Southern Resident orcas face uncertain future despite groundbreaking research efforts

||| FROM KOMO TV |||

It’s a race against the clock for scientists and researchers to learn more about two Southern Resident whale calves and their mothers.

One calf, J61, was only a few days old when she died in December. Researchers spotted her mother, J35, also named Tahlequah, carrying her dead calf, just as she did in 2018 when she lost another female calf. Her son, born in 2020, was also seen swimming by her side, near the south end of Whidbey Island.

Another calf was born into the J pod, J62 about the same time, around Christmas. That calf appeared healthy the last time researchers caught up with it, but its gender is still unknown.

The Southern Residents spend plenty of time in Puget Sound, often delighting us with their presence. Whether viewing them from a ferry or other boat or from shore, it’s easy to see that they are a family unit.

“They do beautiful things like they share salmon with each other. They take care of each other, so they have these traits that we admire,” said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian, surgeon, and research scientist studying Southern Residents.

Each whale is given a scientific alphanumeric and they also get nicknames.

“If we had animal trading cards for Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, they would be Southern Resident killer whales,” Gaydos said.

So beloved, yet endangered, with fewer than 75 orcas at last count.

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