A newborn orca calf, designated as J61, is shown with its mother near Puget Sound, Wash., Photo courtesy of the Center for Whale Research Facebook
Dec. 26 (UPI) — The killer whale that carried her dead calf on her head for more than two weeks for 1,000 miles in 2018 has a new baby, according to the Center for Whale Research.
The heartbreaking images of the grieving orca moved many and now the mother, known by researchers as J35, or Tahlequah, has been swimming with a new calf, a girl, designated as J61.
The orca and calf have been spotted near Puget Sound, Ore. as researchers went through the tedious process of confirming they actually were mother and daughter.
“It often takes multiple encounters for our research team to assess these whales, assign a designation for the new whale, and confidently determine who the mother of a calf is,” the center said in a Facebook post.
“Thank you to all who shared their stories, photos and videos with us and others who are celebrating this new birth. While we do not have much more information to share at this time, we are looking forward to our next encounter with J pod to officially announce the calf and mother identification.”
Tahlequah’s emotional sendoff for her newborn calf, which she carried on her head for 17 days, helped lead Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to sign an executive order establishing the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force to study ways to preserve and store their population.
The center expressed concern for the mother and calf after the researchers observed both in their latest encounter.
“Early life is always dangerous for new calves, with a very high mortality rate in the first year,” the center said, according to the New York Post. “J35 is an experienced mother, and we hope that she is able to keep J61 alive through these difficult early days.”