{"id":44434,"date":"2024-12-04T09:15:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T08:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9181d213-2c76-4f87-a895-191149448a86"},"modified":"2024-12-04T10:27:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T09:27:24","slug":"the-urgent-reason-scientists-are-collecting-orca-breath-in-the-salish-sea","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/the-urgent-reason-scientists-are-collecting-orca-breath-in-the-salish-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"The urgent reason scientists are collecting orca breath in the Salish Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers are flying drones through the whales’ breath plumes to capture the samples, before analysing them back in the lab. Here’s why their work is so important… <\/p>

By Melissa Hobson\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 04 December 2024 at 08:15 AM<\/p>

\n\n

With only 73 Southern Resident killer whales left in the Salish Sea \u2013 a series of waterways between British Columbia in Canada and the U.S. state of Washington \u2013 researchers are urgently trying to learn more about the health of the species so they can diagnose and treat any illnesses as early as possible. <\/strong><\/p>

They\u2019re even using drones to collect the orcas\u2019 breath without disturbing the animals.\u00a0<\/p>