"Newborn Killer Whale a Good Sign for Imperiled Pod"

"SEATTLE (AP) - A newborn orca in the endangered pod that frequents Puget Sound is an encouraging sign following the death earlier this month of a pregnant killer whale from the same group.

"That was a pretty hard hit," Howard Garrett of the Whidbey Island-based Orca Network said Wednesday. "It's good to see a positive sign."

The baby orca was discovered Tuesday by Center for Whale Research scientist Ken Balcomb and another scientist monitoring members of J-pod off the Canadian Gulf Islands of British Columbia.

The presumed mother is J-16, a 43-year-old that has had three surviving calves, Balcomb said. The baby killer whale was estimated to be a day or two old and appeared healthy. It has been designated J-50."

The Associated Press had the story December 31, 2014.