Tahlequah, the orca known for carrying her deceased calf for days, has recently welcomed a new baby.

Tahlequah, a mother orca, gives birth six years after carrying the body of her late baby on her behalf for 17 days.

A mother orca who carried her baby for 17 days

The name Tahlequah is probably familiar to you. Indeed, this orca moved the whole world more than six years ago. She has been spotted along the Pacific coast of the United States now for more than two weeks, the carcass of her baby dying within hours of birth.

Although caring for the deceased is a common behavior among cetaceans, the case of Tahlequah remains exceptional. She will have traveled no less than 240 km, all while carrying her baby and not eating enough in the eyes of the NGOs, who were seriously starting to worry about her. But years later, the orca resurfaces.

Tahlequah has given birth again

Back to the present now where Tahlequah has given birth to a new baby orca, which has already been traveling with the group since December 20 according to Center for Whale Research (CWR). The orcas were spotted in the Puget Sound region, a coastal region near the US state of Washington, according to the site IFLScience.

Good news for J35, a name initially given to the mother orca who had experienced difficult grief after the death of one of her young. Female orcas, which measure between 5.2 and 7.3 m and can weigh around 3 tonnes, give birth to an average of five babies.

The newborn turns out to be in poor health

The observations don't stop there. Indeed, researchers have reported certain behaviors on the part of “J61”, the name given for the baby orca, but also on the part of Tahlequah, who does not reassure about the state of health of the little one. The Orca Conservancy, a Washington-based organization that protects the habitats of these mammals, explained via a Facebook post that specialists believe that J61 would have been born prematurely and that the mother would be in a “below normal body condition.”

One thing is certain, the “first steps” of these newborns are crucial and their survival depends on it. They also need to have a healthy mother who will be able to provide all the necessary resources for the good development of their young, such as breast milk for example.

Source: IFLScience