Newborn Orca Spotted in Puget Sound
Filed in Marine Biology on August 9, 2012 with no comments
A newborn orca was spotted on Monday afternoon along the west side of San Juan Island in Puget Sound.
Southern Resident Killer Whales. Photo Credit: NOAASouthern Resident Killer Whales. Credit: NOAA
Three pods, known as the Southern Residents, are known to live in Puget Sound, and this newborn (J-49) belongs to the J pod. Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research believes it was born to an 11-year-old female, J-37.
“It looked good,” he said. “It was breathing regularly and looked healthy.”
They believe the new calf is the great-granddaughter of J-2, “Granny,” a 100-year-old orca and the oldest of the local pods.
You can read more about killer whales here.
Copyright © 2012 by Marine Science Today, a publication of OceanLines LLC.
