Another baby Southern Resident Killer Whale has died. A mother orca was seen desperately trying to prop up her newborn calf off the coast of Victoria on Tuesday.
The baby is the first born in 3 years to the endangered orcas -- and about half of the 11 calves born in recent years have died as well.
It's also just the latest blow to the endangered species of whales, with many scientists saying the whales are starving. One observer says the latest dead baby lacked blubber.
Misty MacDuffee is a Biologist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. She says more needs to be don e to ensure the whales have access to their main food - Chinook Salmon... which have also dwindled in numbers:
" We have got to address those mixed stock fisheries that are on migration routes from southeast Alaska through northern British Columbia, down the west oast of Vancouver island. The fisherman and the whales want the same fish."
MacDuffee says we can have fisheries, but they need to occur after the whales have had access to them.
The Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered a decade ago, and their numbers continue to drop. There are just 75 left, and there is concern for another young female, a 4-year-old known as J-50.
Testing is underway to determine if she has an illness, or if she is suffering from malnutrition.