New orca calf in Puget Sound

[Barrett808]

Source: Seattle Times

New orca calf in Puget Sound
By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times staff reporter


Newborn calf J42 surfaces along its mother, J16 (born ~1972)
DAVE ELLIFRIT / CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH

It's official: Puget Sound's endangered orcas have a new baby to show off.

The calf, less than four days old, was spotted yesterday on the west side of San Juan Island, by volunteers for the Center For Whale Research (http://www.whaleresearch.com).

The calf was seen traveling north with its mother and three siblings, and looked spry and healthy.

"We had been getting reports from the whale watch boats, so we went to check it out," said David Ellifrit, who snapped a picture of the baby. "It's just a tiny little thing, but it was keeping up with its mother," said Ellifrit, who was close enough to the baby to hear it breathe. "It makes little puffs," he said.

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003692070_weborca03m.html

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:)

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. "It makes little puffs"

Awwwwwww. :)

[Solly Mack]

2. swoon

awwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Norrin Radd]

3. cute!

[bahrbearian]

4. Go north young calf, go north.

[Divernan]

5. "Bravo to Schwarznegger/State of CA for setting aside large portions of ocean for salmon recovery"

Ahnold!?!? Yes. Let's give credit where credit is due. And the Whale Research group gives credit to the California governor. (details in snips below). For the past several years, 2/3 of the 87 Orcas resident to Puget Sound have had to travel hundreds of miles south for about half of each year - to the Monterey Bay area - in order to find enough food to survive.

If you click on the www.whaleresearch.com link, you will see that two of Puget Sound's three resident orca pods have taken to traveling hundreds of miles south for at least half of each year - ending up in the Monterey Bay area (60 of these orcas were sighted there at the end of March). This is because the chinook salmon stocks upon which the Orcas feed in Puget Sound have been drastically diminished from over-fishing, dams, and habitat destruction. This is a great website - many more terrific pictures of orcas.

"Killer whales from Washington have been seen off California. On January 24 of this year, K-pod was sighted off the Farrallon Islands near San Francisco. Then on March 18, whale-watchers sighted members of L-pod off Fort Bragg California. Now this latest encounter off Monterey California with both the K and L-pods suggests that the whales have been off the California coast much of the winter.

"The last autumn encounter in Washington waters with the K and L-pods was October 23, 2006. The recent sightings off California add to a growing body of evidence that the Southern Residents are traveling hundreds of miles from their summer feeding areas in coastal waters of Washington state and lower British Columbia in search of food.

“Chinook salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest from the Columbia River to Puget Sound and southern British Columbia are in serious trouble from habitat destruction, over-fishing, and dams,” says Balcomb. “These Pacific Northwest Chinook stocks cannot in the foreseeable future provide adequate year-round food for the whales or for commercial or sport fisheries.

“Salmon recovery throughout the whales’ habitat range is essential for their long-term survival, and for viable commercial and sport fisheries. Bravo to Governor Schwarzenegger and the State of California for setting aside large parcels of ocean for salmon recovery. It should be a priority for everyone, and the entire coastal marine ecosystem is at stake.”

[gorbal]

14. Hey Arnold does some good things.

I wouldn't vote him president if my life depended on it, but in my experience republicans can sometimes be okay governators.

[Robb]

6. I've been to the whale museum on San Juan Island

It's amazing how much time the volunteers have put into cataloging these guys. There's this family tree display on an entire wall with all the whales' numbers and a photo of each. They have little stories of what they've seen each one do, and often how they died or were killed.

Well worth the like three bucks, if you're ever in Friday Harbor. Add one more photo on the wall. :)

[Javaman]

7. Like our own children, what kind of future will unfold for this "child". nt

[The Stranger]

8. I hate to say it,

but I am worried about the publicity. What if some nutcase finds out about this and kills it (whether it is "poached" or "hunted," it would still be dead)?

[Barrett808]

9. Fortunately, that hasn't been a problem. They're more in danger from propeller strikes.

And people are legally bound to stay pretty far away (something like 100 feet).

There was the unfortunate situation with Luna, up in B.C. (http://www.reuniteluna.com), but separations like that aren't so rare and we're getting better at handling them.

[Divernan]

11. Don't male orcas get forced out of the family pods at some point of maturity?

When my (adult) son told me he had been sea kayaking and encountered a pod of orcas, I expressed some concern, referring to the term "killer" used re orcas. He said that the family pods of orcas stayed closer to shores, where he was kayaking, and it was the groups of males who were driven out of the pods into more remote ocean, who had trouble finding food (starving was the term he used) and became more agressive to larger animals. I have seen film of orcas hunting a gray whale calf, in open ocean, chasing it with its mother for many hours until the calf became too exhausted to swim any longer; and there are photos on the op's link showing some of one of the Puget Sound pods attacking a sea lion.

So, can you tell me (1) are "teenage" males driven out of the pod, as often happens with other species, and (2) are the family group/pods more likely to feed on salmon and only go after larger species like sealions or juvenile whales when their preferred food source is unavailable?

I'm gone diving at San Juan Island once - the water was too cold for this warm water diver, but it was sure beautiful. I'm going to be in Juneau in September, and a diving acquaintance up there tells me it's a good time to see humpbacks and orcas.

[Tyler Durden]

10. Yeah, look out for the INUIT, Kiddo. (nt)

[Barrett808]

12. I thought the Inuit just gave up the Beluga hunt for like the 3rd season in a row

Due to low Beluga population. Am I remembering correctly?

[Beaverhausen]

13. Oh cutie pie! Hope it stays safe