In Photos: Response Teams Try To Save Starving Killer Whale

By Kimberly Hickok, Staff Writer | August 15, 2018 05:40pm ET

Young orca

Scarlet, or J50, is a 3-year-old female killer whale (Orcinus orca) in poor health, but scientists are trying their best to help her. [Read more about the attempt to save this starving orca]

Scarlet's thin form means there's a dip at the base of her skull, where she's lost fat. Experts call this "peanut head," and it's not a good sign.

Scarlet is small for her age, but in the past month she's looked particularly emaciated.

Scarlet is part of the J pod, one of three small groups of orcas within the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale subpopulation.

Scarlet's mom and sibling are also part of the J pod.

Scarlet seen here, to the left of her mother, J16.

Scarlet seen here swimming with her sibling, J42.

Scarlet, or J50, is emaciated and weak and has trouble keeping up with her pod at times.

Scarlet follows a member of her pod.

Observers noticed that Scarlet was having trouble keeping up with her pod when the current was strong.

At one point, Scarlet fell behind members of her pod by almost a half mile (1 kilometer).

Response teams from the U.S. and Canada worked together to execute a plan to save Scarlet.

A Lummi Nation boat slipped live salmon into the water through a long tube device, hoping to entice Scarlet to eat.

Response teams served salmon to Scarlet from the back of their boat, but they're unsure if she ate any of the fish.

Live, farm-raised chinook salmon were dropped in the water for Scarlet to feed on. It's unclear if she actually ate any of the fish.

Response teams were poised for the right opportunity to collect breath and fecal samples from Scarlet.

Researchers used a long pole with a petri dish at the end to collect a sample of the air Scarlet exhales out her blowhole.

When Scarlet exhales, the bacteria in her breath sticks to the petri dish researchers held above her head.

Scarlet was spotted off the west side of San Juan Island near Lime Kiln Lighthouse on Aug. 11, 2018.