The Centre for Whale Research has announced the birth of a female calf to the southern residents killer whales J pod.

The centre says it's delighted to have a young female orca join the population, especially after the death of a male.

Photographs sent to the centre confirmed the calf's sex, statistically boosting the number of females in a recent baby boom to two.

Earlier this week, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said a necropsy of a killer whale found floating in a Vancouver Island inlet suggests no clear cause of death.