| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Puget Sound-area killer whale population increases slightly
Tuesday April 15, 2003NANAIMO, British Columbia (AP) The population of endangered southern-resident killer whales off the coasts of Vancouver Island and Washington state is increasingly slightly, a Canadian scientist says.
Five calves have been born since last summer and one died, leaving the population at a still-precarious 84 orcas, said John Ford, senior marine mammal scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Pacific Biological Station in this town northwest of Victoria.
``I don't know if it is a record or not,'' Ford said Monday, ``but it is a big jump after the last couple of years anyway. It does give cause for encouragement.''
Usually one to two calves are born to the southern residents in a year.
Even a few more offspring can make a big difference, Ford said, ``but it may not represent the long term.''
The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash., has been collecting information on the whales and sharing it with the Canadian Fisheries Department.
Killer whales usually mate in the summer and have a 16- to 17-month gestation period. The calves, typically born in the winter, have a mortality rate of about 40 percent.
More calves may be counted because two of the three pods are not nearby and are expected to appear the area next month.
The L pod appeared in California's Monterey Bay last month and have yet to return north. The J pod was off Parksville, northwest of Nanaimo, in early March.
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