Baby orca sighted off San Juan Island

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. – The Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island says a new baby orca has been spotted.

The killer whale calf was seen Tuesday off the west side of San Juan Island. It has been designated L-111, the next number in sequence for members of L pod, a group of about 44 orcas that frequents the San Juans and parts of Puget Sound. The calf is the sixth baby born to L-47, a 34-year-old female nicknamed “Marina.”

The new calf has two sisters, Moonlight and Muncher. Moonlight had a calf of her own last year.

Researchers say Marina was seen without a calf on Monday, so the baby may only be a few days old.