The Associated Press
SEQUIM — The body of a dead newborn orca found on the Dungeness Spit is in Seattle today for a necropsy and DNA testing.
Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, said that the calf found Monday evening had been dead for a day or two, according to The Seattle Times.
The body of the 7 ½-foot-long male calf was taken to NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Seattle’s Sand Point for a necropsy.
Results of the procedures should indicate whether the calf was a resident or transient orca, but they won’t be ready for another two or three weeks, Hanson said.
Experts will also try to determine whether the whale was born alive.
The nonprofit Orca Network is looking for anyone who might have taken photos of orcas in Puget Sound waters on Sunday since those images might help determine where the calf came from.
The nonprofit can be e-mailed at info@orcanetwork.org.
