SEATTLE – Three young adult killer whales – members of the family groups that spend their summers chasing salmon around Washington’s San Juan Islands – have not been seen in weeks and are feared dead, researchers said Tuesday.
One of the orcas leaves a 4-month-old orphan, whose care apparently has been taken over by another female.
The three salmon-eating orca families that frequent the state’s inland waters are J, K and L pods. J-pod spends virtually the entire year in the waters north of Puget Sound, while the other two groups head out to the open ocean in winter.
The pods, called the southern resident population, are unique in diet, language and DNA, and were declared an endangered species last year, with a recovery goal of 120 animals. If the three missing whales have died, the three pods will total 87 orcas, with just 23 reproductive females.
The missing mother, K-28, is from K-pod, said Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, a research assistant at the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, which tracks the pods and maintains photo-identification records of each animal.
A photo of K-28 taken Sept. 19 shows a dip behind her blowhole, which indicates illness or malnutrition, he said. The 12-year-old female may also have had difficulties related to the birth.
K-28 has not been seen since, though researchers have had other encounters with the group and have seen her calf swimming close to other family members. Her baby, K-39, likely is being cared for by an older female, her aunt, K-22, Balcomb-Bartok said.
Orcas are not fully weaned until about age 2, and the calf may not survive the winter.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
