Pioneering orca researcher Ken Balcomb has died. He was 82. Balcomb, who was the founder of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, died Dec. 15, according to the center. “He was the North Star, a guiding light,” the center said in a press release. “Over half a century of whale research and advocacy, he lit a path for tens of thousands to follow.” Balcomb's son, Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, said his dad had a passion for whales his whole life, as far as he could remember. Balcomb earned his Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of California, Davis in 1963 and did his graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz where he conducted humpback whale research in the North Atlantic, according to the center. In his early career, Balcomb worked as a field biologist with the U.S. government and as a U.S. Navy pilot and oceanographic specialist during the Vietnam era. However, Balcomb spent most of his career studying and documenting the Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea. “He was a scientist with a deep-rooted love and connection to the whales and their ocean habitat,” the center said. “He inspired others to appreciate both as much as he did.” In 1976, Balcomb started the center’s orca survey, which is a long-term photo-identification study. It came on the tail of orca capture in the late 1960s to mid-1970s when killer whales were taken for display at marine parks. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/pioneering-orca-researcher-ken-balcomb-dies/281-68617a96-856e-416b-80da-185906fa1659