By Canadian Press

Endangered southern resident orca, a senior male, feared dead by researchers

Jan 29, 2020 | 9:29 AM

VANCOUVER — The Center for Whale Research says an endangered southern resident killer whale is missing and presumed dead in the Pacific Northwest, dropping the population to 72.

The centre in Washington state says on its website that the killer whale known as L41 was thin when researchers saw it last January.

Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia’s marine mammal research unit, says the orca was born in 1977 and, at 43, is quite old for a male because the average lifespan for a male is 30 years.

Trites says L41 fathered a number of calves and his gene pool is well represented in the small population. 

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced a number of measures last year to protect the orcas off B.C.’s coast.

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Those include requirements that ships stay 400 metres away from the whales, the closure of several fisheries, and supporting dwindling chinook salmon stocks — the orca’s main food source — by protecting and restoring chinook habitat.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2020

The Canadian Press