By The Canadian Press

‘Sign of hope’ for endangered killer whales as centre confirms newborn calf

Apr 8, 2025 | 3:09 PM

The Centre for Whale Research says one of its field biologists has spotted a new calf in a pod of endangered killer whales off British Columbia’s southern coast.

The Washington-based centre says in a Facebook post that biologist Mark Malleson encountered J-pod, part of the larger population of southern resident killer whales, as the orcas swam past Victoria Harbour on Sunday.

The centre says he observed and documented a newborn calf swimming alongside a whale known as J40 and it’s thought to be her first calf.

The latest calf is the fourth born among the southern residents over the past year, with the centre saying it’s “a sign of hope for this endangered community.”

Based on the initial observations, it says there are “no immediate concerns” for the calf now dubbed J63, but the first year of life is often challenging for young whales.

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Confirmation of the birth comes less than two months after researchers with the centre spotted a newborn calf in February, closely following the death of another.

At the time, the centre said it had confirmed that J35, or Tahlequah, was no longer carrying the body of her dead calf, which she had started pushing around Jan. 1.

Researchers have previously said Tahlequah’s behaviour is an apparent act of grief, and the whale had lost two of her four documented calves. She captured headlines worldwide when she pushed the remains of the earlier calf for 17 days in 2018.

The southern resident killer whales are classified as endangered under Canadian and U.S. species-at-risk laws, with the centre saying each new calf is “vitally important” to the whales’ survival and recovery.

“We remain cautiously optimistic about J63’s survival and will conduct follow-up observations of the calf’s behaviour and physical condition in the coming days and months, as opportunities allow,” it says in Tuesday’s Facebook post.

The Canadian government recently opted not to issue an emergency order to protect the whales despite a determination from its own fisheries and environment ministers that the southern residents face “imminent threats” to their survival.

Instead, the Fisheries Department said with the decision last month that “incremental measures will be pursued” to protect the salmon-eating whales.

“It has been determined that the most effective approach is to continue to manage human activities without making an emergency order, using existing legislative tools and non-regulatory measures,” the statement said.

Conservation groups including the David Suzuki Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and World Wildlife Fund Canada decried the decision, saying existing measures have “proven inadequate” to protect the whales from threats that range from inadequate prey to underwater noise and vessel strikes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press