{"id":881246,"date":"2026-10-13T21:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/881246\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T21:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T21:00:09","slug":"endangered-southern-resident-orca-population-increases-by-2-whales-in-latest-census","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/881246\/","title":{"rendered":"Endangered southern resident orca population increases by 2 whales in latest census"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. \u2014 The endangered southern resident killer whale population has grown for the second year in a row, offering a bit of encouraging news for the orcas that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.<\/p>\n

The Center for Whale Research (CWR) announced Monday that its annual census counted 76 living southern resident killer whales, an increase of two from the previous year.<\/p>\n

Researchers documented four births during the census period, although only two calves survived to the July 1 census date.<\/p>\n

PHOTOS: Southern Resident orca whales, 2025-2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The surviving calves are K47, a female born to K43, and L130, whose mother is L91. Researchers have not yet determined L130’s sex. Both calves appear to be in normal health.<\/p>\n

The other two calves did not survive. J64 lived for less than a month, while L129 was photographed during just one encounter.<\/p>\n

No other whales died during the census period, according to the CWR.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A photo showing the southern resident orcas in the south Sound in September 2025. (Photo: Jami Cantrell Photography via KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography){ }<\/p>\n

The latest numbers mark the second consecutive year of population growth. The population increased by one whale between 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

Despite the recent gains, researchers caution that the population remains far below historical levels and is reproducing more slowly than other killer whale populations.<\/p>\n

Past periods of growth have also been followed by longer periods of decline.<\/p>\n

Researchers say the whales continue to face several threats, including underwater noise, human disturbance, pollution, and a shortage of Chinook salmon, their primary food source.<\/p>\n

“In order for the southern residents to grow consistently, we need to address the threats they’re facing,” said Dr. Michael Weiss, research director at the CWR.<\/p>\n

Weiss said restoring Chinook salmon habitat, improving fisheries management and reducing noise and pollution are critical to the whales’ long-term survival.<\/p>\n

The CWR has submitted its 2026 census findings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n

While the population increase is welcome news, researchers say sustained recovery will require addressing the environmental challenges that continue to threaten the endangered whales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. \u2014 The endangered southern resident killer whale population has grown for the second year in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":881247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-881246","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\/881246","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=881246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}