Months-old orca calf spotted off Vancouver Island, confirmed to be female
A young southern resident killer whale calf was recently photographed swimming in the waters off Vancouver Island, allowing researchers to identify the young orca as female.
The roughly six-month-old calf, dubbed L125, was spotted in the Swiftsure Bank area just west of Port Renfrew.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says it was able to identify L125 as female, which is promising news for the matriarchal species, which needs more females to assist with population growth.
L125 was born in B.C. waters in February. In a rare occurrence, three separate orca pods gathered in the waters of the Haro Strait seemingly to meet the new calf.
"It's interesting that all three pods got together at the time of this birth, as happened (on) September 5, 2020, when J35 Tahlequah gave birth to J57 and K and L pods came in from the Pacific to join J pod," wrote the Orca Network back in February.
The DFO says that L125 was seen swimming near an "interim sanctuary zone" at Swiftsure Bank. Interim sanctuary zones are seasonal areas that are closed to boat traffic so that orcas can safely forage for food with reduced underwater noise pollution.
Southern resident killer whales are an endangered species, largely due to reduced chinook salmon prey and dangers posed by boats, according to the DFO.
The Centre for Whale Research estimates that there are roughly 74 southern resident killer whales left, though some researchers say the small population is in the best condition it has been in roughly a decade.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.