An orca named Tahlequah was spotted off the coast of Seattle carrying her dead calf. A behavior that had already been observed in 2018.
A female orca was once again observed carrying the body of her dead calf, seven years after she had similar behavior with another of her calves, according to American researchers.
According to the Whale Research Center based in Washington State (western United States), the endangered orca, named Tahlequah and also known as J35, was spotted Wednesday January 1 offshore from Seattle carrying her dead female calf.
“J35 was seen carrying the body of the deceased calf,” the research center wrote on the social network Instagram on Thursday.
“This behavior had already been observed in J35 in 2018 when she carried the body of her deceased calf for 17 days,” he added. She was then seen sometimes pushing the remains with her nose and other times grabbing him with her mouth, according to American media.
A “particularly devastating” death
“This is a very tragic time of mourning,” Research Center founder Ken Balcomb told public broadcaster NPR at the time. The loss of a new calf is “particularly devastating,” according to the center. Tahlequah has now lost two of its four recorded calves.
The group of Tahlequah orcas was also joined by another newborn, notes the Center. “The sex of the calf is not yet known,” but “the calf appears physically and behaviorally normal,” according to the researchers.
Tahlequah and her pod are Southern Resident orcas, a population listed as endangered in the United States. The Southern Resident orcas are one of the resident communities of orcas in the Pacific Northwest.
Complex social behavior
There are only three groups, making around 70 animals in total. They spend several weeks each spring and fall in the waters of Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean located in northwest Washington state.
Their numbers are declining due to a combination of factors, including reductions in the number of their prey, and noise and disturbance caused by vessels, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Scientists say whales are among the most intelligent animals in the world, exhibiting complex social behavior, including self-awareness and suffering.
