Incredible video shows orca calf in Salish Sea, but is it good news for our J-Pod?



SEATTLE -- A baby Bigg's killer whale was spotted by whale watchers this month in the Salish Sea. The young calf was photographed by Ocean EcoVentures between April 4-15.

In the video above, you can see the youngster swimming beside its 32-year-old mother and its 4-year-old brother.

orca



The Pacific Whale Watch Association believes the calf, referred to as T065A6, is less than a month old and is the newest member of the population.

The "T" in the population name means transient. "Brigg" also means that these orcas move around and do not have a permanent home.  So the sighting of the baby calf is not bad news, but it also doesn't mean good news for the critically endangered southern resident killer whales, who migrate along the West Coast.

With the death of a two-and-a-half-year-old male orca last September, the southern resident orcas population has dipped from 83 in 2016 to only 76 whales in 2017.