Dead newborn orca calf washes up near Vancouver Island

SEATTLE – Officials say a dead newborn orca calf washed up on the shores of Nootka Island off Vancouver Island on Friday.

KCPQ-TV reports Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans is performing a necropsy to determine cause of death and also its ecotype, whether it’s a southern resident, transient or other type of orca.

Ken Balcomb, founder and principal investigator at the Center for Whale Research, told Q13 News he does not believe the dead newborn is from the endangered southern resident population.

But he said he won’t know for sure until DNA results come in, which could take weeks.

Southern resident killer whales’ numbers are the lowest they’ve been in more than three decades, with only 74 remaining in Puget Sound.