{"id":477304,"date":"2026-02-19T06:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/477304\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T06:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T06:20:07","slug":"new-southern-resident-orca-calf-spotted-in-strait-of-juan-de-fuca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/477304\/","title":{"rendered":"New Southern Resident orca calf spotted in Strait of Juan de Fuca"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. \u2014 Biologists with the Center for Whale Research <\/a>have documented a new Southern Resident killer whale calf traveling with L pod in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca.<\/p>\n

RELATED | Steps being taken to reduce orca-disorienting underwater clatter in Puget Sound<\/a><\/p>\n

The calf, designated L129, was observed Feb. 16 near Race Rocks, according to researchers. <\/p>\n

The young whale was traveling with the L55 matriline and was seen alongside L55, 49, and her daughter, L103, researchers said. <\/p>\n

Scientists have not yet determined the calf\u2019s mother. If L55 is the mother, she would be considered an exceptionally old Southern Resident killer whale to give birth. <\/p>\n

If L103 is the mother, the calf would be her second. <\/p>\n

Researchers said the calf appears to be very young, likely only a few days old, and cautioned that it is too early to assess its health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first year of life, especially these early days and weeks, are difficult for killer whales, and many calves don\u2019t make it,\u201d the Center for Whale Research said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Biologists said they hope to see L129 again soon and that the calf\u2019s mother is able to find enough food to keep the newborn healthy.<\/p>\n

The center said it plans to share a full encounter report and additional images in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Back in December 2026, the Center for Whale Research team received reports and images from Orca Network and Orca Conservancy of a small calf accompanying the K pod. <\/a><\/p>\n

Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n

JOIN THE CONVERSATION (5)<\/p>\n

The first year of life is challenging for Southern Resident calves, with only about 50% surviving this critical period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. \u2014 Biologists with the Center for Whale Research have documented a new Southern Resident killer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-477304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}