Three southern resident killer whales have been declared dead by the Center for Whale Research bringing the total population down to 73.
The orcas that have been determined to be dead are J17, K25 and L84, one from each pod of the resident orcas, according to Ken Balcomb, head of the Center for Whale Research.
J17 was last seen back in March and April. The 42-year-old female orca was extremely malnourished when she was spotted off B.C.’s coast in September but appeared to have improved a bit in March. Drone images showed J17 with “peanut head,” a sign of starvation.
Scientists used drone footage for aerial images that show the deteriorating body condition of southern resident killer whale J17. Photo courtesy Twitter/NOAA.
She and K25 were missing from their family groups back in July. K25, a 28-year-old male, was last spotted emaciated in January.
L84, a male, was born in 1990.
Southern resident orcas are listed as a species at risk in Canada. They feed primarily on salmon, specializing in Chinook and Chum.
“The silver lining to this story is that two of those individuals are males and we would be more concerned from a conservation, biology standpoint if they were females. Nevertheless, it’s very concerning,” marine biologist Anna Hall said.
Hall said the two male orcas were getting close to the average lifespan for a male killer whale.
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