An orca that touched the hearts of people around the world in 2018 after carrying her dead calf for 17 days in an apparent show of grief has given birth again.
The orca, named Tahlequah or J35 to researchers, was seen swimming with a new calf in the Puget Sound off Washington state on Friday, scientists said.
In a Facebook post, the Center for Whale Research confirmed that the baby, which it named J61, is female.
However, experts have expressed concern about the health of the new calf “based on the behavior of both J35 and J61.”
In a post on
The Whale Research Center added: “Early life is always dangerous for new calves, with a very high mortality rate in the first year.
“J35 is an experienced mother and we hope she can keep J61 alive during these difficult first days.”
Tahlequah gave birth to a calf in 2010 that survived, but also suffered a miscarriage in mid-2010 before losing the 2018 calf shortly after birth.
An orca that touched the hearts of people around the world in 2018 after carrying her dead calf for 17 days in an apparent show of grief has given birth to a new baby.
In a Facebook post, the Center for Whale Research confirmed that the baby, which it named J61, is female.
Tahlequah or J35 to researchers appears in a mourning photo on July 24, 2018 after the death of her calf.
She carried the dead baby more than 1,000 miles and experts said at the time she was going through a “deep grieving process.”
‘The baby was so newborn that it had no fat. He continued to sink and the mother would bring him to the surface,” Ken Balcomb, a scientist at the Whale Research Center, said at the time.
‘It’s horrible. “This is an animal that is a sentient being,” added Deborah Giles, director of science and research at the nonprofit Wild Orca.
‘He understands the social ties he has with the rest of his family members.’
‘(The mother) is attached to (the calf) and doesn’t want to let her go. It’s that simple. “He is in mourning,” he added.
Whales and dolphins have been known to express their grief and even hold “vigils” for their dead by clinging to the lifeless bodies of their babies for days to keep them safe from predators.
However, the Tahlequah display was unprecedented and struck a chord around the world.
Southern resident killer whales in the Pacific are critically endangered with only a few dozen left in the wild.
According to experts, the lack of salmon (and the stress resulting from hunger) has been linked to poor reproductive conditions in whales.
There is currently a mortality rate of around 40 percent for young calves and a high percentage of failed pregnancies.
They are also threatened by pollution and underwater noise; the latter alters the orca’s sound-based hunting ability.
An orca calf is pushed by its mother after being born off the coast of Canada, near Victoria, in July 2018.