A marine biologist reacts to the grieving orca carrying her newborn calf. This happened before, in 2018 the same orca, named J35 Tahlequah, made headlines around the world when she carried her calf for 17 days and 1000 miles.
00:00 - Grieving Orca Carrying Her Newborn Calf
02:28 - Orca Ecotypes and Southern Resident Killer Whales
04:23 - Orcas Stay With Their Moms For Life
06:28 - J35 Tahlequah and J Pod Orcas
07:45 - Do Animals and Orcas Feel Grief?
10:20 - A Newborn Orca Provides Hope
12:46 - Mortality Rate of Orca Calves and How to Save the Orcas
*UPDATE:* The newborn orca calf, J62, is doing well as of February 8th and has been confirmed to be a female. She is gaining weight and appears energetic and healthy. Orca J41, Eclipse, has been confirmed as the orca calf's mother and the calf was seen bouncing around between her mom and other members of the J19 orcas. Orca J35, Tahlequah, has also been recently spotted and was no longer carrying around the remains of her calf J61. This is great news all around.
Sadly, an estimated 50% of all orca calves don't survive the first six months. So each one of these calves face an uphill battle and daunting odds. The fear from the very beginning was that this orca calf, named J61, wasn’t going to make it. Her mom, orca J35 also known as Tahlequa, was observed pushing her calf with her head trying to help it surface and breath. Sadly, everyone’s fear was confirmed on New Year's Day. Tahlequa was observed carrying the remains of J61.
Another orca calf was spotted earlier New Year's Eve. After a closer look at the photographs, it was determined that orca J62 was swimming with orca females from both the J16 and J19 matrilines.
Resources:
[1] https://www.whaleresearch.com/
[2] https://killerwhales.fandom.com/wiki/J35_Tahlequah
NOAA B:Roll
[1] J35 Carrying J61 - NOAA Fisheries taken under NOAA Fisheries Research Permit 27052
[2] J62 with J19 Matriline - NOAA Fisheries taken under NOAA Fisheries Research Permit 27052
[3] SKRW Antibiotic Injection Preparation - NOAA Fisheries, filmed under NMFS research permit 21368
[4] Feeding Trials - NOAA Fisheries, filmed under research permit 18786
[5] SRKW in Puget Sound - NOAA Fisheries, filmed under NMFS ESA/MMPA permit 16163
[6] Type D Killer Whale Research - NOAA Fisheries, video taken under NMFS ESA/MMPA permit 16163
Sources:
[1] https://www.kuow.org/stories/newborn-orca-brings-holiday-cheer-fear-to-seattle-whale-watchers
[2]
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01327-5
[3] https://www.todayinbc.com/news/researchers-concerned-for-health-of-bcs-new-southern-resident-orca-calf-7730691
[4] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/mother-orca-tahlequah-once-again-carrying-her-dead-calf/
[5] https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231368
[6] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/i-am-sobbing-mother-orca-still-carrying-her-dead-calf-16-days-later/
[7] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07159-9
[8] https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/12/09/one-key-orca-survival-grandmothers/
[9] https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1903844116
[10]https://komonews.com/news/local/rambunctious-little-bundle-second-new-baby-orca-born-to-j-pod#!
[11] https://alaskapublic.org/news/2018-02-03/endangered-orcas-are-starving-should-we-start-feeding-them
[12] https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/340360.pdf
[13] https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-release/boaters-must-stay-1000-yards-away-southern-resident-killer-whales-under-expanded-rules-washington
[14] https://apnews.com/article/klamath-dam-removal-california-oregon-salmon-river-f3c44eaa8caebfd79fed54e68da862
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https://www.instagram.com/orcaconservancy/reel/CtLDxYCgteA/
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Additional Images
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