Orca who kept dead calf afloat for 17 days gives birth again
"Her new calf appeared healthy and precocious, swimming vigorously alongside its mother in its second day of free-swimming life."
By AARON REICHA killer whale performs during a press visit at the Marineland Zoo in Antibes before its reopening, six months after the flooding that affected the French Riviera in October 2015, in Antibes, France, March 17, 2016.(photo credit: ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS)
A killer whale that made headlines years ago for keeping her dead calf from sinking for 17 days has become a mother again after giving birth last week, according to the Center for Whale Research.J35, also known to researchers by the name of Tahlequah – Cherokee for "two is enough" – was spotted by the Straight of Juan de Fuca, located between Washington state and Vancouver. She was swimming with her new calf, designated J57, alongside the rest of their pod.The age of J57 was estimated by its dorsal fin being upright, which happens two days after birth.According to the center, both whales appear healthy.This came as good news for many researchers who recalled the orca's "tour of grief" in 2018, when she was observed swimming for around 1,000 miles around the Salish Sea while carrying her dead calf on her head for over two weeks."She was still capable of producing a live calf after an approximate eighteen-month gestation! Hooray!" the center said."Her new calf appeared healthy and precocious, swimming vigorously alongside its mother in its second day of free-swimming life."
