An orca that carried her dead calf for weeks in 2018 is doing so once again

An endangered orca from the Pacific Northwest global headlines in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for more than two weeks, is doing so again after the death of her new calf, a new sign of grief over lost offspring, researchers said.

The mother orca, known as Tahlequah or J35, has been seen with the body of the deceased female calf since Wednesday, the Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said in a Facebook post.

“The entire team at the Center for Whale Research is deeply saddened by this news and we will continue to provide updates when we can,” the post said.

In 2018, researchers observed J35 pushing her dead calf for seventeen days, keeping it afloat for more than 1,000 miles. The calf had died shortly after birth, and the mother and her close-knit group of whales took turns carrying the dead body.

The research center said it was aware of the new calf about two weeks ago. But on Christmas Eve, it said it was concerned about the calf’s health, based on its behavior and that of its mother. On New Year’s Day, the center received reports that J35 was carrying the corpse of her calf.

Calf mortality is high: only one in five orca pregnancies results in a calf that reaches its first birthday.

The center described the death of J35’s calf as particularly devastating – not only because she could have eventually grown into a child and strengthened the struggling population, but because J35 has now lost two of its four documented calves.

The southern resident killer whale population – three groups of fish-eating killer whales that frequent the waters between Washington State and British Columbia – has struggled for decadeswith 73 orcas left. They face a shortage of their favorite prey, Chinook salmon, as well as pollution and ship noise, which hinders their hunting. Researchers have warned they are on the brink of extinction.

Southern killer whales are endangered and are distinguished from other killer whales because they eat salmon instead of marine mammals. Individual whales are identified by unique markings or variations in their fin shapes, and each whale is given a number and name.

Traveling together in matrilineal groups, the orcas can sometimes be seen around Puget Sound, even against the backdrop of Seattle’s downtown skyline.