In this archival photo of August 7, 2018, the Southern Resident J50 killer whale and his mother, J16, are swimming off the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Port Renfrew, BC Nearly two months after an international team of experts began taking extraordinary steps to save the young killer whale, the critically endangered whale is leaner than ever. Now, NOAA Fisheries and its partners could do more to help the killer whale known as the J50.(Photo: Brian Gisborne / Fisheries and Oceans Canada via AP)

After a An orca mother carrying her dead calf for over 15 days made headlines, another whale killer whales the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A 3 1/2 year old orc, known as J50 and Scarlet, was half a mile behind his family, sometimes in the waters of the Pacific Northwest, and seems "very thin," reports the NOAA. Worried about its survival, NOAA Fisheries and its partners announced Tuesday that plans were underway to capture J50 in order to save his life.

A team is already mobilized to capture J50 if she gets away from her family or finds herself stuck on a beach. If she is captured, the team plans to diagnose what makes her sick and, hopefully, bring her back to nature.

Critics have launched an online petition to stop the intervention, fearing that the young orc will die in captivity, away from his family. The petition had more than 690 signatures on Thursday morning.

Bob McLaughlin, who was involved in catching a killer whale who frequently swam alongside ferries more than a decade ago, said that human intervention was the best option for the future of the southern orcas, a dozen to reproduce.

More: A grieving orca mother drops a dead calf after being wore for more than 2 weeks

"If there is something with J50 that we identify as being a pathogen that could cross the south residence, that could be a really good thing," McLaughlin said. "J50 is lucky enough to save the southern residents or kill them, so if we do not find out what's going on with it, it could come back and bite us in the buttocks."

Federal authorities are preparing the same equipment used when catching killer whales for a potential rescue of J50.

Alison Morrow from KING-TV contributed to this story. Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @ AshleyMayTweets

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