A young southern killer whale spotted swimming in the waters off western Vancouver Island now has a name.
The Center for Whale Research (CWR), based in Washington state, says it has named the latest addition to the K pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other members of the family northeast of Race Rocks, an ecological reserve on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
The center says it received video and photos of a possible new calf in April and June, and a field biologist is among those who confirmed its presence, although the gender of the calf is not yet known.
It says K45 is the first K pod baby since 2011, when K27 gave birth to a calf called K44.
K45 is the first new K pod member since 2011 (Center for Whale Research)
A release said the calf’s mother was born in 1986 and has two siblings, K27 and K34.
Scientists speculated earlier this year that a baby was born to a member of the K pod and said they hoped the whale was female to help the population grow.
The gender of the newborn baby killer whale is unknown. (Center for Whale Research)
The CWR says the survival rate of killer whales in their first year is 37 to 50 percent. Research from the University of Washington shows that about 69 percent of pregnancies among southern killer whales fail to produce a live calf.
The southern killer whale population is critically endangered and numbers have fallen into the 70s in recent years. The K pod is one of three family groups that make up the endangered southern population of West Coast killer whales, along with the J and L pods.
The Pacific Whale Watching Association, which represents 29 whale watching companies in British Columbia and Washington state, said in January that 2021 was a record year for whale sightings in the Salish Sea.
LISTEN | Episode 1 of the CBC podcast British Columbia Killers: J pod on the brink:
Killers: J pod on the brink35:12 Episode 1: “Tapping Out”
Hope turns to horror when a new J pod calf dies before the explorers arrive. When Mother J35 carries his corpse for 17 days and 1,000 miles, the world awakens to the plight of the people of the South. Some call it grief; others, a message, and the drama of that hot summer becomes a symbol of the struggle to save J pod.
For more on the threats to resident southern killer whales and efforts to save them, check out CBC’s original podcast British Columbia Killers: J pod on the brink, hosted by Gloria Makarenko.
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