Southern Resident Orca Calf and Dolphins

There’s excitement over a new Southern Resident Orca calf in the San Juans, and Pacific White Sided Dolphins have been spotted in the Howe Sound and Saltery Bay areas. Looks like the Humpbacks that were in the Jervis Inlet / Hotham Sound area have finally decided to head to warmer waters.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday!

Big news! It’s been kept quiet to make sure all parties confirmed, but NOAA’s NW Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Whale Research have confirmed that on December 17, 39-year old J16 (Slick) gave birth to a new baby calf in Puget Sound, probably only a few hours judging from the fresh fetal folds, before being seen and photographed by veteran field researcher Candice Emmons of NWSFC. This makes J16’s fifth calf since her first, J26, was born in 1991. She was the sixteenth J pod orca photographed and identified by Mike Bigg in 1972, and is among the oldest whose age is known exactly. Her matriline is known as the J7’s after J16’s late mother.

Susan Berta & Howard Garrett, Orca Network, Whidbey Island, WA

Just spotted what appeared to be a couple hundred porpoises in a feeding frenzy north of Horseshoe Bay. 4:00pm December 21, 2011 from Sea to Sky Highway

Around 11 am there were some Pacific White Sided Dolphins between Saltery Bay and Texada. Looking at the line, I can only estimate that there were around 60 to 80 of them. I was a bit too far away to be sure, but their leaps gave the species away.