Orca baby visits Whidbey

"Kelley Balcomb-Bartok photographed this new calf in K-pod traveling alongside its mother.A new calf in K-pod traveling alongside its mother was photographed by the Center for Whale Research in late November. The calf and a pod of about 11 whales was sighted off Whidbey Island's west side by Coupeville-area resident Al Luneman. The calf (K-32) was first sighted in Puget Sound with J-pod, and now is confirmed to be a K-pod baby. The calf and his mother K-16 (Opus), along with Opus' sister K-14 and her calf, had been traveling with J-pod for the past week. From an encounter with K-pod on Nov. 4, all of K-pod was present and there was no calf with K-16 at that time. In a Nov. 13 photo taken of the calf's underside, an umbilical cord was still attached, so the calf is presumed to have been born between Nov. 4 and 13. "

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