Mother Orca Ends Her Tour of Grief! Releases Dead Calf’s Body After 17 Days of Mourn
On August 11, Tahlequah was spotted without her baby’s body when she was chasing a school of salmon with her pod mates.
The orca whale, Tahlequah or J35, gave birth to her female baby on July 24. Within hours, her daughter had died. For 17 consecutive days, mother orca carried her deceased baby on her nose and swam for over 1,600 kilometres in a mourning procession that caught international attention to the endangered species. The images of the grieving killer whale in the waters near Victoria, British Columbia struck an emotional chord worldwide. However, the tour of grief was is over after it releases; letting the calf’s body sink to the bottom of the ocean. Mother Orca Mourns Over Baby’s Death! Carries Dead Calf for the Fifth Day.
On August 11, Tahlequah was spotted without her baby’s body when she was chasing a school of salmon with her pod mates in the mid-Haro Strait, one of the main waterways between the San Juan Islands north of Seattle and Vancouver Island, Canada. According to the blog post on J35 update, the Center for Whale Research stated that “Her tour of grief is now over and her behavior is remarkably frisky.” The report further noted that mother orca is in a good health condition and is surrounded by members of her clan.
Mother orca ends her tour of grief.
This recent episode highlights the southern resident orcas who are having a rough time and the researchers are concerned given the fact that the killer whales listed as endangered a decade ago. Tahlequah’s moving story made headlines around the world after researchers spotted with her dead calf.
The loss of the calves is tragic. In the past 20 years, experts reveal that about 75 per cent of the newborns has not survived for a long time after their birth. As a result, the population is ‘species in the spotlight’ because of its imminent threat of extinction. Dams, pollution and fishing, have depressed the Pacific polluting the salmon which means that the orcas are slowly poisoned.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2018 12:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).