VANCOUVER — A killer whale calf living off the coast of British Columbia has been confirmed as a male, and researchers say that may be a problem for his pod.
The calf, known as J54, is one of eight babies born into the Southern Resident Killer Whale population since Dec. 30, 2014, but only one of the calves has been confirmed as a female.
Five of the calves have been confirmed male, one is suspected to be male and the sex of the last calf is currently unknown.
Scientist Ken Balcomb with the Washington-based Center for Whale Research says having a skewed sex ratio in the population will make it harder for the whales to reproduce.
He says the presence of more males than females could be due to toxins in the ecosystem, which has caused similar issues in other species, including seals.
The Southern Resident Killer Whale population has 84 whales living in the Salish Sea off the south coast of B.C. and the north coast of Washington state.
