BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada — The Center for Whale Research (CWR) confirmed this week that a newborn orca calf, J64, is believed to have died about a week after being first spotted with the endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

Researchers made the discovery during an Oct. 23 encounter with J pod, one of the three families that make up the Southern Resident population. The team had set out to check on the calf, born around Sept. 18 to 19-year-old orca J42, her first known offspring. The calf's last known sighting was Sept. 26.

According to the CWR's encounter report, observers located J pod traveling slowly north through Swanson Channel before spotting J42 swimming near the edge of the group. Researchers watched closely, waiting for the tiny calf to surface beside its mother, but it n

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