First look at newest K Pod orca calf

On Saturday, the Center for Whale Research (CWR) photographed a new orca calf born recently to a pod of endangered Southern Resident orcas. 

In April, CWR received news of a possible calf traveling with a group of orcas designated as "K Pod." However, the newest member of K Pod, named K45, was not spotted in the area until this week. 

CWR received word on Saturday that the group of Southern Resident orcas were inbound from the west side of Vancouver Island. Field biologist Mark Malleson and his colleagues spotted K Pod northeast of Race Rocks and confirmed the existence of a new calf. They captured images of K20 with her new baby traveling in a tight group with other family members. 

K45's sex is unknown at this time. According to CWR, its size and shape are typical of a calf in good physical condition. K45 is the first calf born into K Pod since 2011. The calf's mother, K20, was born in 1986. Her only other offspring, K38, was a male orca born in 2004.