A calf has been born into the K pod family of southern resident orcas, the first in 11 years.
Deborah Giles, science and research director for the nonprofit Wild Orca, confirmed the birth this week, The Seattle Times reported. Giles said the baby was born to K20, a female also known as Spock.
Giles says the new orca was first spotted by a person fishing off the Oregon coast on April 28. The baby’s sex is not known.
“For it to be a female would be ideal,” she said. “But anybody in K pod is just so special and hopeful.”
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Recent births among the southern residents have skewed heavily male.
Both K and L pods have been seen recently off the Oregon coast.
This is the second birth to the southern residents this year. J pod saw the birth of J59 this winter.
With the newest birth, the population of endangered southern residents is now 75 — if an L pod whale that so far has not been seen this year, L89, turns up.
The southern residents are struggling to survive several threats including lack of adequate Chinook salmon in their foraging range, pollution and underwater noise that makes it harder for them to hunt.
And it’s concern for the future of the 73 southern resident killer whales that prompted Ottawa to introduce a number of measures. All vessels, including canoes, kayaks must stay 400 metres back from the orcas.
That applies until May 31, around southern Vancouver Island, from Campbell River, up Howe Sound, through the Gulf Islands, into the Straight of Juan de Fuca and up the west coast to Ucluelet.
Sanctuary zones off Pender and Saturna Islands are in effect from June first to November 30th.
And fisheries will be closed once the orcas are seen in the area along the Swiftsure Bank, the southern Gulf Islands, Straight of Juan de Fuca, and the mouth of the Fraser River.
And environmental groups want the restrictions to remain year round, with the federal government stepping in to assist local communities.
Christianne Wilhelmson is the executive director for the Georgia Strait Alliance.
“We know this impacts coastal communities, but those communities can be supported and helped. But we have to help the orcas first if we’re actually serious about protecting the species and limiting the domino effect in this region if we did lose the orcas.”
Wilhelmson said it’s important for the measures to be year-round because each individual southern resident killer whale is so critical to the species.
The Associated Press
