Births in recent years have been overwhelmingly male.
The mother and baby are part of the southern resident killer whale population, also known as orcas. The baby's appearance is particularly good news since only 76 of these endangered whales are left. The orca population is a large extended family made up of three social groups, which are called pods. Orcas are comprised of J, K and L pods. The mother and baby appeared in inland waters off San Juan Island, Washington, for the first time in more than two months.
The mother is 24 and could have more offspring. A typical female will have 3 to 5 calves during her lifetime. Her most recent birthing in January 2016 was unsuccessful, but she's had no other known pregnancies in the past ten years.Researchers will be keeping an eye out for this new addition since the mortality rate in the first year of a baby orca's life is high. Around 37 to 50% of all calves die.
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