A new calf has been born to a pod of endangered southern resident killer whales that frequent British Columbia waters, the Center for Whale Research confirms.
The Washington-based group said Wednesday that a youngster has been born to J37, a female member of J Pod, which is usually been seen between the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the United States from April to September.
The calf was spotted Tuesday by Center for Whale Research photo-ID expert Dave Ellifrit, who found it with J37 and two other orcas, near Kelp Reef off of San Juan Island.
The sex of the calf is unknown but it is the first calf born to J Pod since September 2020.
“We estimate this baby was born within the past few days, given its ‘lumpy’ physical nature,” the center said in a Wednesday news release. “Its size and shape are typical of a calf in good physical condition.”
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The calf has been designated J59. Its mother, born in 2011, and was 11 years old when she gave birth to her first calf in 2012, a male named J49.
As of September 2021, two other members of the J Pod were pregnant.
There are about 73 southern resident killer whales left in the world, while a growing population of around 300 northern residents are considered threatened, but not endangered.
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