This picture is of Mother J17 "Princess Angeline" who was born in 1977 and her daughter J28 "Polaris" born in 1993. The picture was taken by Marine Mammal Researcher, Ron Bates. 
Here we can see the new calf J42 travelling with other members of J Pod.
This morning we ventured out towards the San Juan Islands with an enthusiastic group of Spanish Tourists. We caught up with J Pod just south of Pile Point and our guests were thrilled when they saw the new baby J42 travelling with her mother J16 "Slick" and older brother J26 "Mike".
Orcas have a 16-17 month gestation period and when they give birth the calf comes out tail first. Other females then help push the baby to the surface where the new born calf takes its first precious breaths of air. An Orca Calf will have a yellowish-orange tinge when it is first born and as it grows older it will change colour to the more familiar black and white. It can sometimes be several months or even years before the sex of a new calf is know. However, with J42 she obligingly showed her underside only three days after being born and was then identified as a female. She is a playful and energetic young Orca and has provided some memorable moments for our guests.
During our trip we witnessed several tail slaps and spy hops as well as some foraging. The members of J Pod we witnessed included J 42, J16 & J 26 as already mentioned as well as J 31 "Tsuchi" and J 8 "Spieden". It was a great trip to start the month of June.
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