2 New Killer Whales

T

The Fish Assassin

Guest
From the T/C.


Two new baby killer whales have been seen swimming in the waters off Victoria, giving a welcome boost to the endangered southern resident killer whale population.

"It's very exciting. One is J Pod and one is L Pod," said Ken Balcomb, executive director of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, which tracks the three resident orca pods and keeps photographic records.

The newborns were seen off Victoria Feb. 6 and off Nanaimo a few days later, and appear to be vigorous and in good shape, Balcomb said. "They are both probably January babies. The fetal folds haven't filled out yet from being born."

The folds, in front of the dorsal fin, are from being in the womb and smooth out as the whale gets older.

The mother of L112 is probably L86, who is also mother to a 2005 calf, but the identity of J44's mother is not yet known.

The births bring the number of whales in the three pods up to 85, but the mortality rate for calves in the first year is 50 per cent.

Balcomb said he is worried that one of the L Pod males, 31-year-old L57, was not seen with the other whales. "But we hope he's out there somewhere. We're not ready to say he's missing yet," he said. L Pod has six breeding-age males.

It's extremely unusual to see the three resident pods in local waters at this time of year, as they usually spend January and February in the waters off California, said Balcomb, who noted the preferred food for resident killer whales is chinook salmon and chinook stocks in California have nosedived in the last couple of years. "So the bottom line is they are probably following the food."

Last year, seven resident whales died -- an unusually high number -- and some were showing signs of malnutrition before they disappeared. An added threat to the killer whales is that chinook are heavily contaminated with chemicals such as PCBs and flame retardants.

Historically, there were about 120 whales in the three resident pods. The lowest point, after decades of shooting and capture, was 71 in 1973.




Thats good to hear, I wish them well.

Take only what you need.
 
Let's hope there's enough food for the munchkins to survive this summer.
T2

No Rigours
 
Keep me posted if the whales swim by Nanaimo again, Id love to get the boat out and see these newborns, pretty cool stuff, maybe throw a line in too.
 
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