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8h ago

Southern Resident Orca J36 Confirmed Pushing Dead Newborn in Rosario Strait

Scientists tie the endangered population's poor reproductive success to scarce Chinook salmon, with legacy pollutants compounding risk.

On Saturday, the SeaDoc Society and Center for Whale Research reported that J-36 was spotted carrying her dead newborn calf in the waters of Rosario Strait. (Center for Whale Research (NMFS/NOAA Permit 27038))
J36 is seen carrying the calf in the waters around the San Juan Islands. (Center for Whale Research (NMFS/NOAA Permit 27038))
J36 is seen carrying the calf in the waters around the San Juan Islands. (Center for Whale Research (NMFS/NOAA Permit 27038))
J36 is seen carrying the calf in the waters around the San Juan Islands. (Center for Whale Research (NMFS/NOAA Permit 27038))

Overview

  • The Center for Whale Research confirmed J36 was observed Friday in Washington’s Rosario Strait pushing a deceased female neonate with the umbilical cord still attached.
  • Researchers estimate the calf was full-term or near full-term and likely born within the previous three days.
  • The cause of death remains undetermined, with investigators unable to say whether it was a stillbirth or a postnatal death.
  • Teams from CWR, SR3, SeaDoc Society, The Whale Museum and SeaLife Response documented and measured the calf on scene, and CWR says further updates will follow.
  • Fewer than 75 southern resident killer whales remain, and recent research links mortality more to Chinook salmon abundance than to birth rates, as similar maternal carrying behavior has been documented before in the population.