The Pacific Whale Watch Association has released new images and statements of four baby orca whales that have appeared in the Puget Sound in the past months.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has placed Orca Whales in the Puget Sound on the endangered species list due to being afflicted by threats that include commercial hunting, capture for entertainment, habitat pollution, decreased prey, and climate change.
The Center for Whale Research states that wild orca populations have an infant mortality rate of 50 percent. However, recent months have shown the addition of four orcas to two different pods in the sound.
So far observations of the new additions to the Puget Sounds J-pod and L-pod have reported healthy orca calves.
This positive increase in Orca breeding can only be reinforced by a decrease in human activity that negatively impacts the Orcas themselves and, most importantly, their natural habitats.
To join in on the whale watching community for Orcas in the Puget Sound visit:http://www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.html
Images used have been provided by KING5 News and CNN
http://www.king5.com/story/news/2015/07/18/baby-or...
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/31/us/orca-baby-boom/
