A 42-year-old female killer whale in J pod is missing and presumed dead, according to researchers in Washington State.
The Center for Whale Research says J14, also known as Samish, was last seen on July 31, and hasn’t been spotted despite researchers having three encounters with her pod since then.
When she was last seen, the whale did not have any signs of being sick or unhealthy.
Researchers say they’ll wait for one more encounter with J14 until they officially record her as deceased.
The killer whale has produced three offspring, and is also grandmother to a calf.
Southern resident killer whales are considered an endangered species despite a “baby boom” for the population in the last year.
More than eight new calves have been born in the last year, but up to half don’t survive their first year, according to experts.
