J35 showing a ‘baby bump’ much to everyone’s delight
VANCOUVER — More than one endangered southern resident killer whale is believed to be pregnant and a UBC scientist says he is delighted at the news.
Andrew Trites said one of them is J35, the whale that drew international attention two years ago as she pushed the body of her dead newborn through the water for more than two weeks. The pregnancy shows J35 is not malnourished and is healthy enough to carry a fetus, he said.
“That’s a good sign and it’s also good sign that she is pregnant because they need more babies in this population, and particularly females,” he said.
It’s believed there are 73 southern resident killer whales in the group that is divided in to three pods, J, K and L. Their territory ranges from the waters off southern
B.C. to California.
The residents’ favoured food is chinook salmon. Many populations of that species are in decline or in danger of being wiped out in both Canada and the United States.
That and other challenges faced by orcas make a lot of B.C. residents feel closer to them, Trites said.
“And (J35’s) got the most incredible backstory now of all the killer whales. It’s like we’re talking about a member of our family or friend of ours.”
Research has shown that about twothirds of all southern resident pregnancies are lost because of various factors including lack of salmon.
Details on how far along J35 is in her pregnancy are sparse but aerial photos show her with a “baby bump,” said Trites.
Orca pregnancies last up to 18 months but for it to show, the whale has to be quite far along, he said.