The blog updates have been less frequent because we have been out on the water much less. But don’t worry! The whales are still here! The Southern Resident Community of orcas have been here almost everyday for the last 2 weeks. That is absolutely amazing considering it’s nearly October!
We just received word that a brand new, bright orange little calf has been spotted traveling with K-20! K-20, Spock (born 1986) was long thought to be a male because of her larger dorsal fin and tail flukes. But in 2004, she had her very first calf Comet (K-38, male). It appears that sometime within the last 24 hours, Spock has given birth to her second calf! The Center For Whale Research is heading out on the water now to get identification photos of the newest and littlest member of the SRKW community. This is the second addition to this population this summer!
The Whale Museum also officially named the four baby orcas that were born last summer. Receiving a name is an important event. It acknowledges the whale has survived their first winter, making their chances for long term survival much greater (for research purposes, upon birth, all whales do receive an alphanumeric ID). After 6,500 votes, the newly named babies are Notch (J-47, male), Saturna (K-43, female), Mystic (L-115, male) and Finn (L-116, male).
Lets not forget about little K-44 (currently nick-named Garcia)! He was born earlier this summer and is strong, healthy, and is keeping up with the rest of the community!