BC
Genders of two new southern resident killer whale calves confirmed: researchers

Posted: Jul. 7, 2023

CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH
L94 and her new calf L127.

One week after it was confirmed there were two new southern resident killer whale calves in the L pod, the Center for Whale Research has now confirmed the genders.

L127 has been confirmed as a girl, and L126 is a boy, according to the research group.

Additionally, researchers confirmed that L94 — Calypso — is L127’s mother.

“As on the previous day, L127 was sticking closely beside L94, which confirmed that L94 was the mother,” CWR wrote about an encounter on July 1. “The calf was being very social with its mom and sister, spending a lot of time rolled over on top of other whales.”

L119 — Joy — is confirmed as L126’s mom and the two were spotted near each other near Mitchell Bay.

“Moving back towards Mitchell Bay, the team saw a group of whales further in shore, and identified one of the individuals as L119,” CWR wrote on July 1. “Sure enough, when the team got closer they saw that all of the L77s, including the new calf, were together heading north.”

The day before, researchers noted that L126 got “rolled around a lot” and saw that the calf had an open saddle patch, which is the name for markings on orcas.