The killer whale, which made headlines in 2018 for carrying a dead calf for more than two weeks in a Shakespearean tragedy, has lost yet another baby, the Guardian reports. The mother whale, also known as J35, also known as Tahlequah, was seen with her new calf on Dec. 20, and was photographed carrying the calf’s carcass on her head on Wednesday (Jan. 1). It was done.
“We can confirm that J35 lost its calf and was pushing it around over its head,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher Brad Hanson.
Scientists initially hoped the calf, known as J61, would survive despite health complications, but things quickly went pear-shaped. If the calf was about to sink, Tahlequah would make a “high arch dive and sink” to retrieve the body, researchers said. But scientists aren’t sure if she’s pushing or grabbing it at that point.
Remarkably, Tahlequah’s first calf was born 14 years ago and is still alive, and her third calf was born in 2020 and is also healthy. Both calves that died were female.
“The death of a calf (in an endangered southern resident population) is a great loss, but the death of J61 is particularly shocking. In addition to potentially leading the maternal line, mother J35’s medical history includes losing two of her four recorded calves, both of which were female.” This was announced by the Whale Research Center.
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J35 first gained attention in 2018 when he pushed his calf around the Salish Sea for 17 days. Experts suggest that carrying a dead baby orca is likely an expression of the mother’s grief. Because killer whales have the same neurotransmitters and hormones as humans, it’s very possible that their emotions are very similar to ours, with sadness and grief at their core.
J35 is part of an endangered orca subpopulation known as the Southern killer whale. The death of the calf and the recent birth of another killer whale have brought the group’s number to just 73.
