The appearance of a new orca calf in Washington's Puget Sound last month was cause for celebration.
The young female, which researchers named J61, was a new addition to the Southern Resident population, a federally protected, endangered group of fish-eating killer whales that stretches from British Columbia to Monterey. His birth was doubly poignant: His mother, known as J35, gained global attention in 2018 when she carried the body of her dead calf for 17 days before releasing it into the sea.
But on New Year's Day, scientists announced the “devastating news” that the young calf had died and that its mother was once again carrying the remains of a lost offspring.
“The death of a calf in the (Southern resident killer whale) population is a tremendous loss,” said the Center for Whale Research, a nonprofit organization dedicated to studying the population. posted Wednesday on Facebook. “The death of J61 is particularly devastating, not only because she was a female who could one day have led her own maternal line, but also given the history of her mother J35, who has now lost two of four documented calves has.”
The center confirmed the birth of calf J35 on December 24. Observing researchers immediately noticed unusual, unspecified behaviors from the mother and calf, which worried them about the young whale's health.
“Early life is always dangerous for young calves as mortality rates are very high in the first year,” the center said posted on Facebook. “J35 is an experienced mother and we hope she can keep J61 alive during these difficult first days.”
When her second calf died shortly after birth in 2018, J35 carried the baby whale's body hundreds of miles, either gently pushing it along with her nose or holding its fin in her mouth. As the days passed and J35 became thinner, other whales in the pod took over caring for the young whale's remains so the mother could rest. J35 gave birth to a healthy male calf in September 2020.
The southern population is threatened by declining stocks of Chinook salmon, an important part of their diet, as well as increasing pollution and boat disturbances in the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“It is devastating to lose another orca calf, and the only solution to this tragedy is to do much more to help the southern resident orcas,” Brady Bradshaw of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Washington’s new recreational boat buffer will help give orcas space and peace to hunt, but state and federal agencies must also restore wild salmon populations and address pollution so orcas have enough safe food.”
Amid the sad news of the loss of J61, there is also reason for hope, according to the Center for Whale Research. On Monday, researchers observed a new juvenile orca swimming with the J-pod, which they named J62. This calf appears to be healthy.