At a Glance

The L pod of critically endangered orcas is typically seen in Puget Sound.A calf with the group brings the number of Southern Resident Killer Whales to 75.The group is likely looking for new sources of chinook salmon.

A famous pod of rare killer whales typically seen in Puget Sound has turned up far from home in California's Monterey Bay.

More than 30 members of were spotted in the bay 70 miles south of San Francisco at the end of March, the Seattle Times reported.

Nancy Black, a marine biologist and owner of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, confirmed the sighting after hearing about the whales from some of her crew members.

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The pod included L25, the oldest southern resident whale, thought to be in its 90s. A young calf that was born in the past three months was also with the group.

“We were all so glad to see that little calf — it would have been so sad to see the mother without it,” Black said.

The new baby raises the number of Southern resident orcas to 75. The newest calf, called L124, is , the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

The pod sighted in Monterey Bay includes a calf, L124, that was born in the past three months.

(Monterey Bay Whale Watch)

It was the first time this pod was seen in Monterey Bay since 2011. They were also spotted there in 2000, 2002 and 2008, according to Black.

This group is one of three pods, J, K and L, of critically endangered resident killer whales that live off Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

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Their food source, chinook salmon, has dwindled,, and boat noise hinders their hunting and communication.

"They pretty much only eat chinook salmon as their primary food. In the winter, since they're having trouble finding enough food to eat, ," Black told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Steve Lindley, director of the fisheries ecology division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, told the Chronicle the orcas could be pursuing spring chinook headed to the Feather River hatchery or fall chinook on the way to the Sacramento River.