Fifth newborn orca spotted
Killer whale pod that often visits Tofino, B.C. undergoing ‘baby boom’Most visitors to Long Beach Lodge Resort and Tofino, B.C. come here for the spectacular weather, romantic walks along Long Beach or unforgettable resorts that provide the setting for memories that last a lifetime.
But there’s another type of visitor that makes its home beyond the surf. The next time the orcas who belong to the family structure known as L pod visit Tofino, B.C., they’ll be a little larger than before.
On Sept. 7, scientists with the Centre for Whale Research announced they had spotted another new baby orca.
That makes for five newborn whales that have been identified since last December.
The group of researchers who discovered the youngster were piloting a drone above the ocean near Sooke taking aerial measurements of southern resident killer whales (photo: Centre for Whale Research).
Mom and babe frolicking and fishing
The researchers spotted the whale known as L91 and its new baby, which has been named L122.
The 20-year-old mother and babe were observed, from a safe and respectful distance, throughout the afternoon, swimming and fishing in Haro Strait. L pod was joined by members from J and K pods and the gathering of families stretched for several dozen square kilometres in the Juan de Fuca and Haro straits.
According to the Centre for Whale Research, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the record for the most calves born in a year was nine in 1977.
“We hope this year’s ‘baby-boom’ represents a turnaround in what has been a negative population trend in recent years,” says the centre’s website.
The baby orca and its mom were photographed at a distance from aboard the research vessel that accompanied the drone.
The Centre for Whale Research told CTV News that, in the four decades it has been tracking southern resident killer whales, only 35 of 122 whales born in the area are still alive.
“It was really exciting,” Mark Malleson, a whale watching guide who photographed the calf, told CTV. “You never know, you could see some more over the course of the fall here because we’re getting into the time when we would typically have calves.”
Researchers have not announced whether the baby is male or female.
The total population of southern resident killer whales numbers about 80. All of the whales are members of the same clan and the three pods are based on matrilineal heritage. The oldest known living killer whale, J2 (or “Granny”), is a member of this clan and is estimated to be about 104 years old.
The whales are most often spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island, all the way down to Oregon. However, they’ve been observed as far south as California and as far north as Haida Gwaii.
Learn more about whale watching during your visit to Tofino, B.C.’s Long Beach Lodge Resort HERE
