A mother killer whale who famously pushed the body of her dead newborn for 17 days in 2018 has lost another calf, and researchers say she is again carrying the body.

Alive for B次元官网网址渏ust a handful of days,B次元官网网址� the female calf known as J61 was confirmed to be dead on New YearB次元官网网址檚 Eve by researchers studying the endangered southern resident killer whale population.

The mother known as Tahlequah, or J35, has now lost two of her four documented calves.

Days before its death, it was reported the calf was believed to be premature. Concern was also raised about TahlequahB次元官网网址檚 ability to successfully nurse a calf after it was noted she "appeared in subnormal body condition" in October.

While her last calf was born four years prior to J61, Brad Hanson, a research scientist for NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Centre, noted there is normally a five-year period between births.

B次元官网网址淪he may not have had time to physically recover from the prior calf,B次元官网网址� he said.

Similar to the behaviour seen in 2018, Tahlequah was observed on New YearB次元官网网址檚 Day with the dead calf B次元官网网址渄raped across her snoutB次元官网网址� or placed on top of the B次元官网网址済rievingB次元官网网址� motherB次元官网网址檚 head.

The Centre for Whale Research says the death of any calf among the endangered southern resident killer whale population is B次元官网网址渁 tremendous loss,B次元官网网址� but the latest is B次元官网网址減articularly devastatingB次元官网网址� because she was a female and because of J35B次元官网网址檚 history.

B次元官网网址淭his is an unfortunate way to start the new year,B次元官网网址� said Hanson.

With her attention focused on keeping her dead calf afloat, Hanson says the energy expenditure for Tahlequah is going to be B次元官网网址渇airly significant,B次元官网网址� raising concern for her welfare.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the things that she's probably not having time to do is forage,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淎nd this is a time of year when fish availability is typically less than what it is other times of the year,B次元官网网址� he added.

While it was never observed directly in 2018, as there were B次元官网网址渘o obvious signs of her deteriorating physically,B次元官网网址� researchers assumed other members of J pod were supporting Tahlequah through her 17-day grief procession by sharing salmon with her.

B次元官网网址淲hich is something that southern residents are known to do,B次元官网网址� said Michael Weiss, research director at the Centre for Whale Research.

This time around, according to Hanson, other members of J pod have been seen travelling with Tahlequah, taking an interest in her deceased calf, including her four-year-old offspring.

B次元官网网址淚t's hard to say whether or not they were actually helping to carry, but they were certainly engaged with her and curious about what was going on,B次元官网网址� he said.

TahlequahB次元官网网址檚 sister, known as J53 who is now of reproductive age, was also seen B次元官网网址渃onsistentlyB次元官网网址� travelling with the mother and deceased calf.

While they cannot be certain how she is feeling, experts believe Tahlequah is experiencing emotions connected to the loss of her calf.

B次元官网网址淚 think it's fair to say that she is grieving or mourning,B次元官网网址� said Joe Gaydos, science director for SeaDoc Society, who noted animals and humans can share similar hormones and neurotransmitters.

B次元官网网址淲e do see this behaviour in other animals, generally only long-lived socially cohesive animals, such as primates and dolphins,B次元官网网址� he added.

B次元官网网址淔rom a scientific perspective, if they have the same hard-wiring, they're gonna have the same emotions.B次元官网网址�

In contrast to the news of J61B次元官网网址檚 death, it was announced on the same day a new calf was seen travelling with the group known as J pod.

The sex and mother of the newborn calf have not yet been identified, but Hanson said they are B次元官网网址渃autiously optimisticB次元官网网址�, noting it appears to be in a B次元官网网址渧ery robustB次元官网网址� condition.

Orcas along the West Coast are categorized into three families known as the J, K and L pods, each of which has its own dialect and calls that differ from the others.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada, in consultation with Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, completed an assessment of the southern resident population last year, finding the population had dwindled to 73, with only 23 breeding females.

The Centre for Whale Research also said the population had dipped to 73 in its July 1, 2024 census following the death of two adult male orcas.

With files from The Canadian Press