It’s a GIRL!

J-50 is a Girl! – Center for Whale Research photo

Here’s a new report from the Center for Whale Research…

The new baby killer whale in J pod, called J50 by researchers that designate these whales alpha-numerically, is alive and well, and with its matrilineal family today in northern Georgia Strait British Columbia.

The new baby was first seen in the San Juan/Gulf Island archipelago on the 30th of December when it was estimated to be 4-10 days old, and it quickly became the subject of mystery because it was swimming alongside a female whale that is estimated to be 43 years old – beyond the age calculated for reproductive senescence in these whales.

The 43 year old female, J16, has had five known prior babies, three of which have survived and still swim by her side. Her sixteen year old daughter, J36, was not seen nearby on 30 December, and we have for several years hoped that she would calve soon.

We still do not know which whale, J16 or J36, is the mother of little J50, but we will analyze photographs and behaviors noted today and in the future to determine the exact status in addition to the now confirmed female sex of the new baby. Sometimes it takes a few encounters and some time to sort these things out because these whales are very caring for one another, and baby-sitting is not unusual, especially with grandmothers.

The presumed maternities in our catalogue now spanning forty years of precise photo-identification have all been verified by genetic studies, so we have to be careful and not leap to conclusions about exact relationships from only two sightings of this baby. We are working in coordination with researchers from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to obtain facts and photographs that will help solve the matrilineal situation, but the sex of J50 is now confirmed to be female.

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