Orca mother falling behind family as she carries dead calf during week of 'deep grieving'
Killer whale balances dead calf on her forehead or pushes it to the surface of the water
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A grieving mother orca whale is falling behind the rest of her family after carrying the corpse of her calf a week after it died.
Experts at the Whale Museum on San Juan Island have been monitoring the 20-year-old killer whale, known as J35, since her calf died shortly after she gave birth last week.
Since then she has been balancing the dead calf on her forehead or pushing it to the surface of the water.
Jenny Atkinson, the museum’s executive director, said the orca was spotted still carrying her dead calf almost six days after she lost her child.
She told The Independent the mother was falling behind the rest of the family as it went through “a deep grieving process.”
Ms Atkinson said during the day the whale appeared to get weaker, but seemed to find renewed strength overnight, showing a “more normal swim pattern in the morning.”
But she also said the whole family appeared to be taking part in the grieving process.
The calf was the first in three years to be born to the dwindling population of endangered southern resident killer whales, which number just 75.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments