iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I love reading gems like this. If you want more of the story about the dam removals, "The Memory of Fish" is an excellent documentary.

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 25/09/2026

Support our ongoing work while also snagging yourself the opportunity to get on the water to enjoy the wildlife and beauty of the Salish Sea! Gift certificates are available from four different departure locations and are valid through 2027. Browse and bid here: www.32auctions.com/OBI2026

Text over a Salish Sea map that reads "Salish Sea Whale-Watch Experiences. Friday Harbor, Anacortes, Seattle, Victoria. Available in the OBI Auction 9/23 to 9/27".

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

But pinnipeds at artificially created choke points are the problem? 🤔

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I have my ticket already and I'm so looking forward to this event!

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 23/08/2026

A cool moment from yesterday morning of T37A2 Inky passing the Washington State Ferries Samish vessel that was parked at the Orcas Island ferry terminal. Imagine being in your car getting ready to unload and having no idea there's a bull orca that close behind you! 😅 #whalesky #salishsea

A male Bigg's killer whale surfaces just behind a parked Washington State Ferry vessel in the San Juan Islands

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 19/08/2026

Here are where our 8 Northern Resident orca encounters occurred earlier this month, all within ~12 miles as the crow flies! While there have been changes, it's amazing to see the site fidelity NRKW still show in the summer, similar to how we used to see SRKW consistently in Haro Strait. #whalesky

A map showing track lines of the Orca Behavior Institute's eight Northern Resident killer whale encounters in August of 2026, all centered around Blackfish Sound and Johnstone Strait off northern Vancouver Island.

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 12/08/2026

We've had encounters with the A34s this week and noticed yesterday that A80 Hope has a new minor wound that will likely heal into a notch! Zooming in, the rake marks indicate this was from another orca. These types of injuries are common and heal quickly, but he will have a new identifying feature.

Photos of male Northern Resident killer whale A80 hope on August 6 with a pristine dorsal fin and August 11 showing a new notch on his fin.

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 10/08/2026

Here's another look at our July 2026 orca sightings in the Salish Sea: -Bigg's sightings were higher compared to the previous two years. -On July 6 we confirmed at least 74 Bigg's orcas—our highest single-day total of the year! -T100s were the most commonly seen matriline, documented on 16 days.

An infographic summarizing some stats from the Orca Behavior Institute's July 2026 tracking of killer whale sightings throughout the Salish Sea

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Commander RR @tinkertopia.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Here is my latest cartoon submitted to the weekly volcano. Sent in early, wish me luck

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Culling seals and sea lions is not the answer to salmon recovery. It's simply a redux of a previous attempt to reduce competition with the fishing industry, which resulted in decimating the local pinniped populations. #OpposeHR9621 www.bellinghamherald.com/opinion/arti...

bellinghamherald.com

Support salmon recovery options that don’t involve killing predators | Opinion

Seals and sea lions are important top predators within a complex ecosystem. Removing them will have unknown and unintended consequences.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Kicking off 11 days away from work with a walk in the woods (and then by the beach) #60daysto60

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Moonrise over Colvos Passage 7/29/2026 #60daysto60

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

A little bit of low tide exploring this morning...

A white nudibranch with orange tendrils laying on a sand background.

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Sandy Horne @sandyhorne.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Look at those teeny tiny feets! 😄 Those little tootsies are totally out of proportion to the chonky bird. A laughing kookaburra beside the River Murray at Morgan.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I hated Rupert so much that I never even recognized him as Giles 😳

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 16/05/2026

A simultaneous tail slap and inverted tail slap from the T124A4s in Parks Bay this evening - the orca version of a yin-yang? 🤍🖤 After zig-zagging around San Juan Channel, the T124A4s and the T90s turned to target practice. The goal? Launch an auklet in the air with your tail! #orcas #whalesky

Two young killer whales do a tail slap and inverted tail slap side by side in Parks Bay, Shaw Island, Washington

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 30/04/2026

While Jason puts together a new video from our last weekend, we wanted to share this short clip that highlights some cool moments with T46B8, the newest member of the T46Bs matriline. 🎥 This video was filmed by Jason during our time in Saanich Inlet, at the southern end of Vancouver Island!

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Whale Book Clubs are best book clubs!

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 19/04/2026

I guess they live here now? 😅 Another day, another spyhop from the T419s! This time in Bellingham Channel. What made the day even more special is we got to share it with our Bigg's 201 class. You can learn more about our Whale University courses here: www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/whale-univer...

Bigg's killer whale T421 spyhops next to his brother T421 in Bellingham Channel

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 18/04/2026

Earlier this week the T419s exited Puget Sound after spending three weeks there, and today they finally popped up further north! We were able to get out for our second encounter with there. Here, one spyhops afrer a harbor porpoise kill. #orcas #whalesky #salishsea #biggskillerwhales

A spyhopping Bigg's killer whale in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 30/03/2026

Seats are still available for our upcoming Spring Session of Marine Mammals 101 - a 6-week course introducing the basic natural life history of the most frequent marine mammals seen in the Salish Sea. We are accepting scholarship applications and encourage you to apply via the link in comments.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Who should it be? The choice is a difficult one.

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 24/03/2026

Just 4 weeks after joining the league, T419 punched her ticket to the Final Four, ousting fan favorite T19C Spouter by a score of 42-31. Who else will go to the semifinals? Today T2C1 Rocky with his bold saddle patch takes on T46B1 Tread and her intricate one. Vote here: tinyurl.com/obininja26

Orca Behavior Institute's 2026 just-for-fun March Madness bracket features a Bigg's killer whale right-side saddle patch showdown! Who else will go to the semifinals? Either T2C1 Rocky or T46B1 Tread, and your votes today will decide!

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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Did you know the word "senate" comes from the Latin "senex", meaning literally "old" or "old man", and is the root for "senescence"?

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

The kind of March Madness I can get on board with!

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

This is 100% true. I spent a couple hours in the wind and sideways rain Thursday afternoon trying to catch a sighting of these mysterious whales.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

They made it as far south as Tacoma this evening!

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 07/03/2026

50 years ago today, 6 Bigg's killer whales were herded into Budd Inlet near Olympia in Puget Sound. The whales were originally fated for potential life in captivity & display in marine aquaria but narrowly escaped their fate. Learn more about it here: www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-updates...

The top of the graphic shows the March 9, 1976, edition of The Daily Olympian's coverage of the Budd Inlet captures; the bottom shows the extended lineage of T46 Wake and her descendants, known thanks to decades of research.

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Nate Bowling @natebowling.com · 03/03/2026

Our school made the decision to continue with remote learning through at least the end of spring break, which starts next Friday. They will then reassess based on events. That's a green light for us to go but again: THERE ARE NO FLIGHTS. State is saying to leave, but THERE ARE NO FLIGHTS.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

See? The Seattle Times even got it right...

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Could we please get this correct...the location was on the Key Peninsula, not anywhere near the City of Tacoma. Maybe as the crow flies, but not really that close even then. Closer to Gig Harbor or Bremerton or, depending on where on the Key Peninsula, it could be closer to Olympia.

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Honestly #Tacoma, why fireworks tonight???

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Nate Bowling @natebowling.com · 25/01/2026

The first slave patrols in what is now US soil began in 1704 in South Carolina. That today roving bands of agents are forcing people to "show their papers" or face being snatched into bondage is like getting an awful postcard from our past. buttondown.com/natebowling/...

buttondown.com

Slave Patrols and ICE: A Shared History

America's authoritarian approach to immigration enforcement is an echo of its past

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 19/01/2026

Orca Network is hosting their annual Ways of Whales workshop with a wonderful line up of guest speakers, and we've been invited to bring some educational materials to join in and table at this event. Stop by and snag our new T19B Galiano sticker! More details here: givebutter.com/c/e8NM4k

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Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium @ptdefiancezoo.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

PUPDATE: Swimming lessons are officially underway behind the scenes… with mixed opinions. 🦦💦 Asian small-clawed otter mom Pintar is confident her pup is ready and gives him a gentle toss into the water. Dad Sebastian is not so sure and immediately tries to rescue him. 💙

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Dorene @waywardscootergirl.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

A little bit of adorable to end the day on.

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Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 05/01/2026

As we wrap up logistics for 2025, we've taken some time to reflect on what OBI has accomplished over the last year. 2025 was fantastic, in large part thanks to our ever-growing community, and we are continually grateful for all of it! Here are a few highlights "by the numbers".

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