Orca Network News - July, 2011
the Southern Resident orcas, orcas worldwide, and their habitats July 1, 2011 through July 31, 2011. July 21, 2011 (Whidbey News Times) While the endangered southern resident orcas in J, K and L pods avoid mating with siblings or offspring, a significant number of young whales in recent years have been born to parents that are members of the same pod, according to a new study by several of the Northwest's top orca scientists. They found that mating was dominated by a handful of aging males, the oldest of which, J1 — dubbed Ruffles, for his wrinkled dorsal fin — fathered at least five calves just in J-pod. The other top breeding male, L41, also produced offspring from an L-pod female. 
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