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People are heartbroken over a mother orca who carried the corpse of her newborn calf for 17 days

Scientists have called her actions ‘unprecedented’ and have said the pod is in danger of becoming extinct.

A MOTHER WHALE mourning the death of her newborn baby made headline news for her ‘unprecedented’ show of grief during the past two weeks.

Southern Resident Killer Whale J-Pod Orcas off Vancouver Island, Canada Richard Ellis Richard Ellis

The orca whale, known as Tahlequah (or J35), gave birth to her female baby on 24th July. Within half an hour, her daughter had died.

It was the first calf to be born to the pod in over 3 years.

For 17 days, Tahlequah carried her dead calf on her head in a mourning procession that drew international attention to the endangered species.

mourning Independent Independent

The bereaved mother swam for over 1600 kilometres with her dead child balanced on her nose as she followed her pod. When the body fell off her nose, Tahlequah would deep dive down to rescue the body and push it back up to the surface.

It was only when the calf’s body began to decompose that Tahlequah let the body sink to the bottom of the ocean.

THE CANADIAN PRESS 2018-07-25 Michael Weiss Michael Weiss

Deborah Giles, a killer whale biologist with the University of Washington, said:

You cannot interpret it any other way, this is an animal that is grieving for its dead baby, and she doesn’t want to let it go. She’s not ready.

It’s common for human to anthropomorphize (attribute human form or personality to) animals, but decades of research has shown that whales are capable of empathy that can match and even exceed human empathy.

orca whales giphy giphy

A neuroscientist who featured on Blackfish, a documentary about Seaworld’s treatment of Orca Whales, has said that the whales process emotions in a highly ‘sophisticated or complex’ way:

…when you look at behavior of dolphins and whales, especially in the wild, you see a level of social cohesion that is really unmatched in other mammals including the humans

At first scientists said that Tahlequah’s mourning of her calf was ‘rare’, but as the days rolled into weeks, they said it was ‘unprecedented’ show of grieving from the majestic creature.

People were in awe of the orca’s grieving.

Others were angry at what is happening whilst we are guardians of the planet.

Tahlequah is a member of the critically endangered southern-resident orca whale population. In the past two decades, 40 orcas have been born into the group but 72 have died. With only 75 whales remaining, the pod is in danger of becoming extinct if the orcas don’t produce offspring soon.

Scientists report that a decease of wild salmon in the area has meant that the pod is malnourished. The salmon that is available to eat has been polluted which means that the orcas are being slowly poisoned. The whales are also being deafened by sonar and boat noise in the sea.

whales giphy giphy

There is worry for the youngest member of the pod, Scarlet. Her skull is visible, a condition known as ‘peanut-head syndrome’ which means she is slowly starving. Scientists are hoping to intervene and give her anti-biotic laced salmon.

The good that has come out Tahlequah’s immense ‘tour of grief’ is that the profile of the majestic pod has been raised. You can donate to help the pod here.

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Author
Claire Woods
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