Dr Balcomb said he last saw the whale on 12 October, 2016, when she swam north far ahead of the others. It was thought she could be as old as 105, meaning she was born in 1911, a year before the Titanic sank.
“Perhaps other dedicated whale-watchers have seen her since then,” he said.
“But by year’s end she is officially missing from the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, and with regret we now consider her deceased.”