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Baby joins orcas in Puget Sound, raising their numbers to 89

New killer whale calf born to Jpod in December 2011.
Candace Emmons
/
NOAA - NMFS Research Permit #781-1824.
New killer whale calf born to Jpod in December 2011.

A new baby orca was photographed Saturday in a pod that lives in Puget Sound.

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center posted a website photo Wednesday shot by scientist Candice Emmons.

The center and the Center for Whale Research confirmed the mother is 39-year old Slick, also known as J-16. It's her fifth calf since 1991 and it brings the total number of killer whales in the Southern Resident population to 89.

The federal government listed Southern Resident orcas as an endangered species in 2005.

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