Orca baby boom: 7th calf born to endangered southern resident population

The Centerfor Whale Research says yet another orca calf has been spotted swimming with the southern resident killer whale population.

This is the seventh new calf born to theendangered population of cetaceansin the last 12 months.

The young orca was photographed in November, butdue to poor visibility and unfavourable sea conditions, it took several weeks to confirm that there was indeed a new calf in L pod.

It has beendesignated L-123 andis believed to be the first offspring of 12-year-old orca L-103.

While researchers hope this year's apparent baby boomrepresents a turnaround for local killer whale populations, experts acknowledge baby orcas only have a 50 per cent survival rate.