The newest baby orca of the J-pod has been spotted alive and appears to be “healthy and precocious,” based on recent photos from the Centre for Whale Research.
The baby orca, named J57, can be seen in the set of photos on Sept. 10, swimming alongside its mother, Tahlequah – also known as J35.
The calf was born on September 4, according to the Centre for Whale Research. The organization also said the calf was swimming “vigorously” beside Tahlequah the next day.
In their most recent encounter with the J-pod on Sept. 10, the Centre for Whale Research captured more photos of J57 and, although the organization didn’t provide a specific update, the baby orca appears to be managing.
“We hope this calf is a success story. Regrettably, with the whales having so much nutritional stress in recent years, a large percentage of pregnancies fail, and there is about a 40 per cent mortality for young calves,” reads a statement from the Centre for Whale Research, dated Sept. 6.
With the birth of J57, whale researchers state that the Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) population is now 73.
This marks the second calf that Tahlequah has given birth to and experts are hoping for a better outcome this time around after her first newborn didn’t survive.
The orca mother made world headlines back in 2018 when she carried her dead calf for 17 days, covering more than 1600 kilometres in the Salish Sea, on what has been coined by researchers as a “Tour of Grief.”
The recent captures of J35 and J57 were part a larger gathering where the J, K and L pods came met up showing “visible signs of excitement,” according to the Centre for Whale Research
Baby Orca J57
Graham Cox
