SAN JUAN ISLANDS, Wash. – There’s a new baby orca in Puget Sound.
Orca Network reports on their Facebook page that an observer snapped a picture of the new member of the Southern Residents’ J-Pod as they swam west of San Juan Island on Tuesday, March 1st.
The Center for Whale Research launched a boat and confirmed that it was, indeed, a newborn calf and dubbed it J-59.
The mother is J-37, also known by the name Hy’shqa , which means “blessing” and “thank you” in the Coastal Salish language.
