Famous mother orca seen carrying dead calf for second time

Humans are not the only ones who grieve the loss of their loved ones. Whale researchers have just documented a mother orca carrying around her recently deceased calf — an act that many experts believe is an example of mourning among whales.

Scientists at the Center for Whale Research reported Wednesday’s sighting in a Facebook post, which involved a female orca designated J35 and her dead female calf, known as J61. It is the second time in seven years that J35, also known as Tahlequah, has been observed carrying one of her dead calves. While the exact nature of this behavior may never be fully understood, at least some marine scientists believe that J35 is truly mourning the death of her child.

“I think it’s fair to say she’s in mourning or grieving,” Joe Gaydos, SeaDoc scientific director at the University of California, Davis, said the AP Friday.

Tahlequah is not only whale that has been observed behavior like pain, but may be the most known. In 2018, scientists documented Tahlequah carrying her dead calf for 17 days across more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of water. Not only did Tahlequah carry her calf much longer than other whales seen doing something similar, but there were points where other members of her tight pod seemed to take turns carrying the calf as well.

Other highly social animals seem capable of mourning as well, which may be particularly connected to the death of their young. Elephants were seen burial their calves died, for example, while the female members of the various primate species remained documented holding on to her diminished children in much the same way as Tahlequah and her calves.

The death of J61 is especially tragic given the state of orcas in the area. While killer whales can be found worldwide in healthy numbers, the southern resident killer whales that live outside the North Pacific are in danger. Therefore, this death could also jeopardize the long-term survival of the Tahlequah pod. Orca calves in general face a harsh environment. According to the Center for Whale Research, only about 50% of calves survive their first year of life.

The researchers first received reports of the arrival of J61 about two weeks ago, but quickly grew worried about calf health based on behavioral observations of J61 and Tahlequah. There is a potential sliver lining, at least: The researchers have also confirmed the arrival of another calf that travels with J pod, designated J62. Although the gender of J62 is still unknown, the calf appears to be physically and behaviorally healthy at the moment.

“Researchers from CWR, NOAA, and other research groups will conduct follow-up observations of J35, as well as again calf J62 when conditions and whale movements permit,” the Center said in its Facebook post. detail The latest status of J61 and J62.

Humans and killer whales aren’t the only animals that seem to stop. Some scientists have argued that a much wider variety of non-human animals can recognize and respond to the concept of death than is currently assumed – an emerging field of science called. Comparative thanatology. Therefore, as humans as orcas like Tahlequah may seem to us, there are perhaps many other animals that have their own unique way of understanding death.