A new female orca has joined a local Southern Resident pod off the west side of San Juan Island.
The Center for Whale Research confirmed the gender of the new calf named J62 in J pod on Feb. 15. The center first spotted J62 at the beginning of January, bringing the total population of the pod to 26.
Researchers said in the Feb. 8 spotting that J62 seemed to be doing well, “bouncing around” between J41 and the others. Meanwhile J35, the mother that was carrying her dead calf’s body late last year, was no longer carrying the carcass.
The team of researchers said that the group seemed to be in social spirits, with J62 doing belly rolls that allowed the crew to confirm the calf’s gender.
