The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The endangered Southern Resident orcas have welcomed yet another new addition.
The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor confirmed on its Facebook page this weekend that a newborn orca designated as J53 was seen traveling Saturday in Haro Strait with a 38-year-old orca known as Princess Angeline.
Conservationists are thrilled.
It’s the sixth baby born to the three orca pods that frequent the Strait of Juan de Fuca since last December, boosting their numbers to 82.
Until last year, the Southern Resident orcas population was decreasing. It had declined by
20 percent since the 1990s.
Dwindling food sources and contamination are two reasons scientists blamed for their decreasing numbers.
A 10-year study of Southern Resident orcas, which used input from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, found that the orcas are among the most contaminated marine mammals.
This year, the population has seen a baby boom, suggesting that feeding — mostly on salmon — has been good.
Michael Harris, the executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, said the whale watch community is referring to the baby boom as the “class of 2015.”
There could be more babies on the way.
Federal biologists recently used drones to take thousands of images of the orcas, and they said several appeared to be
pregnant.
