Days-old orca with ‘sweet little face’ seen off WA, photos show. ‘Heart nearly stopped’
A days-old orca with a “sweet little face” was caught on camera swimming with an endangered group of killer whales in Washington’s Puget Sound, photos show.
The news brought excitement to the whale watching community, but it also brought warnings from wildlife officials, who are urging the public to keep a distance from the creatures because of their vulnerable condition.
Jami Cantrell, a photographer, was with her friend, Brittany Noelle, when they became the first of four people to spot the calf, Cantrell wrote in a Facebook post.
Cantrell said she spent Christmas Day watching the J pod, a group of Southern Resident killer whales often seen near the western shore of San Juan Island.
A ‘little orange baby orca’
During her sightings, she “noticed some odd behavior” from the pod, she wrote in the post. So the next day, Cantrell and Noelle went to the mouth of Port Madison to track them down again.
“All of the sudden, boop, a tiny little orange baby orca face popped out of the water and we both looked at each other,” she wrote.
Cantrell said they weren’t sure if the orca was 1-year-old J-59, so they tried to get another look from Fay Bainbridge Park shoreline.
“As they neared closer the tiniest most adorable new jpod baby popped out of the water and our suspicions were confirmed,” Cantrell said in the post.
The Center for Whale Research confirmed the sighting.
Researchers said the calf was close to J-40, a female orca they believe could be its mother. They do not know the calf’s sex yet.
Now, Noelle wants to spread the word on how vulnerable the calf is.
“My first priority is the health and safety of the Endangered Southern Resident killer whale population and not the amusement of those wanting to get close,” Noelle said in a Facebook message.
People may now want to catch a glimpse of the baby orca, but Cantrell said the safest way to do so is from the shoreline.
Endangered species
The whales need “space and freedom of movement,” especially while they raise a calf that has a 50% survival rate, Cantrell told McClatchy News.
Southern Resident killer whales are listed as endangered species in both the U.S. and Canada, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
These populations have declined due to lack of prey, chemical pollution, noise disturbances from vessels as well as other factors, the agency said.
But overall, Cantrell posted she feels “so honored to have been apart of welcoming him or her into this world.”
“The moment that I saw that sweet little face pop out of the water my heart nearly stopped,” Cantrell told McClatchy News. “I’ll relive this moment everyday for the rest of my life.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2023 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Days-old orca with ‘sweet little face’ seen off WA, photos show. ‘Heart nearly stopped’."
