New photos suggest another endangered whale is ailing

VANCOUVER The death of a mother orca seems to have put her son’s life in danger.

Earlier this week, scientists who monitor the endangered southern resident killer-whale population said they ’re concerned about K25, a 27-year-old male orca sometimes called Scoter.

Photos taken by drone show he has a “thinner body profile” compared with photos from previous years, John Durban, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association biologist, said in a news release.

The changes appear to coincide with the death of his mother, Skagit, in 2017 and “likely reflects the challenges he faces without her help in capturing and sharing prey.”

Described as a large whale with a broad dorsal fin by The Whale Museum in Washington state, Scoter has two sisters and a younger brother, as well as two nephews. When Skagit lived, the family sometimes travelled separately from K Pod.

Last winter, the matriarch didn’t surface with the family, causing scientists to speculate about the impact her death would have on her offspring. A year later, it appears Skagit’s death has led to Scoter’s decline.

Research based on long-term monitoring has shown that adult males have an increased mortality risk after their mother’s death, said Durban. “Males rely on help from their mothers, and other family members, to meet their increased energy demands.”

Scoter no longer has that help at a time when killer whales are facing pressure from declining food sources, marine noise and pollution.

Earlier this month, another southern-resident killer whale, Scarlet, died after scientists noticed she was severely emaciated. Government agencies on both sides of the border considered an elaborate rescue plan to help her, but were forced to abandon it when she disappeared.

Another whale in the same pod, J35, made international headlines this summer as she pushed the body of her dead calf with her for more than two weeks.

The southern-resident killerwhale population has dwindled to just 74 animals, the lowest in more than three decades, and there hasn’t been a successful birth in the population since 2015.

But Durban also had hopeful news to report. The aerial images taken earlier this week showed Scoter’s sister K27 is “heavily pregnant,” along with at least two other females in the three southern-resident pods (J, K and L).

At this time, no intervention is being considered to help Scoter or the pregnant whales. Scientists plan to minimize disruption to the pod while “opportunistically collecting fecal samples and observations” that could help track the whales’ conditions, according to a NOAA news release.

Georgia Strait Alliance executive director Christianne Wilhelmson said she was sad to hear about Scoter, but “beyond the point of being surprised.”

Wilhelmson blamed the federal government for taking too long to develop a plan to save the whales, years after they were first listed as an endangered species: “They were endangered on paper, but very little was done.”

Conservationists have filed a lawsuit to force the federal government to issue an emergency order to improve the availability of chinook salmon, the whales’ primary food, by restricting fishing. They also want boat speeds limited to decrease underwater noise.

The plight of the southern-resident killer whales is also a key issue in the fate of the Trans Mountain pipeline project. In quashing the pipeline’s approval, the Federal Court of Appeal found the increased marine traffic associated with the pipeline posed a serious threat to the whales, in addition to the risk of an oil spill. Last week, the federal government ordered the NEB to conduct a review of tanker traffic, paying special attention to killer whales. A report is expected no later than Feb. 22.