There’s a new baby whale in the West Coast’s killer whale pod. Take a look

Maddie Capron
·1 min read

For the first time in two years, there’s a new baby whale in a pod off the West Coast

The Center for Whale Research confirmed Wednesday that a new calf was born in a southern resident killer whale pod.

The Center for Whale Research confirmed that a new calf, L125, was born about a month ago into the southern resident killer whale community in pod L.
The Center for Whale Research confirmed that a new calf, L125, was born about a month ago into the southern resident killer whale community in pod L.

Researchers and photographers boarded two boats to see whale pods that had gathered off the coast near Washington and Canada, the group said.

They were hoping to identify the new calf, and as many other whales as possible.

Dave Ellifrit, the center’s photo identification expert, captured several images that show the new baby whale with “fetal folds” — evidence the animal was born recently, researchers said.

“It is nicely filled out and appears to be a perfectly normal little calf,” Ellifrit said in the news release.

The Center for Whale Research confirmed that a new calf, L125, was born about a month ago into the southern resident killer whale community in pod L.
The Center for Whale Research confirmed that a new calf, L125, was born about a month ago into the southern resident killer whale community in pod L.

The calf is in good condition, and its shape and size are typical. It appears to be a little over a month old.

The baby whale is the first born to the southern resident killer whales’ L-pod since January 2019. Two other whales were born into the J-pod in 2020.

A grieving orca known as Tahlequah carried her dead calf in the water for more than two weeks in 2018, but gave birth to a new baby boy in September, McClatchy News reported. A second calf was born in the same pod later that month.

Both of those calves appeared to be doing well, researchers said.