Endangered orcas return to Puget Sound without newborn J64, presumed dead

Endangered orcas return to Puget Sound without newborn J64, presumed dead

John Ryan

John Ryan

November 03, 2025 / 3:51 pm

Almost the entire population of southern resident killer whales gathered in central Puget Sound on Sunday, but the newest member of J Pod, a newborn known as J64, was not among them.

According to a tally by the nonprofit Orca Behavior Institute, 59 of the endangered population of 74 whales swam, hunted, and splashed as far south as Vashon Island , delighting onlookers on both sides of the sound.

The fish-eating orcas rely primarily on Chinook salmon, but in autumn, they also chase after chum, the second-largest salmon species, returning to the Nisqually and Puyallup rivers and other drainages in south Puget Sound.

Though all of the orcas’ J Pod and K Pod and mo