Days-old endangered sea creature swims with mom near Washington island. See the pair
A days-old orca was spotted swimming off a Washington island with its mom, photos show.
“What a tiny miracle,” one person commented on Facebook.
The mom and baby Southern Resident killer whales were first seen Sunday, Sept. 15, off Sooke on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Center for Whale Research said in a Facebook post.
Then onlookers saw the creatures from the shoreline of San Juan Island in Washington, the nonprofit said.
The research and conservation group said the pair was seen again the next day in the Haro Strait.
The nonprofit Sealife Response, Rehabilitation and Research will “provide quantitative measurements on the calf and mother’s condition in the future,” the Center for Whale Research said.
The group said the baby orca appeared to have been a few days old because it has “very clear fetal folds.”
It’s also nursing and moving normally with its mom, the group said.
Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered species in 2005 and are listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Their population has declined due to lack of prey, chemical pollution, noise disturbances from vessels and other factors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
They are made up of three groups: J, K and L pods. The killer whales spend summer and fall months in the Puget Sound, NOAA said.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Days-old endangered sea creature swims with mom near Washington island. See the pair."
