Joe Kahlo
There’s a new baby killer whale in a pod off the West Coast of the US for the first time in two years!
The Center for Whale Research in Washington state said it was ‘thrilled’ to confirm that a new orca calf was born in the southern resident killer whale pod L.
Both photographers and researchers boarded two boats to go and see the whale pods that were gathered off the west coast near Washington and Canada.
They were all hoping to identify the new calf, and also spot as many other whales as they could.
The research centre’s identification expert, Dave Ellifrit managed to capture several images showing the new baby whale with “fetal folds” which indicated a recent birth.
“It is nicely filled out and appears to be a perfectly normal little calf,” Ellifrit said in the news release.
The calf is in good condition, and its shape and size are typical. It appears to be a little over a month old.
The baby whale is the first calf born into the southern resident killer whales’ L-pod since January 2019. Two other whales were born into the J-pod in 2020.
The whales have been the focus of recovery efforts and research off the West Coast for years.
