Baby killer whale is spotted swimming with mom off Washington coast, photos show

Screengrab from Pacific Whale Watch Association's Facebook / Photographer April Ryan

A weeks-old killer whale calf was spotted traveling with its mother off the Washington coast.

The Bigg’s killer whale calf was first seen on Nov. 12 in the Trincomali Channel in British Columbia and again on Sunday, Nov. 20, near the San Juan Islands, the Pacific Whale Watch Association said in a Facebook post.

The calf was with Harald, killer whale T37B who was born in 1998, the whale association said.

This calf is the eighth Bigg’s killer whale to be born this year.

The Puget Sound Express, another whale-watching group, also spotted the calf on Saturday, Nov. 19.

The group saw the calf near Whale Rocks, where whales had fed on a sea lion and were circling around it, the group said in a Facebook post.

“It wasn’t long before we saw the tiny little squirt, with orange eye patches, pop out of the water with the rest of the family,” Puget Sound Express said.

This group also saw the calf close to Harald and believe she is the calf’s mother.

The calf is estimated to be days to weeks old because of its “fetal folds on the dorsal fin.”

‘Dramatic’ whales brawl off Washington coast in rare, hours-long event, video shows

Grandma killer whale — the leader of her orca pod — is feared dead, researchers say

Youngest orca at SeaWorld San Diego dies at 6 years old. ‘Sudden and unexpected’

Advertisement