A new baby orca spotted in the waves of the Salish Sea is spurring excitement among the killer whale community.
The Pacific Whale Watch Association announced a new Bigg’s orca calf was first seen as part of a group of more than a dozen orca on March 20 in eastern Juan de Fuca Strait.
The young whale was subsequently noted several times over the weekend.
“In the images, you can still see fetal folds, along with distinctive orange coloration,” association executive director Erin Gless said in a news release, referring to creases in the calf’s skin as a result of being scrunched inside its mother’s belly. “These factors are normal and indicate the calf is quite young, likely a week or two at most.”
The calf was swimming directly alongside mother, T046B3 dubbed Sedna – Mother of the Sea in Inuit culture. The newborn, 14-year-old Sedna’s first known calf, was designated T046B3A.
The sighting coincided with a loss for the west coast whale watching community, and the Bigg’s themselves, announced the same day. Ralph Munro, 81, whose death was announced March 20, was responsible for the release of six whales captured and temporarily held by SeaWorld in Washington in 1976, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
Among them was Sedna’s grandmother, T046, dubbed Wake, and Munro, then assistant to former Washington governor Dan Evans, witnessed the captures and helped file a lawsuit against SeaWorld, leading to the whales’ release.
They were the last killer whales to be captured in North America.
Wake subsequently had eight assumed calves, 16 grand-calves, and six great grand-calves.
Bigg’s orcas feed on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and porpoises. An abundance of food has allowed their population to grow steadily, with more than 140 calves welcomed in the last decade.
According to Bay Cetology, a research organization that monitors the Bigg’s orca population, there are nearly 400 individuals in the coastal Bigg’s orca population today, a stark contrast to the endangered southern resident orcas who feed on salmon, primarily Chinook salmon, and number approximately 73 individuals.
