The Center for Whale Research (CWR) is reporting a decrease in the Southern Resident killer whale population, after its latest census showed an orca population of 73 compared to 74 the year before.
The former calf is female, while the latter’s sex is still unknown and both “appeared healthy in recent observations,” the CWR noted. “Within each pod, families form into sub-pods centred around older females, usually grandmothers or great-grandmothers.
Male and female offspring remain in close association with their mothers for life,” it said. The new census, however, marked the lowest L pod count since the study began in 1976, according to the CWR. Thirty-two orcas were recorded in the pod this year, down from 33 last year and nearly half the population recorded in 1993, when there were a record 59. “K pod sits at its lowest number in the last two decades, at 16 individuals. With no mortalities and a single birth, J pod now totals 25 individuals,” the CRW said. Southern Resident killer whales are often spotted in waters around Vancouver Island, including in the Greater Victoria area. On April 12, for example, a group of tourists had a front-row seat to a show put on by a pod.Sign up for our newsletter to get breaking news and daily digests sent to your email.
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