In another special report from KOMO reporter Eric Johnson, it appears the recession of the Puget Sound’s resident orcas may have a lot to do with the shocking local rise in mammal-eating transients.
“Is it a coincidence that transients are thriving and becoming more numerous across the Sound while our beloved residents–J,K and L Pods–are disappearing?” asked Johnson. “I think not.”
Gruesome amateur footage of a transient eating porpoises and sea lions behind a whale-watching boat remind viewers that the first word in their most colloquial name is “killer.”
“They’re monsters — why can’t they just eat salmon like civilized residents do?” local sea lion, Herschel Leonard, told Johnson. “It’s like all they care about is surviving or something.”
Curious to find out what was really going on, Johnson interviewed UW marine biologist Maureen Beardsly.
“The problem here is actually more systemic: Resident orcas only eat salmon, which are less plentiful due to damming and other human interruptions to the local ecosystem,” said Beardsly. “Transients only really eat mammals, so they’re not actually competing for food sources or out to get each other at all.”
Ultimately, Johnson ended the report, dubbed “Puget Sound is Kicking the Chumbucket”, on an ominous note.
“Will the war for survival between the transients and the residents ever end?” asked Johnson. “Only time and Sinclair Broadcasting can tell.”
