'Sign of hope' for endangered killer whales as research centre confirms newborn calf

Brenna Owen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 4:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The Centre for Whale Research says 1 of its tract biologists has spotted a caller calf successful a pod of endangered slayer whales off British Columbia's southern coast.

The Washington-based centre says successful a Facebook station that biologist Mark Malleson encountered J-pod, portion of the larger colonisation of confederate nonmigratory slayer whales, arsenic the orcas swam past Victoria Harbour connected Sunday. 

The centre says helium observed and documented a newborn calf swimming alongside a whale known arsenic J40, and it's thought to beryllium her archetypal calf.

The latest calf is the 4th calved among the confederate residents implicit the past year, with the centre saying it's "a motion of anticipation for this endangered community."

Based connected the archetypal observations, it says determination are "no contiguous concerns" for the calf present dubbed J63, but the archetypal twelvemonth of beingness is often challenging for young whales.

Confirmation of the commencement comes little than 2 months aft researchers with the centre spotted a newborn calf successful February, intimately pursuing the decease of another.

At the time, the centre said it had confirmed that J35, oregon Tahlequah, was nary longer carrying the assemblage of her dormant calf, which she had started pushing astir Jan. 1.

Researchers person antecedently said Tahlequah's behaviour is an evident enactment of grief, and the whale had mislaid 2 of her 4 documented calves. She captured headlines worldwide erstwhile she pushed the remains of the earlier calf for 17 days successful 2018.

The confederate nonmigratory slayer whales are classified arsenic endangered nether Canadian and U.S. species-at-risk laws, with the centre saying each caller calf is "vitally important" to the whales' endurance and recovery.

"We stay cautiously optimistic astir J63's endurance and volition behaviour follow-up observations of the calf's behaviour and carnal information successful the coming days and months, arsenic opportunities allow," it says successful Tuesday's Facebook post.

The Canadian authorities precocious opted not to contented an exigency bid to support the whales contempt a determination from its ain fisheries and situation ministers that the confederate residents look "imminent threats" to their survival.

Instead, the Fisheries Department said with the determination past period that "incremental measures volition beryllium pursued" to support the salmon-eating whales.

"It has been determined that the astir effectual attack is to proceed to negociate quality activities without making an exigency order, utilizing existing legislative tools and non-regulatory measures," the connection said.

WATCH | Orca calf spotted swimming with J-pod adjacent Victoria:

Conservation groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and World Wildlife Fund Canada, decried the decision, saying existing measures person "proven inadequate" to support the whales from threats that scope from inadequate prey to underwater sound and vas strikes.