Great news comes today of a new addition to the endangered southern resident orcas bringing the population number to 87. See full story reported by canwest below…

New orca baby off B.C. coast

Canwest News Service
Thu Nov 12 2009
Dateline: VICTORIA
Source: Canwest News Service

VICTORIA - A new orca baby was spotted off the Victoria coast on Wednesday.

The birth is the fifth this year for the three endangered resident killer- whale pods and brings the total number to 87.

“It’s a baby boom,” said Howard Garrett of Orca Network, a group that runs a whale-sighting network.

With gestation taking 17 months from the spring and summer mating season, calves are often born in the fall and winter, he said.

Last year saw seven orca deaths, sparking concerns about their survival, especially since some of the whales showed signs of malnutrition before they disappeared.

Coincidentally, the two whale researchers who tracked and photographed the new calf, Ken Balcomb - executive director of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor - and Mark Malleson of Victoria, were both celebrating their birthdays Wednesday.

“This is wonderful. I hope they are finding plenty of food this year. It’s the key to their survival,” Balcomb said.

Victoria Times Colonist

New baby orca off BC !

Categories: Greenpeace, Oceans

Share this post

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed

Leave a comment or post a trackback.