Scientists are keeping an eye on a southern resident orca who once again lost a female calf just a few days after its birth.
The orca J35, also known as Tahlequah, is again carrying the body of her deceased offspring for miles through the Salish Sea. Researchers are acknowledging this as a sign of grief. And they're worried about the future of this particular mother orca, as well as her entire critically endangered species.
J35 made global headlines in 2018 when she carried another deceased calf for more than two weeks and a thousand miles, pushing it along propped on her head and diving down to retrieve the lifeless body anytime it slipped off.
“Regardless of what she's doing, one of the things that she's probably not having time to do is forage,” said federal whale researcher Brad Hanson, who spotted J35 grieving her second lost calf on New Year’s Day off Seattle’s Alki Point.
Hanson is a research ecologist with NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency overseeing recovery efforts of the region’s highly endangered species of fish-eating orcas.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, he said the sheer act of carrying an infant whale like that creates extra drag and consumes a lot of energy, not to mention the high-arched diving that researchers have seen her doing, to get deep enough to retrieve the body when it sinks.
“So, you know, it is a concern that she was expending a lot of energy to try to take care of this calf that she has lost,” Hanson said.
J35 gave birth to a male calf in 2020 – and it has survived. But Hanson said she may not have had sufficient time to physically recover from that pregnancy, which came less than two years after her famous loss in 2018. Her first born came 14 years ago, another male that has also survived.
Orca mothers help provide for their sons, who typically remain bonded to them for life. Hanson said J35 is already potentially drained and she looks thin. Scientists are monitoring her wellbeing.
“And this is a time of year when fish availability is typically less than what it is other times a year. So we are concerned,” Hanson said.
Reproductive females pivotal for survival
Only 73 southern resident orcas remain, with a dwindling number of reproductive age females — only 28 at last count. There are about a half dozen younger females (under age five) that researchers hope will mature to help grow the future of the species.
The researchers also emphasized that not all of these females actually successfully reproduce. It's estimated that two-thirds of orca pregnancies fail — with toxic pollution, vessel disturbances and lack of prey thought to contribute to that trend.
“The real limitation is the number of reproductive aged females and how capable they are of actually successfully rearing the calf. So you definitely want to see more females in the population,” said Michael Weiss, research director with the Center for Whale Research.
The Center carries out the annual census of the population on behalf of NOAA Fisheries. He said post-reproductive grandmothers also play a key role in helping orca calves survive past their first year.
The loss of every female is a big blow to the humans monitoring the population. But apparently also to the whales themselves.
What looks like grieving is just that
Joe Gaydos, science director with the SeaDoc Society, is a wildlife vet and researcher. He is working with federal scientists on a health database that it’s hoped will bolster efforts to prevent the southern residents from going extinct.
J35’s display activates human compassion. Gaydos said it’s clear she is in a state of grief.
“We have the same neurotransmitters that they have. We have the same hormones that they have. Why shouldn't we also have the same emotions that they have?” Gaydos said. “You know, we don't have the market cornered on emotions.”
The researchers said it appears that members of the J-pod are staying with J35 and may be able to bring her salmon, so she can eat. They assume that’s what kept her going during her 17-day tour of grief in 2018, although no one witnessed it.
Additionally concerning this time however, is that J35’s mother (J17) died in 2019, so the support from her family may not be as steadfast.
Display of grief renews attention to extinction threat
J35's behavior has once again drawn attention from local and national media outlets, and raised questions about what can be done as the species continues to teeter on the brink.
On Thursday, the researchers said the primary concerns that threaten these orcas remain:
- Lack of prey (salmon – especially endangered Chinook)
- Toxic pollutants in the water (especially forever chemicals like PCBs)
- Noise and disturbance from vessel traffic
Most said they are working hard on various improvements. Gaydos said more could and should be done to increase the salmon available by removing more barriers to their migration, especially as governments invest millions in habitat restoration.
“We have culverts that we know need to come out, that are not coming down. We have a lot of momentum to move forward on helping the Columbia River with its Chinook salmon, and those efforts are still stalled,” he said, referring to the push by environmental activists for removal of four dams on the Lower Snake River.
“We have to do more than we have been doing, if we want to expect something better,” Gaydos said.
Baby orca watch continues
All hope was not lost though, as another baby orca was born into J-pod at the same time as J35's lost calf. It was also seen swimming with her Wednesday.
Hanson said this healthy newborn calf, J62, was swimming normally and appeared to have good body condition. Its gender and who its mother is remain yet to be determined.
Of three southern resident orca calves born last year, only this one has survived.
The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor waits for a full year before giving local orcas their nicknames, because typically only about half of calves born into this highly endangered species make it to their first birthdays.
