Grieving orca mother carries dead calf for days as killer whales fight for survival
The baby’s carcass was sinking and being repeatedly retrieved by the mother, who was supporting it on her forehead
A grieving mother orca near Vancouver Island has been carrying her dead calf for four days, after refusing to leave her baby behind when the rest of her pod left.
The mother killer whale, named J35 by researchers, gave birth on Tuesday in what was initially a hopeful moment. Mother and female calf were seen swimming together that morning near Victoria, British Columbia, according to the Washington state-based Centre for Whale Research.
Within hours, though, the calf had died and J35’s pod had moved out of the area.
“The baby’s carcass was sinking and being repeatedly retrieved by the mother, who was supporting it on her forehead and pushing it in choppy seas,” said the Centre for Whale Research in a statement. “The mother continued supporting and pushing the dead baby whale throughout the day until at least sunset.”
J35 was still holding up her calf as of Friday morning, Lisa Moorby, a Centre for Whale Research spokesperson, said.
Orcas and dolphins have been known to swim their dead calves for as long as a week.
The calf’s death highlights the larger tragedy facing orcas and the ecosystem they rely on in the Salish Sea, a waterway stretching from south of Seattle to north of Vancouver.
The Centre for Whale Research, which monitors the whale population for the American and Canadian governments, reports that three years have passed since an orca residing in the area has birthed a surviving calf.
