In the Salish Sea this fall, the southern resident killer whales posted two pieces of good news in the same month: a census that showed a second straight year of growth, and a new male calf in J Pod.^[1][2] Each piece is welcome on its own. Read side by side, they show something more useful. The population is growing slowly, the gains depend on a handful of calves, and the new calf arrived after the census closed, so he is a head start on next year's count. The censusThe Center for Whale Research runs the annual census of the southern residents.^[3] It finished the 2026 count and reported the results to NOAA.^[4][5] The count found 76 living southern resident killer whales as of July 1, 2026.^[6] That was two more whales than the prior census.^[7] The 2025 count had stood at 74.^[8] The details behind the number matter. Four calves were born during the census period.^[9] Two of the four survived to the census date.^[10] No other whales died during the survey period.^[11] This was the second year in a row that the population grew.^[1] Put those lines together and the arithmetic of the gain is plain. The population rose by two, and two calves survived to be counted. With no other deaths in the period, the whole gain came from surviving calves. That is good news, and it also shows how narrow the margin is. Every calf that lives through its first months moves the total. The calfThree months after the census date, the Center for Whale Research reported a new calf in J Pod.^[2] The calf is designated J65.^[12] Researchers first saw him traveling with the whale J35 on Oct. 19.^[13] He was less than a week old when first seen.^[14] Drone footage confirmed that the calf is male.^[15] Researchers saw no immediate health issues.^[16] The first sighting came one day before the center announced the birth.^[17] The center said it will monitor the calf when it can.^[18] J65 is the sixth documented calf of J35.^[19] J35 has two living sons.^[20] In 2018, J35 carried her dead calf for 17 days.^[21] The Canadian coverage this fall noted the same history and placed the new birth off the coast of British Columbia.^[22][23] News of the calf ran from Bellingham to Seattle to Vancouver.^[24][25][23] For J35, the family tie is lifelong. Resident killer whales stay with their mothers for life.^[26] The timingHere is the useful part of reading the two reports together. The census counts the whales alive on July 1.^[6] J65 was first seen on Oct. 19, well after that date.^[27] So the 76 does not include him. If he is alive on next year's census date, he will be part of the next count. That is a real head start. The 2026 gain of two whales came from two surviving calves.^[7][10] J65 is already one calf into the next census period. The researchers are clear about the risk. Roughly half of southern resident calves do not survive their first year.^[28] The population has high calf mortality.^[29] So the plain reading is a good start, with the first year still ahead of him. The targetsThe state tracks this population against goals. The Puget Sound Partnership sets a 2030 target of 86 southern resident killer whales.^[30] The 2050 target is 110.^[31] The partnership rates the population indicator as below target with no clear trend.^[32] Lay the numbers next to each other. The July count of 76 sits ten whales below the 2030 target of 86.^[33][30] The census added two whales this year.^[7] The whales remain far below their historical population levels.^[34] Two years of growth is a turn in the right direction. It is also a reminder that each surviving calf counts for a great deal in a population this small. The foodWhat the whales eat sits at the center of every recovery plan. Chinook salmon are the primary prey of the southern residents.^[35] The Marine Mammal Commission calls them Chinook salmon specialists.^[36] The commission lists their threats as prey availability, pollution, vessels and noise.^[37] The whales use these waters by season. They are found mostly in the Salish Sea in summer and fall.^[38] In winter and spring their range runs from Monterey Bay in California to southeastern Alaska.^[39] The protectionsThe southern residents have been protected for two decades. Canada listed them as endangered in 2001.^[40] The United States listed them as endangered in 2005.^[41] The state's own tracking lists them as federally endangered.^[42] The Marine Mammal Commission lists them as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.^[43] They are also designated depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.^[44] NOAA Fisheries revised their critical habitat in 2021.^[45] Interest in these whales goes back further than the listings. The Marine Mammal Commission hosted the first killer whale workshop in Seattle in April 1975.^[46] The podsThe population is made up of three pods, named J, K and L.^[47] The new calf belongs to J Pod.^[25] The Center for Whale Research names Dr. Michael Weiss as its research director.^[48] What to watchFor anyone who walks the beaches on the west side of the island or rides the ferry with an eye on the water, the season is turning. The whales spend summer and fall in the Salish Sea and then range far down the coast and north to Alaska.^[38][39] The next marker is the census date of July 1.^[33] Between now and then, the story is one young whale. J65 was swimming with his mother and showed no health issues when researchers last reported.^[49][50] The census already showed two years of gains.^[1] If he is alive on next year's census date, he will be in that count.