Pebbles the orca was seen swimming with a newborn — again. ‘Darn impressive’
_fitted.png "The newborn killer whale was spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island in Canada, experts said.")
A boat of tourists off the coast of Canada was following a pod of orcas when the group noticed something special: a never-before-seen newborn calf.
The baby was swimming west of Race Rocks, southwest of Vancouver Island, according to an Aug. 12 Facebook post from Puget Sound Express. The orca was “tucked next to its mother,” 28-year-old T75B — a Transient/Bigg’s killer whale named Pebbles.
“It looks small next to its mother but they are born at 6-8 feet long,” the tour agency said of the baby.
Pebbles and her three other offspring — 8-year-old Jasper, 6-year-old Rubble and an unnamed 2-year-old — were last spotted July 30 without the calf, indicating that the baby is likely less than 2 weeks old, according to a Facebook post from the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
Experts with the association said they have not confirmed that Pebbles is the baby’s mom, but they’ve sent photos for researchers.
“If the calf indeed belongs to Pebbles, it would be her fifth calf (fourth surviving), with the most recent one, T75B4, being born just two years ago in 2021,” the association wrote on Facebook. “With an average orca gestation period of 15-18 months, that’s pretty darn impressive!”
Whales typically have calves every five years, according to Puget Sound Express. The calf indicates that Pebbles is “healthy and getting plenty of harbor seals to eat.”
The baby marks the seventh Transient/Bigg’s calf born this year, the post said. The population as a whole is doing “very well” with around 375 individuals ranging from Washington to southeast Alaska.
Social media users shared their excitement about the newborn on Facebook.
“I can’t even imagine the excitement on the boat when these discoveries are made. What a privilege,” one user commented on Puget Sound Express’ post.
“Awesome news. Each new birth is hope for the future of the pods,” a second commenter wrote.
“Oh my gosh. How wonderful,” a third person commented. “I can’t believe it is that big. Looks so tiny next to momma!!”
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Pebbles the orca was seen swimming with a newborn — again. ‘Darn impressive’."
