Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Newborn calf spotted among returning orcas

KNKX Public Radio | By The Associated Press
Published July 11, 2011 at 9:31 AM PDT
In this July 6 photo provided by the Center for Whale Research, K-44, right, a newborn male orca whale, is shown swimming with his mother, K-27, near Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.
Associated Press
In this July 6 photo provided by the Center for Whale Research, K-44, right, a newborn male orca whale, is shown swimming with his mother, K-27, near Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. – A newborn calf has been spotted among one of the pods of killer whales returning to the Puget Sound.

The Kitsap Sun reports the baby orca was seen Wednesday, when a majority of the three pods of killer whales returned to the San Juan Islands, as they do each year.

Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research says all the adult orcas in the three pods seem to be accounted for, including one whale that had not been seen since February.

Balcomb says the newborn calf is male and still had his umbilical cord attached on Wednesday. That means he is only days old. His birth brings the total Puget Sound or Southern Resident orca population to 88. The whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Orca videos from the Center for Whale Reserach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIAT-DnD2ek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx-8DYRkaE4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX5oaVwsFXo

 
Tags
Environment Puget Soundorcas
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (“AP”) is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from the AP. Founded in 1846, the AP today is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering. The AP considers itself to be the backbone of the world’s information system, serving thousands of daily newspaper, radio, television, and online customers with coverage in text, photos, graphics, audio and video.
See stories by The Associated Press
Related Content