January
14, 2019 by Lynda V. Mapes
A new
calf has been born to the critically endangered southern resident killer
whales, researchers confirmed.
The calf was born to L77,
said Ken Balcomb, founding director of the Center for Whale Research. He
confirmed the birth in a text to The
Seattle Times Friday. He estimated the calf is several weeks old.
Center
staff first saw the calf Friday morning at the eastern end of the Strait of
Juan de Fuca.
"It's
great news," Balcomb said, adding the calf looks healthy.
It is the
first known birth to the southern residents since Tahlequah, or J35, gave birth
to a calf in July that lived only a half-hour.
Tahlequah
drew worldwide attention when she carried the dead infant for 17 days and more
than 1,000 miles, refusing to let it go.
Any birth in the
southern resident population is big news because the orcas that frequent Puget
Sound in the J, K and L pods are critically endangered. There are only 74 left,
with three whales lost last
year.
The
center also was observing K25 Friday, a southern resident whale known to be in
poor body condition. If conditions allow, the center is attempting to get an
update on that whale's status.
K25 is
doing poorly after the death of his mother K13 in 2017. Mother orcas
preferentially feed their sons and K25 has been getting thinner and thinner—so
thin that Balcomb has said he is concerned he may not last the summer.
J17,
Tahlequah's mother, is also so thin as to cause similar concern.
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