J36 Alki (pronounced “al-Kye”), a female, was born in early 1999. Her mother is “Slick” (J16), and her father is “Mega” (L41). She is known to have only one sibling, “Scarlet” (J50), but many half siblings. At the end of March in 2015, at the age of 16, Alki had a male calf which was named “Sonic” (J52). However, Sonic lived for only 21/2 years. After weaning from his mother’s milk, he lost weight and finally disappeared from the pod, thought to have died from malnutrition. Since female reproductive age ends around 40, Alki has time to produce more calves. Let’s hope she will, and let’s do what we can to protect her environment in the Salish Sea.