Orca Lecture

Orcas off the Oregon coast.\Photo by Gary Ligi.

The Oregon Chapter of the American Cetacean Society is hosting a presentation on “killer whales” at the next installment of the group’s speaker series, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. in the Newport Public Library (35 N.W. Nye). The event is free and open to the public. Marine Discovery Tours and Anchor Pier Lodge in Newport are additional sponsors for this event. 

The speaker will be Mark Leiren-Young, a journalist, filmmaker and author from Victoria, British Columbia. He will discuss his recent book, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World. Moby Doll was the first “Killer Whale” or Orca held in captivity. The book delves into the story of Moby Doll and how far we have come in our relationships with killer whales since that time.

Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That changed when a young killer whale was captured off the west coast of North America and displayed to the public in 1964. Moby Doll—as the whale became known—was an instant celebrity, drawing twenty thousand visitors on the one and only day he was exhibited. He died within a few months, but his perceived gentleness sparked a worldwide crusade that transformed how people understood and appreciated orcas. According to Leiren-Young, because of Moby Doll, we stopped fearing “killer whales” and grew to love and respect “orcas.”

For more information, contact Joy Primrose, ACS Oregon Chapter President, (541) 517-8754, marine_lover4ever@yahoo.com.