Welcoming New Orca to L Pod near San Juan Islands

Orca and babyPhoto byguille pozzionUnsplash

Washington State is home to three Orca Whale Pods. With 34 Orca’s, L pod is the largest Orca pod in the Puget Sound region. Sunday, September 15^thits mother.

According to Michael Weiss, the research director for the Center for Whale Research, the baby is nursing and swimming usually alongside its mother. The sweet new baby was seen with its mother swimming along the west side of the San Juan Islands. The baby's gender isn’t yet known, although everyone hopes for a female.

Any birth of an orca is good news. There are three pods, J, K, and L that make up the southern orca population. Listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the Orcas have struggled to rebuild after decades of loss.

New Orca calves are facing tough odds; half of all the newborn Orcas don’t survive their first year of life. From toxins in their mother’s milk to pollutants in the ocean surrounding them, they have to overcome many obstacles.

Orcas form family bonds that last a lifetime. The young don’t leave their mothers; they are highly social animals and very intelligent. Dining on the fattest salmon they can find as well as eating the chum and coho populations, they have their own language and greeting ceremonies. The older ones teach the younger ones. Have you seen the Orcas in Puget Sound?

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