Famous Orca Mom Seen Carrying Dead Calf for the Second Time

Humans are not the only ones who grieve the loss of a loved one. Whale researchers have just documented a mother orca carrying her recently dead calf—an act that many experts consider an example of grief in whales.

Scientists at the Whale Research Center Report A Facebook post on Wednesday showed a female orca named J35 and her dead female calf, known as J61. This is the second time in seven years that the J35, also known as Tahlequah, has been seen carrying a dead calf. Although the exact nature of this behavior is never fully understood, at least some marine scientists believe that J35 is indeed mourning the death of its offspring.

“I think it’s fair to say he’s grieving or grieving,” said Joe Gaydos, director of science at CIDOC at the University of California, Davis. to say AP Friday.

Not so only whales who has been seen behaving like a mourner, but is perhaps the most well-known. In 2018, scientists documented Tahlequah carrying its dead calf over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of water over 17 days. Not only did Tahlequah see her calf doing the same thing for much longer than the other whales, but there were points where other members of her close-knit pod were also seen taking turns carrying the calf.

Other highly social animals also appear to be capable of mourning, which may be particularly associated with the death of their young. Elephants are seen to bury Their dead calves, for example, have been female members of various primate species registered Holding on to their diminished young in the same way as Tahlequah and her calf.

J61’s death is particularly sad given the state of orcas in the area. While orcas are found in healthy numbers around the world, southern resident killer whales live in the Pacific Northwest. endangered. This death may therefore further jeopardize the long-term survival of Tahlequah pods. Orca calves generally face a harsh environment. According to the Whale Research Center, only 50% of calves survive their first year of life.

The researchers took first Report The J61 arrived almost two weeks ago, but faster became anxious On calf health based on behavioral observations of J61 and Tahlequah. There is one possible sliver lining, at least: researchers have confirmed the arrival of another calf traveling with the J pod, designated J62. Although J62’s gender is still unknown, the calf appears to be physically and behaviorally healthy for now.

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

Humans and orcas aren’t the only animals that express grief. Some scientists have argued that a much wider variety of nonhuman animals can recognize and respond to the concept of death than is currently assumed—an emerging field of science. Comparative Thanatology. So just like Tahlequah and orcas may seem to us humans, there are probably many other animals out there that have their own unique ways of perceiving death.