October 7, 2024 — There are only 73 southern resident orcas left in our region’s waters, according to the most recent count released by the Center for Whale Research. It is one of the lowest tallies since the center counted 71 orcas when it began its survey in 1976.
The 2023 census identified 75 southern residents counted in the J, K and L pods. Since then, two adult males, K34 and L85, as well as the only baby born within the census period, the male calf J60, have died. A recently born calf, L128, was confirmed Sept. 16, which is after the census date for this year.
Orca K34 was last seen in July 2023 looking thin. He was at high risk without his mother, who had died in 2017. Mothers share their salmon catch with their male offspring, even into the calf’s adulthood. Losing mom often spells trouble for sons, according to the center.
L85 was looking thin in August, and was also surviving without a mother. He was adopted by mom L12, and after she also died, he clung to L25, the oldest of all the matriarchs, before he faded away, never to be seen again, the center reported. He was one of the three oldest males in the entire population, born in 1991.
The baby, J60, had a short and tumultuous life. First spotted the day after Christmas in 2023, researchers were never sure who his mother was, as the calf was seen with first one female, then another. Could it have been a case of calf rejection? Could the mother not properly nurse? Were other females trying to help? Could it even have been a case of kidnapping? Researchers could not figure it out — and the calf disappeared and was presumed dead by early to mid-January 2024 according to the center.