The A5 Pod has suffered many losses and deaths over the years. Besides losing a generation of whales to captivity, one young whale, A57 (Kelkpa) was found dead on December 16, 1996, in a bay in British Columbia. Her death was due to erysipelas; she was the first orca of the Northern Resident population whose cause of death was determined. In 1973, a young whale was hit by a ferry from British Columbia. Two older whales supported the young one and helped it to breathe. The whale was sighted 15 days later, with the other two still holding it up, then was never seen again. This was presumed by the researchers to be the young whale A21, also an A5 Pod whale.