New baby orca spotted with J pod
May 31, 2019, 2:00 PM | Updated: 3:40 pm
There’s a new baby orca with the J pod, according to Canadian whale watchers.
“We observed the new calf with J41 and J19,” the whale watchers wrote on their blog, describing the location four miles off Lennard Light, which is off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
New photo shows orca’s health continues to decline
Observers noted that on Thursday the calf’s white patches were still very orange and it still had fetal folds. They sent photos to both The Centre for Whale Research and DFO in Canada.
The J pod is part of the group of Southern Resident Killer Whales. The group is currently made up of 75 whales, with 22 in the J pod. The last baby born to the J pod was in January.
Approximately 75 percent of newborn orcas in the past two decades have not survived. The Southern Resident orca population is considered endangered, according to the Center for Whale Research. Of all species NOAA Fisheries protects under the Endangered Species Act, the Southern Resident orcas are one of eight considered to be at the most risk of extinction in the near future.
