The closer details ๐
I've had this piece in mind for about a year before putting pen to paper, its such an important story I wanted to make sure I did it justice. ๐
This is John Coe, one of the last two known members of the western community of orca. Unfortunately as both the remaining orca are male this unique ecotype of orca has been deemed as functionally extinct.
Its heartbreaking seeing an animal who is the last of his kind, especially one so powerful and impressive as an orca. ๐ค
As none of the other pod members have been sighted in recent years the worse has been presumed, one of the females 'Lulu' washed ashore a few years ago on the Isle of Tiree - giving insight in to what could have caused this. Lulu's body was heavily contaminated with PCBs, over 100 times the amount which would have been classified as toxic.
As apex predators, orcas are unfortunately susceptible to bioaccumulating dangerous substances. This seems to have prevented the pod from breeding.
Have you ever seen any of the west coast community?
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#orcas#orca#orcaart#orcaartist#orcapainting#savethewhales#whaleconservation#johncoe#killerwhale#hebrides#innerhebrides#isleofskye#penandink#stippling#oceanartist#oceanart#artivism#artforchange#artforconservation#scientificillustration#marinescience#marinebiology#sharkresearch#girlsthatfreedive#girlsthatscuba#dolphin#orcadrawing#isleofmull
Sharks are some of the most widely travelled ocean inhabitants ๐ฆ
Today is world migratory fish day, so I thought I would shine a spotlight on some of the incredible journeys that tagged sharks have made.
'Nicole' the great white shark, (named after Nicole Kidman) was tagged off Gansbaai in South Africa and travelled all the way to Western Australia in 99 days. An incredible journey of 6,897 miles before showing up in the Gulf of Exmouth. This is an incredible journey in itself, but even more impressive was that Nicole made her way back to South Africa in just under 9 months from when she first set off. Recognised by researchers through dorsal ID. ๐ฟ๐ฆ
I get asked a lot over the summer about where our basking sharks go over winter and tagging studies have shown us some answers to this mysterious sharks life. Two sharks were tagged off the Isle of Man by researchers and one crossed the Atlantic to Newfoundland in Canada. This transatlantic migration took 82 days and a huge 9,589km! ๐ฌ๐ง
'Anne' the whale shark also made a huge journey of over 20,000km from the coast of Panama across the Pacific to the Marianas Trench over 841 days! ๐
Another reason why global protection of our seas is essential ๐
Speaking of journeys after a very uncertain week I'm about to embark on a transatlantic crossing of my own! See you on the other side ๐
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#sharks#shark#sharkart#sharkartist#sharkpainting#savesharks#sharkconservation#greatwhiteshark#whiteshark#guadalupe#neptuneislands#gansbaai#penandink#stippling#oceanartist#oceanart#artivism#artforchange#artforconservation#scientificillustration#marinescience#marinebiology#sharkresearch#girlsthatfreedive#girlsthatscuba#sharklover#sharkdrawing#baskingshark#whaleshark
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean but they dine on some of the tiniest organisms! Whale sharks are filter feeders, meaning they eat with their mouths open while swimming through the water column to catch tiny plankton or fish. Amazingly, one shark can sift through 6,000 liters of water an hour.โ
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Their entire lifespan is spent migrating across the ocean in search of food, though the pace is a slow and steady one... their average speed is 3 miles per hour, which is about the average walking speed of an adult person! โ
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With all this traveling, they encounter many obstacles. From ocean plastics, ghost nets, and commercial fishing to the fin trade, this species has been steadily declining. Today, they are considered an endangered species, but innovations in policy are helping the species by implementing restrictions around marine sanctuaries and giving them international protection. โ
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We aim to inspire the next generation of activists and help them discover new resources for sparking creative action. Learn more about our #SeaOfConnections campaign with our partners at @CanvasOfTheWild and how you can get involved at bit.ly/SeaOfConnections (linked in our bio) ๐! #artivism#racingextinction#canvasofthewild