A 16-year-old orca's wound, initially feared to be from a boat, was confirmed to be from another orca’s teeth, not human activity.

A 16-year-old southern resident orca, J45, was spotted near Victoria, British Columbia, with a fresh wound in late November, raising initial concerns about a vessel strike. However, researchers from the Center for Whale Research confirmed on December 18 that the injury was caused by rake marks from another orca’s teeth, not a boat propeller. The marks, consistent with social interactions among sub-adult males, are common in the species and part of normal behavior. The findings dispel fears of human-caused harm and highlight that such scarring aids in identifying individual whales.