L-113: Fourth New Baby Orca Born in Puget Sound

October 17, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

A new baby orca in the L pod of Puget Sound killer whales has been confirmed by the Center for Whale Research and assigned number L-113.

The new baby was first spotted and photographed on October 10 off Port Townsend. This is the fourth baby spotted this year. Ken Balcomb, director for the Center for Whale Research, believes the calf was born after September 20, the last time the pod was seen without a new calf.

“Until further documentation, the identity of the mother is unsure,” the whale advocacy group Orca Network reported on its web site. L-113’s mother is thought to be the 14-year-old orca numbered L-94, but known as Calypso. This would be Calypso’s first calf, and that is not good news for the newborn. Survival chances past the first birthday are not good. With a first calf, female orcas pass on high levels of toxic chemicals both in the womb and in their milk.

The other three baby orcas spotted this year include J-44 and L-112, spotted in February, and J-45 was spotted in March.

The arrival of these baby orcas has brought the Puget Sound population to 86. Orcas were on the endangered species list in 2005. Numbers reached 140 in the last 100 years, but have fluctuated since that time. Scientists believe pollution has been a factor.

The killer whale pods normally leave Puget Sound for the ocean at this time of year. Ken Balcomb at the center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor indicated the whale experts are hopeful to see them another time or two before the whales make their final trip to the ocean this year. “We’re hoping they’ll come back in so we can get another look at the calf,” said Susan Berta of Orca Network. “Sometimes in winter, they’ll make their first jaunt out and then come back in.”