Newborn baby orca spotted swimming with J pod

A newborn orca calf has been spotted off Tofino, B.C., swimming with J Pod, an endangered population of southern resident killer whales.

John Forde and Jennifer Steven of the Tofino Whale Centre, who spotted the whale, posted photos of the baby on the company website.

"From my experience, I'm going to guess it's days old. It's bright orange. It had the fetal folds still. It's so tiny, it looked so fresh," said Steven.

According to the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network, most killer whale calves are born with this yellow or orange colouring, and take on their stark, black-and-white colour within their first year.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announcedthe birth via Twitter.

"Southern resident killer whales,their population is small so any birth is huge," saidDFOmarine mammal co-ordinator Paul Cottrell.

Only 75 southern resident killer whalesremain and the population is reported to be at a 30-year low.

Cottrell cautions thatthe mortality rate of southern resident killer whale babies is high around 50 per cent die in the first year.

Forde and Steven said the newborn was spotted swimming with two adultfemalesJ41who is believed to be its mother, and elder J19.

"This is great news for them, and let's hope [the baby] survives its first year," Steven said.

They said the last time J pod was spotted near Tofino was last June on itsannual migration down the coast.