Orca calf spotted for first time since February

Published 4:27 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2015

An orca calf, which hadn’t been seen since it was spotted as a newborn in February, was spotted again on Monday off of Tofino, B.C. After the long gap between sightings, many experts feared the calf had died.

The calf, known as L121, is a member of the southern resident L-Pod. The calf is one of four born to the southern resident orcas since December.

Naturalist Marcie Callewaert, with the Victoria Marine Science Association, reported on Monday that she “just spent a couple hours with L-Pod from Cox Point to Long Beach, near Tofino, B.C. L121 was present and as energetic as ever!”

L-Pod is considered the most precarious of the three Southern Resident pods. A baby born to the pod last summer, L120, was lost off the coast of British Columbia during a storm last October. In February 2012, the three-year-old female L112, a popular subject among researchers, washed up dead off the coast of Washington.

The local orca population in Puget Sound now stands at 81.

“We’re thrilled of course,” said Michael Harris, Executive Director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association. “Many of us had concerns about this little whale, not just because of the problems L-Pod have had in recent years but generally the odds baby orcas have out there. We always remind people that wild killer whales have a 50 percent mortality rate. Half don’t make it through their first year. And just in its first few months in life, this baby had a lot of big water to battle. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re definitely starting to see some daylight through the trees.”

“Getting this news is another shot of hope,” Harris said. “I’m one of those who think that the southerns have finally turned the corner. We’ve got a real chance of bringing these whales back. And hey, maybe L121 is that poster child of orca recovery – if that baby whale can make it, this population can.”