J50 Scarlet was a juvenile female member of the endangered southern resident orca community in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. She was born near

South Pender Island Pender Island (Saanich dialect, Saanich: ) is the collective name for two Gulf Islands, Southern Gulf Islands located in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. The Pender Islands, consisting of North Pender Island and South Pender Island, hav ...

, British Columbia around Christmas Day, 2014. In late June, 2018, Scarlet appeared emaciated and was feared near death. Another calf died in late July, 2018 leaving Scarlet "represent ngthe future" of the declining Southern Residents, thought to number 75, cut off from their food supply of Puget Sound

chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...

, themselves listed as a threatened species. Scarlet's mother, known as J16, was born in 1972. In August 2018, the

Lummi Nation The Lummi Nation ( ; Lummi dialect, Lummi: ' or '';'' officially known as the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation) is a Federally recognised tribe, federally-recognized tribe of primarily Lummi people. The Lummi Nation also includes some N ...

, a federally recognized tribe with treaty rights to salmon, announced a plan to feed Scarlet from their own chinook catch. Beginning in early August, marine veterinarians delivered doses of antibiotics via a

dart gun A dart gun is an air rifle that fires a dart. The dart is tipped with a hypodermic needle and filled with a sedative, vaccine or antibiotic. A dart gun containing a sedative is called a tranquillizer gun ( also spelled tranquilizer gun, tranquil ...

. The idea of feeding her medicated fish was also under consideration. On September 13, 2018, Ken Balcomb, the senior scientist and president of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island in Washington state, said Scarlet was probably dead, though her remains had yet to be discovered.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Scarlet (orca)
J50 and J35 updates
NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region 2014 animal births Individual orcas Individual wild animals Southern resident orcas 2018 in Washington (state) 2018 animal deaths

See also

References

Further reading

External links