Rare wild birth recorded off northern Norway
On Nov. 2, passengers and researchers aboard the whale-watching vessel Green Gold of Norway witnessed an extraordinary event: the birth of a killer whale calf beside their boat. The encounter was recorded and photographed by Krisztina Balotay, a wildlife photographer and naturalist with Orca Channel.
Balotay and the group had been observing a pod made up primarily of females and juveniles when they noticed blood in the water close to the vessel. Moments later, a small head broke the surface: a newborn orca had just been delivered. "We saw the very last push with the baby's arrival in the world," Balotay wrote, describing the startling and moving scene.
Immediately after the birth, the pod gathered around the calf and formed a tight, protective circle. The group was highly active during the newborn's first minutes—likely responding to the calf's initial struggle—which Norwegian Orca Survey researchers later observed lasted about 15 minutes before the young whale began swimming on its own.
The mother has been identified as NKW-591, an individual first catalogued in 2013. Based on Balotay's images, the series of observed events, and the documented presence of blood in the water, the Norwegian Orca Survey concluded the birth occurred just prior to the observers' arrival.
First photographic documentation: The Norwegian Orca Survey said Balotay's photos and the associated media represent the first-ever photographic documentation of a killer whale birth and the newborn's first hour in the wild. The foundation is compiling all available data and plans to publish a full scientific article.
Balotay noted an anatomical detail visible in the images: the newborn's dorsal fin remained bent from being folded inside the womb. She described the experience as "astonishing" and memorable, and the researchers continue to monitor the pod to ensure the calf's wellbeing.
Why this matters: Photographic documentation of cetacean births in the wild is exceedingly rare. These images will help researchers identify individuals, better understand social roles within the pod during births, and contribute valuable data for future scientific study.
