Newborn Orca update: After the initial excitement over the sighting of a new baby Orca in J pod, a closer look at the encounter by the Center for Whale Research (CWR) has raised some concerns. The littlest Southern Resident (designated J50) was thought to be the offspring of Slick (J16), a 42-year-old orca, however a closer examination of the photos of Slick and J50 lead researchers to suspect she may not be a new mom after all. Photos of J50’s dorsal fin show tooth marks that may indicate that a difficult birth occurred, with other whales assisting by pulling the baby out with their mouths. The baby was also seen swimming away from Slick and being driven back by other family members – typically, new calves do not leave their mother’s side for the first couple months of their lives. These troubling signs led to the suspicion that Slick may actually be a new grandmother – her daughter Alki (J36) is 16 years old, close to the age at which these orcas start reproducing. Slick may be babysitting while Alki recovers. For now, we must hope for the best for this new baby, who appeared healthy and full of energy in initial observations.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 02:39:41 +0000
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