--- title: World's Oldest Killer Whale, Granny, Is Believed Dead description: Scientists studying Granny, the world's oldest killer whale with an estimated age of about 100, believe the orca to be dead. canonical: https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/ author: Kerry Close article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-03T15:17:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:47.232Z article:section: Science og:title: The World's Oldest Killer Whale Is Believed Dead og:description: She was estimated to be about 100 years old og:url: https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The World's Oldest Killer Whale Is Believed Dead twitter:description: She was estimated to be about 100 years old twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The World's Oldest Killer Whale Is Believed Dead > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Norway Kills More Whales than Japan and Iceland Combined, Report Finds [Watch (HLS stream): Norway Kills More Whales than Japan and Iceland Combined, Report Finds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SNzC790i.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2016-06-15. Norway kills more whales every year than some of the most notorious whaling countries combined, according to a new report._ by [Kerry Close](https://time.com/author/kerry-close/) ## Kerry Close Jan 3, 2017 3:17 PM UTC by [Kerry Close](https://time.com/author/kerry-close/) ## Kerry Close Jan 3, 2017 3:17 PM UTC The world’s oldest known [killer whale](http://time.com/4493529/california-breeding-killer-whales-ban/) is missing and presumed dead. The whale—named J2, though she was affectionally nicknamed Granny—was estimated to be more than 100 years old, [BBC News reported](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38496164). She was the star of a recent BBC documentary that chronicled biologists’ study of her family of [orcas](http://time.com/4105182/seaworld-phase-out-killer-whale-orca-show/), in order to look into female whales’ menopause. Only three mammals experience menopause: orcas, short-finned pilot whales and humans. The orcas, including Granny, have been the subject of a four-decades long study from the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash. The center said Granny was last seen on Oct. 12, 2016, as she swam north ahead of others in her clan. As of the end of the year, she was considered missing from the area’s killer whale population and is now officially considered deceased. The research will continue, though without the study’s most famous participant. “It was inevitable that this day was going to come, but it is very sad news,” researcher Darren Croft of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom told BBC News. The number of whales in the population is estimated to be just 78 orcas, as of the end of 2016, according to the BBC. That’s in part due to the fact that the number of salmon, which the whales feed on, is shrinking in the region. ## Transcript [ SOUND ] [ NOISE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/"},"headline":"The World's Oldest Killer Whale Is Believed Dead","datePublished":"2017-01-03T15:17:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:47.232Z","description":"She was estimated to be about 100 years old","url":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/","keywords":["onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kerry Close","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kerry-close/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/","name":"The World's Oldest Killer Whale Is Believed Dead"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Norway Kills More Whales than Japan and Iceland Combined, Report Finds","description":"Norway kills more whales every year than some of the most notorious whaling countries combined, according to a new report.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SNzC790i/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-06-15T21:36:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SNzC790i.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/","duration":"PT46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4620481/oldest-killer-whale-granny-dead/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```