Three southern resident orcas confirmed dead
Aug 6, 2019, 7:34 PM
The Center for Whale Research says three more southern resident orcas are dead.
They are J17, K25, and L84 that are listed missing — one from each of the resident orca pods.
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Officials with the Center for Whale Research said when a whale is listed missing, they are considered dead.
The discovery was made as researchers completed their July 1 population estimate and this dropped the population to 73.
J17 is a 42-two-year-old J-pod matriarch and mother of Tahlequah (J35), who carried her dead calf for an unprecedented 17 days last year.
Twenty-eight-year-old K25 is an adult male who was not in good body condition last winter.
And 29-year-old male, L84, has been missing all summer in encounters conducted by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans colleagues along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
