Join us in celebrating the births of two orca calves to the endangered southern
resident population of orcas! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [#]GREAT NEWS!
Defender,

Great news from the Pacific Northwest!

Two calves have been born to orca mothers in the critically endangered southern
resident population. One of the new mothers is Tahlequah (J35), heartbreaking
carried her newborn calf for days after they died back in 2018. Her tour of
grief awoke the world to the plight of these orcas, and that’s why we’re
delighted to share that her newborn calf is healthy and spunky!

The two newborns join another two baby orcas who were born last year, bringing
the population to 74 orcas. This is encouraging news, but these southern
resident orcas still face many challenges.

That’s why we’re so grateful to have you with us fighting to save wildlife like
these orcas. The dedication of supporters like you is making a difference by
empowering life-saving measures to save southern resident orcas like Tahlequah
and her newborn calf. Just look at what we’ve accomplished:

* Defenders and our supporters have helped pass new state legislation to ensure
boaters give the orcas more space and to slow down around the whales,
reducing disturbance from vessels;
* Through the Orcas Love Raingardens program, we’ve helped to install and
maintain 14 raingardens at ten public schools in Tacoma, WA to capture
rainwater and prevent toxic runoff from washing into the sea – with another
ten gardens planned;
* And we joined other groups, agencies and businesses in Washington, DC last
year to secure an increase in federal funding for Salish Sea restoration
projects. These included the removal of dams on the Pilchuck and Middle Fork
Nooksack rivers, which will help provide more salmon to orcas.

Friend of Defenders, we still have a long way to go to
help these orcas recover, but these new births are a source of great hope to
wildlife lovers like you and me.

Today, please take a moment to join us in celebrating these orca moms – and
we’ll keep you updated as we continue to fight for these amazing animals, and
otherwise across the country.

Thank you for being a partner in this important work.

With gratitude,

Brandy Swimeley

Vice President, Integrated Marketing
Defenders of Wildlife

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Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 defenders.org [[link removed]]


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Photo credit: Southern Resident Orca (c) NOAA

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