[Desmond]

After 108 days' absence in the Salish sea, the 75 remaining Southern Residents returned to their traditional summer home. All appeared healthy, thankfully... except one.

K21, also known as Cappuccino, a 35 year old bull in the smallest pod, was found completely alone and in horrific condition, presumably hours from death. His towering six-foot dorsal was completely collapsed over, covering part of his unique checkmark-shaped saddle. He showed no clear injury; he was likely a victim of starvation or terminal disease. The Canadian government has declared that he is presumed deceased as of July 29.
Update: After further analysis, some researchers are blaming cancer for Cappuccino's decline and death, but there is not much evidence and the source is... Questionable.

Not long after he was spotted, NOAA finally moved to protect more of their range, but the main problem for the population is that their preferred prey, Chinook salmon, is hard to come by nowadays. Four dams block the Snake River, cutting down the number of salmon able to breed. Pollution threatens the ones that do manage to hatch and reach the Salish Sea, and overfishing cuts out much of the lucky ones that make it to adulthood. The Army Corp of Engineers has made no move to remove the dams, pollution remains to be a problem, and little has been done to curb the fishing industry. So, with the food just about gone, the orcas seem to have all but abandoned that part of their range, leaving it open for the mammal-eating Transient population to flourish.

Cappuccino was the last of his matriline; His mother, Kiska, died in 2003, preceded by his older brother, Pacheena, who had displayed a fiercely protective nature over his family, in 1994. Cappuccino remained close to his oldest sister, Raggedy, until her own passing in 2012. He spent his remaining years traveling with Opus and her son, Sonata. Genetic testing has determined that he was not able to sire a known calf before his death, though he was, at one point, the only mature male in all of K Pod. It's... rather poignant, to note that he returned home to die, and J, K, and L Pods had left the area again before the day's end... almost as if to escort him. At risk of anthropomorphizing a species that we know leads deeply emotional lives - deeper than even we can comprehend, it seems - it appears the pods met that day for a reason.*

He was popular with whale watchers because of his bright, open saddle and small nick on the trailing end of his dorsal fin, about 2/3-3/4 of the way down. He was very recognizable, which in turn made it easier to identify the individuals around him. The next oldest bull in K Pod after him is K26, Lobo, who has a very straight fin with a rounded tip. The new oldest bulls in the Southern Resident population are J26 Mike, J27 Blackberry, and L85 Mystery.

Rest in peace, big guy. Be with your family again. And on behalf of humanity, I'm so sorry.

*We do know that the pods meet up for births and deaths. This hypothesis - again, a bit of a risky one, because a scientist should never anthropomorphize the animals they study - may not actually be too far off of the mark.

[TheCrowAtMidnight]

Always love your orca drawings, rip Cappuccino