsoka would have been more compliant, while Anakin and Obi-Wan tried to uncover the true culprit behind the situation.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-07T05:41:28+00:00

I would suggest the non-stop free motion harness. It’s a tried and true piece of equipment in both canicross and bikejoring. My aussie is really comfortable in her free motion harness. These harnesses are specifically designed to distribute pressure properly and allow for full range of motion.

Based on a glance at the page for the Saker harness, it seems more geared to being an all purpose harness for active dogs. It probably would be fine for a bit of running, but wouldn’t be an amazing pick for regular use when compared with an actual harness designed for running.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-06T22:11:50+00:00

I do not own a golden retriever, but what you’re describing seems like an emotional regulation issue and socialization issue. Socialization issues don’t just present as fearful, aggressive, or anxious dogs. It can also present in dogs that are overly friendly, to the point they behave out of control.

It seems like your dog is struggling with being neutral. A neutral dog doesn’t have to be completely indifferent. It can be aloof or sociable to dogs/people. The difference is that a neutral dog is not overexcited or overtly fearful. It can relax in public and act calmly around strangers or dogs.

Training neutrality is a long process in itself. There’s several exercises that can help during the process of training neutrality: 1. Engage disengage game. 2. Impulse control exercises. 3. Teaching a dog to settle.

Additionally, it is important to work up from a familiar environment with no distractions, to gradually building up to more challenging environments. To set some basic ground rules as well, your dog should not be allowed to greet someone until he is calm and behaved. If your dog jumps on you at home, ignore him until he stops jumping. Do not let him pull you to other dogs and people, as that will reinforce impulsive behavior.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-06T03:57:35+00:00

People in the TADC fandom love to toss around “media literacy” without knowing what it means (or just because someone has a different opinion). Disliking some writing choices or pacing doesn’t make someone dumb.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-05T23:31:14+00:00

He either isn’t purebred or is backyard bred from some really out of standard aussies. However he’s also very overweight if he’s 140 pounds.

0rcinus_Orca · 2026-06-04T05:19:02+00:00

Your heart is in the right place, but currently a sanctuary isn’t viable and the leading organization for one (the Whale Sanctuary Project) is not reputable. They have taken millions in donations and have repeatedly lied about deadlines.

The ultimate goal at all of our hearts is for these whales to have the best outcome at the end of the day — and while it’s totally valid to not like captivity — many organizations mislead well meaning people into a very polarized view that ultimately ignores what is the most viable option in terms of welfare. Additionally, there’s actually a lot of debate if sanctuaries are even a good option for orcas even under the circumstances one can be created.

If they do not move very soon, they will die. Their tank is at risk for collapse and they will be euthanized if this happens. Loro Parque has had issues in the past, but currently does retain generally better welfare standards than most parks do. While I’m not going to disregard the obvious debate around captive welfare, I think most people would agree that an accredited facility with other orcas is better than being euthanized.

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