New orca calf seen among Puget Sound's critically endangered killer whales

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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'Environmental DNA' used to identify killer whales in Puget Sound

Date:  April 23, 2018

Source:  Oregon State University

Summary:

When endangered killer whales swim through the sheltered waters of Puget Sound, they leave behind traces of "environmental DNA" that researchers can detect as much as two hours later, a new study has found.

The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers, are surprising and significant. They not only provide a new non-invasive way to study whales, they may help scientists locate cetacean species that are known but have rarely been detected -- including certain beaked whales.

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Endangered whales in Washington's Puget Sound to get individual records

The records will include data on behavior, reproductive success, and skin diseases and will be used to monitor individual health as well as overall trends

Ellen Brait in New York and agencies

Wednesday 30 March 2016 18.48 BSTLast modified on Thursday 31 March 201617.48 BST

Endangered orcas in the inland waters of Washington state will now have individual health records, which researchers hope will help them identify threats to the whales’ health.

There are typically 84 whales residing in Puget Sound from spring to fall. These were listed as endangered in 2005 and are both genetically and behaviorally distinct from other killer whales. They use distinct calls to communicate and eat salmon rather than other marine mammals. Because of pollution, lack of prey and disturbance from boats, their numbers have fluctuated in the past few decades.

The whales are already thoroughly tracked and recorded. Researchers trail them by sea and with drones, keeping track of their measurements, waste and exhaled breath.

Individual health records, that combine all of the existing research on the whales, will be added to this program. On Tuesday, during a meeting in Seattle sponsored by SeaDoc Society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) Fisheries and the National Marine Mammal Foundation, more than two dozen wildlife experts discussed how this would be executed.

The records will include data on behavior, reproductive success, skin diseases and more, Lynne Barre with Noaa Fisheries told the Associated Press. They will be used to monitor individual health as well as overall trends.

“The goal is to really start getting a lot of data and pull them together in a way that permits easier analysis,” Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian at the University of California Davis, told the AP.

Puget Sound's clingfish could inspire better medical devices, whale tags

Date:May 4, 2015

Source:University of Washington

Summary:Researchers are looking at how the biomechanics of clingfish could be helpful in designing devices and instruments to be used in surgery and even to tag and track whales in the ocean. Clingfish are considered one of the world's best suction cups, scientists say.

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Census: Orca population in Puget Sound falling

31st August 2014 

With two new deaths this year and no new calves since 2012, the population of endangered killer whales in the Puget Sound continues to decline.

The number of whales in J, K and L pods has dropped to 78, a level not seen since 1985, According to a census by the Center for Whale Research. Adding to the concerns, the whales appear to be "splintering" from their pods, which are their basic social groups.

Since 1976, Ken Balcomb of the research center has been observing the Puget Sound orcas, or Southern Residents as they're known among scientists. Balcomb compiles an annual census of the population for submission to the federal government.

Historically, all three pods of orcas have come together in the San Juan Islands during summer months, often feeding and socializing in large groups, Balcomb noted. But for the past few years, the pods have divided themselves into small groups, sometimes staying together but often staying apart.

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Years of research reveal more about iconic orcas

SEATTLE (AP) — Scientists studying Puget Sound orcas for the past decade now know they are among the most contaminated marine mammals, with pollutants particularly high in young killer whales, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration summarizes a decade of research findings that reveal the mysterious lives of a small population of endangered killer whales that frequents the inland waters of Washington state.

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