Baby Boom? Southern Resident Orcas Welcome a New Calf
Photo credit: NOAA via ABC News
From the Good News file:
It looks like a third calf has been born in the group of killer whales who reside off the coast of Washington, near Puget Sound.
Scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spotted the calf and mother this week. The pair belong to the endangered L-pod.
The research crew observed the calf on Wednesday with other whales in the L-pod, one of three families of southern resident killer whales that frequent inland Washington waters, said Brad Hanson, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
The baby looks great and was very active when it was seen about 15 miles west of Westport, Washington, Hanson said in a telephone interview Thursday while NOAA’s research vessel, Bell Shimada, was briefly at port.
But this good news is tempered knowing the L-pod’s, and the other pods in the region, calves have been struggling to survive through their first years.
The births are great news, but there also has not been a successful birth in the population for more than two years, said Ken Balcomb, senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research that keeps a census of the orcas.
“We know they’ve been having babies, they just haven’t survived,” Balcomb said. “We’re getting more year-round observations, but the proof of the census is who’s alive by July 1. If they’re still here in July, we can celebrate. “
Here’s to hoping the population of these great animals continues to grow.
Check out the full report from ABC News.
