ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A group of U.S. and Canadian marine mammal experts want to rename a type of killer whale for the researcher whom they consider the founding father of modern killer whale scientific studies.

John Ford of Canada’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo (nah-NIE’-moe) British Columbia says the experts want to rename mammal-eating killer whales “Bigg’s killer whales” in honor of Michael Bigg.