Tahlequah, also known as J35, carries her dead calf in Puget Sound on Jan. 1. (Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries)
An endangered killer whale holds a dead calf on its head in a sad repeat of behavior that attracted attention six years ago.
Tahlequah, or J35, made headlines in 2018 when she went on what some scientists called a “tour of grief,” carrying her dead calf 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across the ocean before finally releasing it. She went on to successfully raise two more calves. But now Tahlequah, who is part of a vulnerable group known as the Southern Resident Killer Whale, is reliving the loss of another calf.
Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) captured the moment Tahlequah carried a dead newborn calf in Puget Sound off the coast of Seattle on January 1.
“It’s not the best way to start the new year, hearing that Southern Resident killer whale J35 has lost another calf and is carrying it again,” said Michael Milstein, a NOAA spokesman, at a news conference Thursday (Jan. 2). “She certainly made headlines around the world when she carried her first calf for 17 days in 2018, which was incredibly moving at the time. It’s even harder to watch now that she’s lost another one.”
Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) are endangered in the United States and have been struggling to survive for decades. Scientists have identified three main reasons for their decline: declining prey populations — primarily Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); pollution; and disturbance from shipping, according to NOAA.
A 2017 study published in the journal PLOS One found that nearly 70 percent of Southern Resident killer whale pregnancies failed between 2008 and 2014, with a third of those losses occurring late in pregnancy or immediately after birth. NOAA researchers who documented the last calf, J35, estimate that it only survived for about a week.
The team first spotted the new pup on Dec. 20, after citizen scientists spotted it, Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, said at a news conference. The researchers noted the pup was alive on Dec. 23, but immediately became concerned about its health.
Tahlequah appeared to be trying to push the calf — named J61 — even while it was alive, and while the calf appeared viable at the time, something was wrong. “When it came up, it looked like it was struggling,” Hanson said.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
