Orca whale mother’s ‘tour of grief’ over after nearly 3 weeks

The heartbreaking story of an orca whale mother who has been carrying her deceased calfs body with her for more than 1,500 km has come to an end.

The Center for Whale Research has confirmed that the mother’s “tour of grief” is finally over.

Her grieving lasted for at least 17 days, researchers said. The calf was born on July 24 near Victoria, but died shortly after being given life. The mother was not ready to let go, and carried the calf along with her as she swam.

Yesterday, the mother, J35, was spotted vigorously chasing a school of salmon with her pod-mates in mid-Haro Strait in front of the centre. She was no long carrying her baby.

“Her tour of grief is now over and her behavior is remarkably frisky. Telephoto digital images taken from shore show that this mother whale appears to be in good physical condition,” says the Centre for Whale Research.

“Killer whales and dolphins have been known to support and transport their dead calves for as long as a week – a testament to the amazingly strong mother/offspring bond and caring,” said the centre.

The centre called the mother’s ordeal “record-setting.”

“There had been reports from brief sightings by whale-watchers two days ago that J35 (Tahlequah) was not pushing the calf carcass in Georgia Strait near Vancouver,” researchers said. “Now we can confirm that she definitely has abandoned it. The carcass has probably sunk to the bottom of these inland marine waters of the Salish Sea, and researchers may not get a chance to examine it for necropsy.”

Regrettably, researchers say about 75% of newborns in the recent two decades following designation of the Southern Resident killer whale population as “endangered” have not survived, and 100% of the pregnancies in the past three years have failed to produce viable offspring.