Endangered southern resident orca seen pushing dead calf in B.C. waters

Endangered southern resident orca seen pushing dead calf in B.C. waters

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Tragedy has once again touched the critically endangered southern resident killer whales.

A female orca was observed carrying a dead newborn calf on its nose near Sombrio Point in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Oct. 3.

The death was confirmed by researcher Mark Malleson from Washington-based Center for Whale Research, who encountered the orca identified as J31 – also known as Tsuchi – travelling with her immediate family.

“It’s unclear whether the newborn was a male or female, if it had been carried to full term prior to birth, and if it died after birth or was a stillbirth,” said a statement from the organization.

The Center for Whale Research said the loss is particularly significant given Tsuchi’s reproductive history and the continuing challenge of successful reproduction within the critically endangered southern resident killer whale population.

Born in 1995, the 31-year-old female has previously experienced reproductive loss and failed pregnancies. She was also observed carrying a deceased calf once before in 2016. Tsuchi has one surviving offspring, her daughter J56 – Tofino – born in 2019.

News of Tsuchi’s loss will stir memories of similar tragedies for those who have closely followed the plight of the troubled whales.

In 2018, J35, better known as Tahlequah, drew international attention when she carried her dead newborn for 17 days, covering more than 1,600 kilometres in what some experts described as a ‘grief procession’.

Seven years later in early 2025, Tahlequah was seen again travelling with a dead calf, at times carrying it draped across her snout or balanced on her head.

Later that same year, southern resident J36 (Alki) was observed with a dead female calf. It was the 26-year-old’s fifth documented pregnancy, with her first living less than two years and the others listed as lost late-stage pregnancies.

“For a population as small as the southern residents, the successful birth and survival of every calf matters,” said the Center for Whale Research. “Many factors limit the population’s ability to reproduce and recover, but one of the most significant is the availability of the large, nutritionally rich Chinook salmon these whales depend on.”

The southern residents include three pods known as J, K and L.

The last census by the Centre of Whale Research said there are 74 southern residents in the wild, up just one from 2024’s 73. However, since the count, researchers have documented two more births – K47 in December last year and L130 in June – which brings the population to 76.

Another calf, L129, first seen in February, is presumed to have died after it was not seen travelling with L-pod in June. Center for Whale Research said the death was disappointing but not unexpected, based on the calf’s poor body condition.

“The southern resident killer whales remain critically endangered, and their recovery depends not simply on increasing the number of pregnancies, but on creating the conditions in which mothers and calves can survive and thrive,” said the organization.