At a Glance

Experts discovered two more critically endangered southern resident orcas will likely die before summer.Currently, only 74 southern resident orcas remain.Lack of prey, disturbance from boat traffic and toxic contamination are key threats of the "extinction event."

Experts have found that two more southern resident orcas are in poor health and will likely die before summer arrives, further dwindling the population of the critically endangered species.

“,” the Center of Whale Research's founding director Ken Balcomb told the Seattle Times of the two unwell whales.

J17, a 42-year-old female, and K25, a 27-year-old male, have both become noticeably thinner recently and are ailing from lack of food. K25 has been struggling to find ample food since the loss of his mother, K13, in 2017, Balcomb said.

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“,” Robb Krehbiel, member of the Southern Resident Orca Task Force, told Earther.

The task force lists as the three key threats causing the decline in the orca population. Currently, only 74 southern resident orcas remain.

A handful of pregnant whales were seen in September, but there's been no trace of babies to this point. The past three years have had no successful pregnancies.

Krehbiel added that the recovery of the species can't be looked at as a case-by-case effort. An investment in the recovery of chinook salmon — another endangered species on which the orcas feast — is critical to reviving the orca population.

“They do not have enough fish to feed them, they are spread out all over, we never see them like it was 30, 40 years ago," said Balcomb.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has asked for $1 billion toward recovering the orca population, which includes supplementing the production of salmon hatcheries and inquiring about the dam removal that constricts migration.

Salmon migrating along the Columbia and Snake rivers need to navigate over a dozen dams, preventing them from reaching Puget Sound. In 2018, on the Columbia River, according to Columbia Basin Research. The 10-year average is 535,279.

Wild chinook salmon are and nine populations of chinook salmon in Puget Sound have already been deemed extinct, according to the Center for Whale Research.

“We need bold action,” said Balcomb.