Dead orca calf found near Victoria

Fisheries officers plan to conduct a necropsy on a killer whale calf that washed up on a Victoria-area beach last week.

The orca was found by a family walking on a beach near Point No Point, west of Victoria. Fisheries officers loaded the calf onto a truck to transport it to the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford for a necropsy.

The 2.5-metre whale still had its umbilical cord attached. Researchers say it is not uncommon for killer whales to die soon after being born.

It is not known if the calf belongs to one of three pods that make up the southern resident population of about 85 whales.

The population, which spends part of the year off the South Coast of B.C. feeding on salmon, is considered threatened.

In 2008, seven resident whales died, including two of three newborn calves.