BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada — The Center for Whale Research (CWR) confirmed this week that a newborn orca calf, J64, is believed to have died just weeks after being first spotted with the endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
Researchers made the heartbreaking discovery during an Oct. 23 encounter with J pod, one of the three families that make up the Southern Resident population. The team had set out to check on the calf, born earlier this month to 19-year-old orca J42—her first known offspring.
According to the CWR’s encounter report, observers located J pod traveling slowly north through Swanson Channel before spotting J42 swimming near the edge of the group. Researchers watched closely, waiting for the tiny calf to surface beside its mother, but it never did.
“We hoped it was nursing or playing nearby,” the report said. “After a few long dives and still no calf, we had to conclude that J64 did not survive and was now gone.”
Subsequent photos confirmed that J64 was not present with J42 or any other members of J pod. The team described the encounter as “disappointing,” noting that while adult orcas sometimes travel apart from their pods, a newborn would never be on its own for long.
This marks another loss for the struggling Southern Resident killer whale population, which has hovered at dangerously low numbers for decades.
Mortality among newborn calves is tragically common in this group. Scientists attribute the high death rates to a combination of poor nutrition and exposure to toxins passed from mother to calf during pregnancy and nursing. Both issues stem largely from declining runs of Chinook salmon, the whales’ primary food source.
“This is J42’s first confirmed calf, and mortality rates for young calves, especially those born to first-time mothers, are incredibly high in the Southern Resident population,” CWR noted. “Southern Residents need healthy, abundant Chinook Salmon populations to sustain themselves and the calves they raise if this population is to survive.”
The Center for Whale Research will continue monitoring J pod to confirm J64’s death, following its standard protocol of three consecutive encounters without a whale before declaring it deceased.
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