Talequah Gives Birth Again

The female orca that carried her calf for seventeen days in a remarkable sign of grief has given birth again.  Talequah, aka J-35 gave birth to a calf that researchers observed on Saturday. [photo credit: AFP]  The birth brings the number of Southern Resident whales to 73. These whales live near Washington state and British Columbia, Canada.  There were 88 of them at the time they were listed as endangered in 2005.  The whales are struggling to survive a number of threats including over-fishing, pollution, and noise from human activity.  The population looses about 40% of its calves within the first year.

The extent of Talequah's grieving was extraordinary. Orca mothers often carry their dead calves in an attempt to keep them above water, but so abandon the bodies.  Talequah's newest calf is designated J57 meaning it is the fifty-seventh member of the J pod, and appears robust.  It was spotted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that separates Olympic Peninsula from Vancouver Island.  The Southern Resident orcas are salmon specialist.  Declining salmon runs in the region have made it difficult for them to find sufficient nutrition.  Recent effort to restore salmon runs offer some hope for the whales survival.  Removal of the damn on the Elwha River, which empties into the strait will help.  Three pods that make up the Southern Resident population were seen to gather in an area where salmon are running accompanied by breaching and much communication.  Two other orcas in the group are known to be pregnant.