Pregnant killer whale’s death fuels worry about species’ survival. Pregnant killer whale’s death fuels worry about species’ survival. SF Gate Logo Hearst Newspapers Logo. Skip to main content.

On Tuesday, a day after J32, ... Facebook page, on which many longtime orca observers were stating that all the baby talk is purely speculation, that J32 is just a well-fed and happy orca. ...

But the death this month of J32, an 18-year-old orca known as Rhapsody — who was pregnant with a nearly full-term female calf — is pushing Ken Balcomb closer to despair.

He said the loss of J32 marks the fourth death of a Southern Resident orca in 2014. The last surviving southern resident baby was born in August of 2012.

It comes from the same pod as J32, a female that apparently died of complications during pregnancy. NOAA scientists say tagging this orca is especially beneficial because they know little about J ...

The death of the orca is considered a significant blow to the killer whale population and efforts to rebuild it. J-32 was a southern resident orca. Until the animal's death, there were believed to ...

The body of a young killer whale was discovered Thursday near Vancouver Island by residents of Courtenay, B.C., who towed it to shore. Its death is troubling, said marine mammal researchers from ...