Researchers monitoring the orca population in Washington State and southern B.C. say the number of animals calling the region home has dropped to 75, which is the lowest count since the early 1980s.
The Washington-based Center for Whale Research announced Saturday that a 23-year-old male orca known as L92 is missing and presumed dead.
L92 - so named for his membership in the “L pod” family group - was last sighted in November. His apparent death reduces the number of whales in L pod to 34, down from nearly 60 in the early 1990s.
L pod is the largest of the southern resident killer whale pods. There are currently 23 whales in J pod and 18 in K pod, according to the CWR.
The native orca population has dropped by eight members since 2016, despite a baby boom at that time that gave some researchers optimism about their recovery.
With files from the Canadian Press
