Want to hear a fun conversation about harbor porpoises? Check out this recent podcast with Research Director Dr. Cindy Elliser! 🐬 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

Did you know Harbor seals are opportunistic predators? This means when octopus are locally abundant they become a food source for hungry seals. While the realities of nature aren’t always pretty, the interconnected relationships species maintain are essential for healthy self sustaining ecosystems.

A series of predictable events... Unfortunately for this gull, a hard earned hefty catch like this one isn’t going to be given up so easily. New strategy? The #LongGame, with the hopes that over time this seal might warm up to idea or drop a few scrapes in the process. 🥊🦭

Ever wondered how you can get involved in community science programs in the Salish Sea? 🥼🌊🐬 Curious to learn more? Find out how you can join on our next sighting adventure, we are collecting research year round so it is never too late! ➡️ www.pacmam.org/volunteering

We are always looking for different ways to share our science - check out poems, like this one, and plain text summaries about our work here: www.pacmam.org/science-summ.... Art and science can work so well together! 🐬🐳🎨

Can you spot the difference between porpoises and dolphins?🐬👀 A couple differences: Porpoises have round, blunt mouths unlike dolphins' elongated snouts. Dolphins have curved dorsal fins while porpoises have smaller, triangular ones. 📷: Harbor porpoise: Cindy Elliser, Pacific Mammal Research

🔔 Discovery alert: A local resident population of harbor porpoises has been frequenting Burrow’s Pass for 11 years!🐬🐳 Why do you think they have an affinity for Burrow’s Pass? Learn more about our most recent study: www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/6/... 📷: Cindy Elliser, Katrina MacIver, and Ciera Edison

It “takes a village” is quite the understatement. When putting the picture together, to discover how our neighbors below the surface live, every piece of the puzzle counts! 🧩🌊🐬 Curious to learn more about our community scientist opportunities? ➡️ www.pacmam.org/community-sc...

We recently published a study showing long-term site fidelity for harbor porpoises in the Salish Sea…but what the does that mean? 🔬🐬 Long-term site fidelity roughly means an animal is returning to and remaining in the same geographic location year over year. 🔎https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/6/1/9

Excited to have our colleague Bill Keener from the Marine Mammal Center in CA out to the field site today! We have collaborated with him and other colleagues on many papers on foraging and mating behaviors of harbor porpoises. Together we are learning more about this amazing species! #collaborations

Join us for another great trip collecting eDNA! Don't miss this chance to collect data that will help us better understand the genetic population structure of harbor porpoises in the Salish Sea! More info here: www.thesalishseaschool.org/adult-sessions

Always a great time at the Anacortes Waterfront Festival! Thanks to the staff, volunteers, interns, and everyone who stopped by!

Check out this great article about PacMam in the Salish Current! salish-current.org/2025/04/28/h...

We are interested in sharing science in a variety of ways. We have a very talented poet, Tegan Keyes, that helped us translate one of our papers into a poem - check it out! #sciencecommunication #marinemammals #baldeagle #porpoise #foodstealing 🐬

Come to our webinar at noon, Apr 30: Successes, Challenges and Maintaining Hope for #SalishSea Restoration and Protection: A Report from the Front Lines foundation.wwu.edu/event/succes...

It was a wild time in the field last week, where our staff saw 6 mating attempts, including this one! Often we will see 1 or 2 at a time, but 6 was a bit over average. Guess they were feeling springtime! #pacmam #research #mating #marinemammalscience #porpoise #marinemammals #marmamm 🐬

This was a very rare sighting, the first time we have seen a sea otter in our study site! So exciting to have more sightings if sea otters in the Salish Sea! #pacmam #research #seaotter #salishsea

Earlier this April we were lucky to see the T99s while out looking for harbor porpoises. Always exciting to get to see some Bigg's killer whales. All photos taken with a zoom lens at distance and heavily cropped.

Excited to read this! Social structure is such an important part of understanding the lives of whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans).

We were so excited to see a group of 3 mother and calf pairs swimming closely together recently. They were quite cohesive hanging out together! #pacmam #research #marmamm #marinemammals #salishsea🐬

Harbor porpoises take mating to another level - an aerial one! Learn more in the chapter on porpoises we were a part of in the open access book: Sex in Cetaceans! link.springer.com/book/10.1007... #pacmam #research #marmamm #marinemammals #salishsea 🐬

If you've listened to episode 78 with PacMam you will have heard about how bonkers Harbour Porpoise mating is - if you don’t know about this technique we suggest you swipe thru this carousel for a preview (warning many of this pics are NSFW👀) buff.ly/fG0ZxxK #WhaleTales @pacmam.bsky.social

It was great to have Dr. Cindy Elliser & Kat White from @pacmam.bsky.social on the #WhaleTalesPodcast to share their results from the paper Resident Harbor Porpoises in the Salish Sea: Photo-Identification Shows Long-Term Site Fidelity, Natal Philopatry, & Provides Insights into Longevity & Behavior

👩🏼‍🔬Happy International Women's Day! Today, we’re celebrating the amazing female scientists who have inspired our team members through their careers in ocean science. 🐋Who's YOUR ocean science hero? Tag a female ocean scientist that you admire in the comments below! #marmam #marinebiology #anacortes

💚Thank you so much to the fabulous Whale Tales Podcast for interviewing PacMam on their most recent episode! We had a blast chatting with them all about harbor porpoises & harbor seals. Click the link below to listen! whale-tales.org/podcast/epis... #marmam #anacorteswa #marinemammalscience

This month on the #WhaleTalesPodcast we welcomed Dr. Cindy  Elliser and Kat White from Pacific Mammal Research who tell us all about Harbour Porpoises in the Salish Sea including what they've found in their incredible long term work.

Stay tuned for some awesome drone footage of harbor porpoises! #marinemammals 🐬

ACTION ALERT: Salish Sea harbor seals & sea lions need your help! *We must take action by 02/21!* Swipe to learn why HJM 4004 is ill-advised + how you can stand up to protect our beloved pinnipeds! #marinemammals #marmam app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie...

Last week, our Research Director Dr. Cindy Elliser joined TokiTV and discussed PacMam's research harbor porpoises! Head to the link in our bio or the link below to watch a full recording on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhM... #salishsea #womeninresearch #marinemammals #marmam #harborporpoise

💚Happy Valentine's Day from the PacMam team! Swipe to see what it would be like if marine mammals had dating profiles. Let us know which animal's profile is your favorite in the comments below! #salishsea #womeninresearch #womeninmarinebiology #marinemammals #marinemammalscience #anacorteswa

👋🏼 Hi there, nice to meet you! We're Pacific Mammal Research (PacMam.) We’re a women-led nonprofit dedicated to understanding more about marine mammals in the Salish Sea. We strive to understand & protect harbor porpoises and harbor seals through innovative scientific research & educational outreach.

Live interview with Research Director Dr. Cindy Elliser on TokiTV at 1pm PST - check it out live, or the recording later: Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/1Ysjyj... YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/vJhM4-u...

New publication alert! Did you know that harbor porpoises in the Salish Sea can show long-term site fidelity up to 11 years and animals at least 14 years old can have calves? Find out this and more in our recent open access publication! www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/6/...

This is great news for understanding more about killer whale health and pregnancy rates! www.kuow.org/stories/does...

🐋The only natural predator of #baleenwhales are #killerwhales. When attacked, some fight back, while others flee. But whales also produce loud underwater songs…what stops killer whales from homing in & attacking? 🔊Find out in new research by @trevorabranch.bsky.social⤵️ fish.uw.edu/2025/02/ghos...

Lucky to see some Biggs Killer Whales recently in the Salish Sea! #MarineMammals

Never tire of seeing Bald Eagles!

We saw a lot of pigeon guillemots in different plumages recently - and some in the middle of the transition! Very cool mottling going on.

Did you know that harbor porpoises wake ride? They do in Burrows Pass! They don't follow the boat, but ride the residual wake after the boat passes. #marinemammals #marmamm

Exicted for the day at #waysofwhales!

Looking forward to another awesome Ways of Whales tomorrow, www.orcanetwork.org/events/ways-... Hope to see you there (in person or virtually)!

It was a beautiful winter day out looking for harbor porpoises, even if we didn't find many! Can't complain.