New orca calf born to descendant of whale once captured and held by SeaWorld

||| FROM KING-TV SEATTLE |||

A new orca calf spotted in the Puget Sound last week is part of the family of the last killer whale captured in United States waters.

The new Bigg’s, or mammal-hunting, orca calf was spotted Thursday in the Salish Sea. The calf was spotted several additional times over the weekend, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA).

The calf was seen swimming directly alongside its mother, T046B3 or “Sedna.” The PWWA said Sedna is part of “a well-known family of orcas, a family whose story was nearly cut short almost 50 years ago.

Sedna’s grandmother, T046 or “Wake,” was one of six whales captured and temporarily held by SeaWorld in Budd Inlet, according to a PWWA release. Ralph Munro, then an assistant to Gov. Dan Evans, saw the captures while sailing and helped file a lawsuit against SeaWorld. The whales were the last animals to be captured in American waters.

The PWWA said at least 30 Bigg’s killer whales would never have been born without the direct efforts of Munro to save Wake.

There are over 400 individuals in the coastal Bigg’s orca population, according to Bay Cetology. This is a significant difference from the endangered Southern Resident orcas, which have a population of 73. 

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