Where is J50? Authorities have remained on alert for the 3-year-old orca amid fears that she might have already died.
Missing Orca J50
J50, also known as Scarlet, is a young orca that authorities have been monitoring in the past weeks because of her weakening condition. Since August, biologists have been monitoring Scarlet’s condition after she was observed to be lethargic.
Scientists feared that she may not survive. Last Sept. 7, she was seen lagging half a mile behind the rest of her pod and they observed that she had grown thinner and weaker.
The Sept. 7 sighting was the last time Scarlet was seen and by late afternoon of Sept. 14, Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research declared her dead. In response, a spokesperson from the NOAA Fisheries stated that both the U.S. and Canadian governments will continue with the search.
The agency's latest update on Facebook, however, indicates that the team has ended the active search. However, the U.S. Coast Guard, West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and various researchers on water will remain on high alert.
This is not the first time that Scarlet was feared to be dead as she occasionally went missing for days at a time but still return to her pod. In fact, Scarlet had disappeared for two weeks last August just before authorities were able to give her medication for a common parasite that they discovered in her feces.
In an attempt to help her when she reappeared, a veterinarian even shot her with an antibiotic-filled dart, while the crew also dropped salmon in front of her just to get her to eat.
Should Scarlet reappear, authorities are expected to capture her and take her to a facility where she will remain in captivity until she gets better and will then be released back into the wild.
Southern Resident Killer Whale Population In Danger
No enough evidence can determine the exact status of the entire orca or killer whale population worldwide. However, the southern resident killer whales have been considered endangered in the last decade, with their numbers continuing to decline. In fact, their population, Scarlet included, is down from 98 in 1995 to just 75 today.
This decline in their numbers is primarily caused by the decrease in their main food source, the Chinook salmon, which are threatened by high water toxicity, overfishing, and boat disturbances. It does not help either that the orca population in the area is already low. Apparently, Scarlet is important to the pod as she is one of the few reproductive-age members.
Interestingly, Scarlet is in the same pod as J35 or Tahlequah, the grieving mother who carried her dead calf for weeks after its death.
