A second orca from Puget Sound’s resident J pod gives birth
Less than 36 hours after the announcement about one new baby orca, some more good news comes from the Salish Sea’s resident J pod this week.
Professional naturalists Talia Goodyear and Leah Vanderwiel witnessed the birth of J41’s second calf while aboard the Orca Spirit Adventures vessel Pacific Explorer.
The crew and guests came upon a lone female killer whale as they were returning from viewing one of the dozens of humpback whales that are regularly seen in the region all summer. They were on their way to Race Rocks, off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, to finish their tour viewing seals and sea lions when they happened upon J41.
“We spotted who we soon identified to be J41 just southwest of Race Rocks,” Goodyear said in a statement.
“She appeared to be alone at the time and stayed very close to the surface for a few minutes. After going under for several minutes, she reappeared, and this time it looked like she was pushing something with her rostrum (tail). She surfaced like this three or four times.”
Once everybody saw what was happening, Vanderwiel said she knew they had come upon a special moment.
“It was an emotional time as we processed what was happening in front of us,” Vanderwiel said in a statement.
“She was aiding the baby up for a few breaths with her rostrum (tail). It took a few minutes to realize what was actually happening, but then it was pure excitement realizing that it was a birth and the baby was very alive and boisterous.”
Ken Balcomb, founder and executive director of the Center for Whale Research, confirmed the photos are of the mother J41 and a brand new baby. “We’re very pleased to see that J41 has had her baby,” said Balcomb, “however, it’s too soon to determine the status of the calf, and further observations are necessary before we’ll make an announcement of the new baby’s health.”
The birth follows the announcement this week that the orca identified as J35 and known as Tahlequah gave birth to a new calf, J57, earlier this month, likely on Sept. 4, the Pacific Whale Watch Association said Wednesday. On Tuesday, a naturalist and photographer captured photographic evidence that J57 is a boy.
Tahlequah garnered sympathy from around the world in 2018 when the grieving orca carried her dead calf for more than two weeks.
For more information on the baby orcas, log on to www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 1:57 PM with the headline "A second orca from Puget Sound’s resident J pod gives birth."
