The Center for Whale Research has completed its July 1, 2024 census of the Southern Resident killer whale population (SRKW) and submitted its report to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). This report marks the 49th such census completed as part of the ORCA SURVEY program.

Unfortunately, the census period from July 1, 2023, to the same date in 2024 saw a drop in the Southern Resident killer whale population, from 75 individuals to 73. This is the result of losing two adult males, K34 and L85, as well as the only whale born within the census period, male calf J60. As of July 1, 2024, J pod stood at 25 individuals, K pod at 15, and L pod at 33. Note that these counts do not include new arrival L128, born after the census date.

K34 was last seen by CWR on July 7, 2023, near Swiftsure Bank. At the time, he appeared to be in poor body condition. He was not seen in any subsequent encounters with K pod. We considered him to be at high risk as an adult male without a mother (K13 died in 2017).

 
L85 was last seen by CWR researchers on August 18, 2023, but was also encountered by our colleagues at Ocean Wise in November. While he appeared somewhat thin in August, photos from November suggested he hadn’t declined further. However, he has not been seen in subsequent encounters with his social group or other Southern Residents. Like K34, L85 was an adult male without a living mother. L85 was “adopted” by L12 after the death of his mother L28, and later latched onto L25 after L12 died. He was one of the three oldest males in the population, along with J26 and J27, all born in 1991.

J60’s short life was strange and tumultuous. First confirmed by Mark and Maya Sears in Puget Sound on December 26, 2023, J60 was initially photographed traveling alongside J40. However, J40 was not visibly pregnant in late 2023. When CWR first encountered the calf on January 3, 2024, he was travelling with J16, a post-reproductive female. Then, on January 7, J60 was encountered swimming alongside J16’s daughter, J42. J42 was likely pregnant in late 2023. Photographs of her breaching on December 21, 2023, indicated she was no longer pregnant and certainly not about to give birth within the next week. The only other J pod female that was heavily pregnant in late 2023 was J46. We, therefore, assign J46 as the “probable” mother of J60 in our dataset. It’s unclear whether this was a case of calf rejection, an inability of the mother to properly nurse the calf with other females attempting to help, or kidnapping. J60 did not appear to be putting on weight in later encounters and was not seen with J pod when encountered on January 27, 2024. J60, therefore, likely died sometime in early to mid January.

NOAA’s delisting criteria for Southern Resident killer whales include a population growth rate of 2.3% over 28 years. However, in the last decade, every census showing population growth has been followed by a subsequent decline. The Center for Whale Research’s data clearly shows that survival rates are closely tied to Chinook salmon abundance, and there cannot be an effective recovery of the SRKW population without an increase in this crucial resource. Without sufficient prey abundance, the Southern Residents will simply not be able to sustain population growth.