Southern resident killer whale population falls to 73

An annual census of B.C.'s southern resident killer whales shows a decline in their numbers since last summer. As of July 1, the endangered orca population consisted of 73 mammals, a decrease of one since July 2021.

According to the Washington state-based whale research agency, as of July 1 the SRKW population consisted of 73 individuals, which is a decrease of one from the July 1, 2021 census, when the orca population was 74.

This year's report was released in September and was completed for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Bellingham, Wash.

The CWR reports that the SRKW population is a large extended family or clan that make up J, K and L pods. Members of J pod are the clan most likely to be seen year-round in the waters of the Salish Sea.

The pod used to frequent the inland waters from Washington state’s lower Puget Sound to the Georgia Strait from late spring to early fall.

In recent years the timeframe for J pod's "visits" have shortened to late summer through to early fall.

The most recent census data shows the SRKW population had three deaths – K21 "Cappuccino," L89 "Solstice" and K44 "Ripple" – from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2022.

"From community observations, we know that K44 was alive in late April 2022, however he was not seen in subsequent encounters with his family," reads this year's CWR census report.

The agency states that the body of a juvenile male killer whale, matching K44’s size and markings, was found entangled off the Oregon coast in late June. It says that due to a lack of photographs or biological samples, a definitive identification of the deceased orca could not be made.