Grieving mother orca whale carries dead baby — again
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Tahlequah had carried her other dead female calf for more than two weeks seven years ago. Tahlequah, a mother orca who gained fame in 2018 for carrying her deceased calf on her back, has lost another child — and heartbreaking photos and video show her again continuing to carry her dead baby .
![[J35 carrying her dead baby calf]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/21/54242903025_e8d70bc902_k.jpg)
After the orca had her calf die in 2018, she carried her baby’s body for an unprecedented 17 days and over 1,000 miles, garnering international attention and highlighting the complex ways that animals also process grief and death. The researchers did not provide a cause of death, but noted that they, NOAA, and other groups would conduct follow-up observations of Tahlequah and her other new calf, J62, when conditions and movement sof the whales allow.
![[J61 is seen off the Washington coast last year. Scientists had been conserved about the calf based on her behavior]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/21/471562975_1008125704693985_204399657291591562_n.jpg)
They had hoped that she was able to keep J61 alive through the early days, noting that “early life is always dangerous for new calves, with a very high mortality rate in the first year.”. “We are very grateful to our colleagues in Puget Sound who have been conducting fieldwork and sharing their observations with us,” the center said.
![[J62 travels with the pod. J62 has appeared to behave normally]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/21/472394751_1013704927469396_5311799294500925868_n.jpg)
The sex of J62 remains unknown, but has appeared “physically and behaviorally normal.”. Tahlequah’s first calf was born in 2014, he noted. Scientists were never able to figure out the cause of death of her other calf in 2018. “The first born has a higher probability of dying, largely due to inexperience,” he said. “It’s about the challenge of nursing.”.
