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Thursday, May 3, 2007 - Page updated at 01:36 PM

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New orca calf in Puget Sound

Seattle Times staff reporter

It's official: Puget Sound's endangered orcas have a new baby to show off.

The calf, less than four days old, was spotted yesterday on the west side of San Juan Island, by volunteers for the Center For Whale Research (http://www.whaleresearch.com/).

The calf was seen traveling north with its mother and three siblings, and looked spry and healthy.

"We had been getting reports from the whale watch boats, so we went to check it out," said David Ellifrit, who snapped a picture of the baby. "It's just a tiny little thing, but it was keeping up with its mother," said Ellifrit, who was close enough to the baby to hear it breathe. "It makes little puffs," he said.

The birth brings the population of Southern Resident whales to 87. The newest member is a member of J pod, one of three clans of Southern Resident orcas that calls Puget Sound home.

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