After low winter temperatures battered multiple regions of the country with snow, heroes in Washington, DC, stood up to be accounted for.
With major thoroughfares taking priority for District plows and employees, the ‘DC Snow Heroes’ hit the blocks, shovels in hand, to clear sidewalks for the elderly, the young, the disabled, or even just the overwhelmed.
Organized by the mayor’s office, Serve DC is a volunteer program that includes a special segment whose mission it is to shovel snow and clear ice—both of which had accumulated in the District at the start of this week.
“As a community, we have to stick together, we have to do what we can do for one another, and it’s a lot of people that [are] unable to do things, so that’s where we come in,” David Ford, one of the Snow Heroes, told DC News Now.
“Service is the gateway to all success,” remarked another volunteer when asked why he volunteers his time shoveling snow.
The storm had dumped mounds of dry snow 10 inches high on Sunday, which promptly refroze over the evening, making it treacherous to walk on.
Volunteers cleared both the snow and the ice in front of homes like that of Shirley Thomas, a DC resident who needs a crutch to get around.
“It’s not too many people in the world like that,” she said watching the Snow Heroes do their heroics.
Organized by the mayor’s office of Muriel Bowser, anyone living in the area looking to be a hero, as David Bowie said, just for one day, can go to the Serve DC website.
“It is outstanding… This is really neighbors helping your neighbors, showing the kind of community and love that the mayor thrives off that we are building, and making sure that we sustain a district,” said Lamont Carey, Director of Community Affairs for the Mayor’s Office.
The good news in this story is that people are helping people. The JohnKu discusses Service. I hope you have a super weekend.
St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas and H-E-B grocery chain have collaborated to create the first Tiny Forest in Austin and Central Texas to help improve canopy cover in communities throughout Austin.
St. Edward’s University and H-E-B have partnered to grow Austin and Central Texas’s first Tiny Forest using the Miyawaki Method. (Courtesy St. Edward’s University)
How it works
On Jan. 17, H-E-B team members, community volunteers, university students, faculty, and staff joined together to plant 54 square meters with 164 trees and shrubs.
The project uses the Miyawaki Method, an approach that enables trees to grow 10 times faster and seclude 10 times more carbon than traditional tree planting methods.
Arborist and sustainability coordinator Roy Johnson explained how the method differs from conventional tree planting.
One of the most noticeable differences in a Miyawaki forest is that the seedlings are planted at very high densities. This replicates the regeneration process that occurs in a natural forest when a clearing in the canopy opens up due to a larger tree falling. The saplings grow very fast to compete for the light, and then natural selection will favour the fastest-growing individuals and act to thin out the trees. The result is a densely packed pioneer forest that grows in 20 to 30 years instead of taking 150 to 200 years. This has obvious benefits for projects that are working to maximize a forest’s carbon sequestration potential or recreate habitat for biodiversity and wildlife.
“We can use this method to provide all of the benefits of conventional tree plantings, such as air and ground water filtration, erosion control, and cooling the air through evapotranspiration,” Johnson said. “However, using this specific and detailed method, trees can be expected to grow much faster than conventional plantings.”
Through this method, the trees planted at the event are expected to reach full maturity within the community’s lifetime, as stated in a news release.
Natural resources intern Veronica Chavez said the project will reduce the negative effects of urbanization on the local community.
“Even on just a local level, a tiny forest can improve air quality, help with stormwater management, and provide a cooling effect for the surrounding areas,” Chavez said. “It also becomes a habitat for local wildlife and pollinators, encouraging increased biodiversity in the area.”
On Jan. 17, community members, students, faculty and H-E-B partners joined together to plant 164 trees and shrubs for the Tiny Forest. (Courtesy St. Edward’s University)
The background
According to the news release, the Miyawaki Method crafted by botanist Akira Miyawaki was inspired by his time witnessing large-scale deforestation from World War II and overdevelopment in Japan.
The project is a proof-of-concept model that can be shared with overdeveloped communities in need of the benefits of trees, such as areas within the eastern crescent of Austin, which typically receive low tree equity scores.
The event marks the second year of the university’s collaboration with H-E-B through its Trees for Texans program, which aims to support healthier environments for schools, parks, and communities throughout Texas.
Get involved
Community members can directly help the Tiny Forest project by participating in a fringe mantel planting in the fall or reaching out to sustainability@stedwards.edu for information about how to plant a tiny forest in their community. Interested individuals can also stay updated with the forest by checking out its Instagram @Seu_food_forest.
Quote of note
“These tiny forests won’t check every box needed for climate change mitigation and environmental justice, but they have the ability to be a massive boost to both,” Johnson said. “It seemed like we should jump on the opportunity to start introducing this concept to Austin sooner rather than later. We are very excited about the potential and very pleased that the ball has started rolling.”
The good news in this story is that humans have found out how to quickly reforest the land for the betterment of all living things. Today’s JohnKu talks about discovery from chaos. I hope you have a super weekend.
Today’s good news story comes from The Cool Down newsletter. Thank you to Noelle Granger for sending it to me.
Experts thrilled by recovery of beloved US creatures: ‘It was really successful’
By Drew Jones
Wild turkeys are thriving across Illinois in what one wildlife expert has dubbed “one of the greatest wildlife management success stories in modern times.”
Once entirely extirpated from the state in the early 20th century due to overhunting and habitat loss, wild turkeys have returned to nearly every corner of the Prairie State through sustained restoration efforts that began in the 1950s.
Wild turkeys, native to North America and historically abundant across the Midwest, were completely killed off in Illinois, according to the Chicago Tribune. But decades of careful work by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and partners changed that.
“People had the idea that these natural resources would last forever,” Luke Garver, wild turkey project manager for the IDNR, told the publication.
Conservationists employed rocket-propelled nets to help capture birds and move them to different areas. They even used a multi-state collaboration approach to move birds from neighboring states and even “trade” wild turkeys for river otters in states that were looking to restore that population.
Over time, populations expanded naturally as habitat conditions improved and birds reproduced across the state’s forests.
“It was really successful,” Garver said. “It’s pretty remarkable how well these birds do when they’re given good habitat.
This comeback highlights why animal conservation and biodiversity are so important. Every species plays a role in the complex web of life that supports healthy ecosystems.
Turkeys help disperse seeds, control insect populations, and serve as prey and predators in food webs. Their interactions with plants and insects also help sustain soil health and nutrient cycles that benefit countless other organisms.
Biodiversity isn’t just good for nature, it’s crucial for humans too. Healthy ecosystems provide services we all rely on: clean water, fertile soil for crops, carbon storage that moderates climate change, and even our food supply. When species like wild turkeys rebound, it signals that these systems are functioning well.
Similar efforts are happening elsewhere. In California, for example, conservationists are trying to restore bighorn sheep populations.
The turkey’s triumphant return in Illinois is a powerful reminder that intentional conservation can restore nature’s balance. Preserving biodiversity ultimately supports both wildlife and human communities alike.
The good news in this story is that with effort, even potential extinction can be overcome. Today’s JohnKu talks about the impossible. I hope you have a super weekend.
Today’s good news story comes from CBS. It was sent by Resa McConaghy. Thanks, Resa, for sharing
Elusive, endangered wild cat seen in Thailand for the first time in 30 years
An elusive wild cat long feared extinct in Thailand has been rediscovered three decades after the last recorded sighting, conservation authorities and an NGO said Friday.
Flat-headed cats are among the world’s most threatened wild felines, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimating that just 2,500 adults exist in the wild. The rare animals are about the size of a domestic cat and have distinctive, round, close-set eyes.
Flat-headed cats are found only in Southeast Asia and typically live in dense wetland ecosystems like peat swamps and freshwater mangroves. Such areas are under threat: Thailand’s peat swamp forests have been heavily fragmented, mainly due to land conversion and agricultural expansion, said veterinarian and researcher Kaset Sutasha of Kasetsart University. The last confirmed sighting of a flat-headed cat in Thailand was in 1995.
Last year, the wild cat conservation organization Panthera and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation began an ecological survey using camera traps in the country’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary.
A flat-headed cat. Warmlight / Getty Images
Flat-headed cats were detected 29 times during the survey, according to Panthera and Thai officials. It was not immediately clear how many individuals the detections represent, as the species lacks distinctive markings, so counting is tricky. Pattanarangsan said the survey’s findings suggest a relatively high concentration of the species.
The footage included a female flat-headed cat with her cub — a rare and encouraging sign for a species that typically produces only one offspring at a time. The species has also struggled to reproduce across isolated areas, contributing to its endangerment.
Kaset, who was not involved in the survey but has researched wild cats for years, said the “rediscovery is exciting” but is only a “starting point” for future conservation efforts.
“What comes after this is more important — how to enable them to live alongside us sustainably, without being threatened,” Kaset said.
A flat-headed cat seen hunting along the Kinabatangan river, Sabah, Malaysia. Getty Images/iStockphoto
In addition to Thailand, flat-headed cats can be found in Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo, according to the Felidae Conservation Fund. They have a diet dominated by fish, frogs, and shrimp, and are nocturnal, elusive animals.
“Much about the species remains a mystery because of their rarity and the difficulty of accessing their habitats,” Panthera conservation program manager Rattapan Pattanarangsan said.
The good news in this story is that once again Nature works to recover from human interference. Today’s JohnKu talks about recovery. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
BREAK ANNOUNCEMENT – I will be off Saturday and Sunday so there will be no shenanigans with the coffee machine or views of the neighborhood. I’ll be back Monday.
Today’s good news story comes from Fox News and was sent to me by good friend Tom Okragly. Thanks, Tom.
Wisconsin officials recently announced the discovery of a trove of ancient canoes in an underwater “parking lot” of sorts — including one that predates the Pyramids of Giza.
The Wisconsin Historical Society is studying the unusually large cache of canoes after identifying 14 vessels preserved beneath Lake Mendota. (Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society; Wisconsin Historical Society)
The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) announced this month that its experts have identified 14 canoes in Madison’s Lake Mendota so far, six of which were found this spring. The WHS worked with the First Nations of Wisconsin during the research process, a release noted.
The WHS also recovered a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe in 2021 and retrieved another 3,000-year-old one in 2022.
All in all, the oldest canoe is 5,200 years old, while the most recent one dates back to the 1300s A.D. The vessels were used to catch fish, to make travel more efficient, and to facilitate trade, the WHS said.
“The landscape around Madison lakes looked very different before European settlers arrived in the area and conducted terraforming to suit modern transportation, with large bluffs that made traveling over the land difficult in some areas,” the statement noted.
The canoes survived because they remained buried in deep water for millennia, according to a maritime archaeologist. (Wisconsin Historical Society; Dean Witter, Wisconsin Historical Society)
“Canoe travel may have been more efficient for certain routes for the communities who lived in the area spanning thousands of years before Wisconsin became a state,” the statement also said.
WHS maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen told Fox News Digital the canoes were preserved by being buried under Lake Mendota for thousands of years.
“The canoes have all been found eroding from a bank underwater, in about 25 feet of water,” said Thomsen. “They survived because they remained buried for so many millennia.”
There are no current plans to retrieve the 14 canoes that remain underwater, Thomsen added. The two that have been retrieved, however, are slated to be included in a museum display at the Wisconsin History Center in 2027.
The canoes’ construction reflects early forms of bioengineering long before the modern term existed, said experts. (Wisconsin Historical Society)
“The oldest Lake Mendota canoe identified to date was likely crafted sometime around 3000 B.C., before the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in Egypt, and around the time of the invention of writing in Sumer,” she added.
“Constructed of red oak, it is now the oldest dugout canoe recorded from the Great Lakes region and the third oldest in eastern North America.”
The cache is rare in the Midwest, as such discoveries are more common in the Southeast.
The WHS also said the canoes were made of either red or white oak — curious choices, as they tend to be water-absorbent.
Thomsen speculated that the builders may have intentionally selected trees that were damaged, or may have damaged them on purpose to impact their growth cycle.
“We think of bioengineering as a modern practice, but the samples we have suggest this may have been taking place long before the term was coined in the mid-20th century,” she said.
“Archaeology is kind of like putting together pieces of a puzzle, and the more pieces you can find, the better you can start to form a picture of what was going on and why during a period of history,” Thomsen added.
“This is the only cache of canoes that has so far been discovered in Wisconsin,” said maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen. (Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)
Bill Quackenbush, a tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation, said the project “gives us a meaningful opportunity to gain a deeper perspective on our heritage and our ancestors.”
He added, “It is important that we document and share these stories, so that our youth feel that connection to our past.”
“Protecting and preserving this knowledge ensures that the next generation understands where we come from and why these stories matter. That is why we share them and continue this work.”
The good news in this story is that ancient artifacts are being preserved and studied for any new learning. Today’s JohnKu talks about history. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
An Australian zoo credited with saving 7 native species from extinction aims to continue its vital work by rewilding a 3,050-acre tract of farmland.
The aim was to plant Box-Gum trees across the cleared land to act as a corridor to connect existing wildlife habitats.
The Taronga Zoo Conservation Society (TZCS) then plans to release platypus, koalas, spotted quolls, and the Endangered regent honeyeater.
The farmland can be found on the Nandewar Range, part of the Australian continent’s Great Dividing Range, in New South Wales. It’s about 100 times bigger than the zoo that society maintains in the Sydney Harbor.
The TZCS estimates that around 1 million seedlings will be needed to restore native tree cover, after which they expect some species to return quickly.
CEO Cameron Kerr told ABC News AU that experts would then monitor how these native species recolonize the area and decide how to manage the species, expected to take a decade or more to fully reclaim their ancestral territory.
“What we are going to do is first of all establish the habitat and get the ecosystem looking after itself so that pest management and weed management will decline over time as the habitat becomes healthy,” Mr. Kerr said.
A regent honeyeater – supplied, Taronga Conservation Society
The landscape, in the Nandewar Range – supplied, Taronga Conservation Society
“At the right time we will assess what wildlife is coming in from outside and what wildlife we need to re-introduce.”
TZCS has extensive experience in reintroducing native species. ABC claims that 60,000 animals, from tadpoles to larger mammals like koalas, have been bred, reared, and released through the society’s 16 targeted breeding programs.
At the same time, rewilding landscapes will be a first for the zoo, and the Nandewar Rangeland is the only such project since it transformed 300 acres into the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.
Directors of the program are aware that the landscape isn’t free of invasive, predatory animals such as foxes and pigs, so feral animal control will have to be incorporated into plans. Kerr said that Australia can no longer rely on the forest landscapes it has left to protect native, threatened wildlife.
The nation has to actively begin restoring native forests if citizens want the continent’s panoply of curious native animals to survive long into the future.
The good news in this story is that native forests are being reestablished at the direction of zoo personnel with a look to the future. Today’s JohnKu talks about vision. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Singing has been linked to numerous benefits for health, well-being, disease resistance, and recovery from injury. Still, when singing in a group, these benefits are greater than those of solo singers.
The research, though not new, still makes for a pretty darn good reason to join a caroling group or church choir for the holidays, or to take New Year’s Eve as an opportunity for some karaoke.
In this era of research into health and wellbeing, with more information available than ever, and expert voices contradicting recommendations at every turn—even those long thought to be made up of ‘settled science,’ it pays to set down some first principles.
Here’s one that serves as an effective guiding light in almost all situations: human health is the most resilient when existing in accord with our species’ evolutionary history.
Homo sapiens is a social animal, with virtually every facet of his lifestyle dependent in nature on his fellow man. Given that social isolation is deadly to our species, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that harmonizing our voices together makes us feel better than belting out a song on our own.
Some scientists believe humans actually sang before we could speak: that we gradually expanded our capacity for vocalizations by mimicking the tones of nature.
Singing activates the vagus nerve, which modulates our body’s ability to calm itself. The activation is done through long and slow expirations and inhalations needed to sing whole verses and long notes, which doubles up with a thorough activation of numerous neural pathways on both sides of the brain, and a release of feel-good endorphins.
David Cox, exploring this topic for the BBC, wrote that singing also produces other measurable physical effects, including regulation of the heart rate and blood pressure. Singing in groups or choirs, Cox says, has even been found to boost \immune function in ways that simply listening to the same music cannot.
Some of this might be explained by the demands singing puts on the pulmonary system, which has been calculated to be as demanding as a brisk intensity walk. With cardiovascular exertion, there is health and greater physiological alignment, including in the immune system.
However, science has also shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together in a way not seen in team sports, for example. This is called the ice-breaker effect, and very much captures the fact that singing can reveal the interior character of a person more than chit-chat can.
“I can’t speak for all the cultures of the world, but in the West, singing seems very much an extension of speech,” said GNN’s managing editor Andy Corbley, who was trained as a singer and worked as a children’s vocal coach before entering journalism.
“In my work, I found the children who were most eager to tell me about their life outside of classes were also the ones who projected their voice the most in the studio. I had one student who was a selective mute, and who wouldn’t speak with me—couldn’t even say hello—but after 90 minutes of coaching, was able to sing the words she ordinarily wouldn’t speak.”
“To my mind, it shows how singing begins with trust: trust in yourself that your words have value and power, and trust that those around you will listen to those words. That’s a very powerful, sort of, social contract.”
The good news about this story is it is good for the health to sing with others instead of avoiding them. Today’s JohnKu talks about getting together. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
In time for the holidays comes the incredible story of a stranger using GoFundMe to change a life.
Encountering 88-year-old Army Veteran Ed Bambas working at a local grocery store in Detroit, Australian content creator and TikToker Samuel Weidenhofer decided to try and raise some money to allow the man to retire.
The veteran, who lost his wife some years ago, works 8 hours a day 5 days a week after losing his pension when General Motors went bankrupt.
But Americans being one of the giv-iest breeds on the planet, the GoFundMe exploded with interest, such that, despite the moonshot goal being set at $1 million, a life-changing $1.5 million has been donated in just a few days.
A Mr. William Ackman donated $10,000 to this veteran who he never met, but it’s reflective of the overall response, both in the donations and the words of support section, where between veterans and active duty service members, and the general public at large, the message was clear: we’ve got your six.
“Every dollar we raise will go directly to supporting him: helping with living expenses, medical care, and the small joys that make life meaningful,” Weidenhofer wrote.
“Ed fought for his country, he worked his whole life, and now it’s our turn to fight for him. If you’ve ever been moved by someone’s courage, if you believe our elders and veterans deserve dignity, please consider contributing. Even sharing this story can help us reach more people who want to make a difference.”
Having met the fundraising goal, Weidenhofer is working around the clock to set up a bank account and trust in Bambas’ name where the money can be deposited safely and securely.
In a December 2nd update, Weidenhofer said that there is a planned surprise event for Bambas, who doesn’t know he will be able to retire with dignity after a life of hard work.
The good news in this story is how many were touched and then wanted to help Ed Bambas. Today’s JohnKu talks about generosity. I hope you have a wonderful week.
This week’s good news story is from Upworthy magazine. I ran a story about French Beavers on October 17th, 2025. Here is the link to that story if you missed it. This post is an update on what’s going on in America. Thanks to Noelle Granger for sending me this article.
Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. Six years later, here are the results.
Their engineering feats are pretty dam incredible.
It’s not easy being a river in the desert under the best of circumstances. The ecosystem exists in a very delicate balance, allowing water sources to thrive in the harsh conditions. These water sources in otherwise extremely dry areas are vital to the survival of unique wildlife, agriculture, and even tourism, as they provide fresh drinking water for nearby residents.
But man-made problems like climate change, overfarming, and pollution have made the job even tougher in some areas. Rivers in Utah and Colorado, part of the Colorado River Basin, have been barely surviving the extremely harsh drought season. When riverbeds get too dry, fish and other aquatic creatures die off, and wildfire risk increases dramatically.
About six years ago, one team of researchers had a fascinating idea to restore the health of some of Utah’s most vulnerable rivers: Bring in the beavers.
Beaver on riverbank. Canva Photos
In 2019, master’s student Emma Doden and a team of researchers from Utah State University began a “translocation” project to bring displaced beavers to areas like Utah’s Price River, in hopes of reviving the river.
Why beavers? Well, it just makes dam sense! (Sorry.)
In all seriousness, beaver dams restrict the flow of water in some areas of a river, creating ponds and wetlands. In drought-stricken areas, fish and other wildlife can take refuge in the ponds while the rest of the river runs dry, thus riding out the danger until it rains again.
When beavers are present in a watershed, the benefits are unbelievable: Better water quality, healthier fish populations, better nutrient availability, and fewer or less severe wildfires.
It’s why beavers have earned the title of “keystone species,” or any animal that has a disproportionate impact on the ecosystem around them.
Pbs Nature Swimming GIF by Nature on PBS Giphy
Doden and her team took beavers who were captured or removed from their original homes due to being a “nuisance,” interfering with infrastructure, or being endangered, and—after a short period of quarantine—brought them to the Price River.
Despite the research team’s best efforts, not all the translocated beavers have survived or stayed put over the years. Some have trouble adapting to their new home and die off or are killed by predators, while others leave of their own accord.
But since 2019, enough have stayed and built dams that the team is starting to see the results of the effort. In fact, beaver projects just like this one have been going on all over the state in recent years.
The water levels in the river are now the healthiest they’ve been in years. The fish are thriving, and Utah residents are overjoyed with the experiment’s results.
According to an early 2025 column in The Salt Lake Tribune (i.e. six years after the beaver translocation began) the revitalization of the Price River has “helped save [our] Utah town.”
“A tributary of the Colorado River, the Price River runs through downtown Helper,” wrote column authors Lenise Peterman and Jordan Nielson. “On a warm day, you’re likely to find the river filled with tourists and locals kayaking, tubing, and fishing along its shore. A decade ago, it was hard to imagine this scene—and the thriving recreation economy that comes with it—was possible.”
Of course, it wasn’t JUST the beavers. Other federal water cleanup investments helped remove debris, break down old and malfunctioning dams, and place tighter regulations on agricultural grazing in the area, which depleted vital plant life.
But the experts know that the beavers, and their incredible engineering work, are the real MVPs.
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price RiverPublic Domain
In other drying, struggling rivers in the area, researchers are bringing in beavers and even creating manmade beaver dams. They’re hoping that the critters will take over the job as the rivers get healthier.
Utah’s San Rafael River, which is in bleak condition, is a prime candidate. In one area of the river, a natural flood inspired a host of beavers to return to the area, and “riparian habitat along that stretch had increased by 230%, and it had the most diverse flow patterns of anywhere on the river,” according to KUER.
It’s hard to believe that beavers nearly went extinct during the heyday of the fur-trapping industry and continued to struggle as they were considered nuisances and pests. Now, they’re getting the respect they deserve as engineering marvels, and their populations have rebounded due to better PR and conservation programs.
It’s about dam time!
The good news in this story is that humans are finally letting nature work her miracles. Today’s JohnKu talks about nature. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
An experienced wildlife photographer with a penchant for marine mammals, such as whales, recently witnessed a lone seal miraculously survive a hunt by 8 killer whales.
Far more than just bearing witness, it was more or less the photographer’s presence that allowed it to happen, as the seal escaped the jaws of the hunters by clambering up onto the boat.
Shared with AP, Charvet Drucker told her story of the encounter that began last week on a whale-watching boat. About 40 miles northwest of Seattle, in the Salish Sea, she spotted a pod of orcas, also called killer whales, and observed behavior suggesting they were hunting.
Quickly attaching her telescopic lens, the orcas splashed into action, attempting to secure a meal out of an adult seal that was thrown into the air among the scrum of black and white bodies. Her shutter rang out in her ears as Drucker observed what she thought were the seal’s last moments of life.
Suddenly, the pod altered its course and headed straight for the boat, and she realized they were still hunting the seal. Following marine life regulations, the skipper killed the engines as the pod approached to avoid harming them.
That’s when the seal flopped out of the water and onto the flat panel at the back of the boat like it would a piece of ice in the sea.
“You poor thing,” Drucker can be heard saying, as the seal looks up at her. “You’re good, just stay, buddy.”
In the wild, orcas have ways of dislodging seals from tiny icebergs, and they went straight into their playbook, even though the safe haven was a boat, not an iceberg. They began to move toward the boat and execute a series of staggered dives that create subsurface waves that can rock a seal off its perch.
First documented in 1980, the orca’s strategy worked, but none among them were fast enough to catch the seal during the brief moments that it fell back into the water. After about 15 minutes, the orcas left.
It’s not the first time Drucker has witnessed this behavior, and she usually accepts the natural order of prey-predator interactions and is happy when the orcas get to eat.
“I’m definitely Team Orca, all day, every day. But once that seal was on the boat, I kind of turned (into) Team Seal,” she said in an interview with AP last Thursday.
Apparently, orcas near Washington that feed on seals are migratory, or “transient” orcas, and tend to be better fed than “resident” orcas that seem to specialize in eating salmon.
Watch the video
The good news in this story is the seal lived to see another day. Also, one missed seal is not a big deal for the orcas. They will find more. Today’s JohnKu talks about the natural way of things. I hope you have a super weekend.
