Orca Babies

Miekkavalaat ovat saapuneet takaisin Washingtoniin talvimatkoiltaan. Heilla on mukanaan kaksi vauvaa! Tama on todella hyva merkki, silla valaiden maara on uhkaavasti vahentynyt viime vuosina, jopa niin paljon, etta ne ovat nyt uhattujen listalla.

Endangered orcas return with 2 babies

By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times staff reporter

The endangered orca whales of Puget Sound have two new babies, bringing the southern resident population to 89.

K and L pods are back in the San Juan Islands from their winter travels, and each brought a baby in tow. "They look healthy. They apparently had a good winter. It looks like they all pulled through," said Kenneth Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor.

The K pod baby is estimated to be only a few weeks old. The L pod baby was probably born in the spring. Both appear to be very healthy, said Balcomb, who confirmed the sightings on Friday.

Any increase in the number of southern resident orca whales is good news. The animals were recently listed as endangered, the most critical status, under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is in the process of working up a recovery plan for the southern resident population. The service has proposed designating about 2,500 square miles of Puget Sound critical habitat for the orcas. Projects proposed for the designated area, such as building a dock or bridge, would need to be reviewed for their effect on orcas if federal funds were involved.

Nowhere else do so many killer whales share waters with so many humans, posing a unique conservation challenge for both.

At birth, orcas are 7 to 8 feet long and weigh 300 to 400 pounds. Their characteristic white patches can be a bit orange, coloration that fades to the trademark white in time.

More babies could arrive this summer. Some years have brought a boomlet of as many as seven calves. Two calves is about average, but the number is particularly heartening this year because of the recent commitment to restore their numbers.

Orcas are at the top of the marine food chain, and have large, complex brains. The Puget Sound orcas have a unique greeting ceremony, and the matrilineal pods have languages all their own. They feed about half the time — but also indulge in all kinds of play: chasing, splashing at the surface, breaching, fin slapping, tail lobbing, head standing, rolling over other animals and playing with objects, including kelp and jellyfish.

"These are wonderful creatures to have in our neighborhood," Balcomb said. "It is really important that we have animals that keep on reproducing. This is the generation that is going to make the recovery, if it is going to happen."

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company