Southern Resident killer whales are critically endangered with only 73 individuals remaining. Starvation from Chinook salmon depletion, vessel noise, and pollution cause ongoing welfare harm to this iconic population.
SRKW welfare is a population-scale crisis caused by simultaneous stressors that individually and collectively compromise individual and group wellbeing. Chronic nutritional stress causes the physical suffering of starvation and the social disruption of reduced group cohesion and survival of vulnerable individuals. Acoustic disturbance from vessels interferes with fundamental foraging ability, compounding nutritional stress. Chemical contamination compromises immune function, causing susceptibility to diseases that healthy, well-nourished animals would resist. Calves born to nutritionally compromised mothers have reduced survival rates. The welfare of this population cannot be separated from salmon recovery, vessel management, and pollution reduction — three interconnected conservation challenges.