Well, of course "anytime soon" in the scientific community may not be in my lifetime! But it certainly is interesting to see that the more we look at killer whales, the less we find we know.
It's certainly in my lifetime (since the 1970's), however, that we've learned of three distinct ecotypes:
Residents - salmon specialists in the Pacific Northwest
Transients - mammal specialists
Offshores - the least understood, but thought to feed on fish and specialize in sharks
The residents found off Washington and Vancouver Island are the most studied in the world, but turns out that they might also be somewhat unique. Ingrid Visser's work in New Zealand suggests that the whales there appear to be neither resident or transient, in the way that we've come to know the ecotypes of the U.S. west coast. More secrets to be uncovered there for sure!
It's now known there are three different variations of orca in Antarctica, each with different specializations of prey type and habitat preference and a fourth found in the sub Antarctic which appears to be different again. These whales even look different from the northern hemisphere cousins. Different size eye patch, and even a different (but subtly so) body shape.
Closer to home in the North East Atlantic, it's been established that there are two types of killer whales, both focusing on different prey types. It surely has to be the amazing adaptability to prey types and ecosystems that makes the killer whale the most successful marine mammal on the planet.
It's fascinating to watch this research unfold and learn more about the true diversity among the seemingly similar black and white mammals. I hope also, that it can lead to more protections, as each group can be recognized as distinct, as the southern resident population was, resulting in a listing under the ESA in 2005.
