A mother killer whale's 'grief procession' for her dead newborn calf has come to an end.
Observed swimming with other members of J pod on Feb. 8 in the Haro Strait, the southern resident orca mom known as Tahlequah or J35, was seen without her deceased calf J61.
The news was confirmed by Monika Wieland Shields, director of Washington-based research group Orca Behaviour Institute, who observed the pod of whales for around two hours from the shores of San Juan Island.
"They were all in one large group and it appeared that everyone was accounted for, including the newest calf J62," she said.
The group also believe a Feb. 3 video of J pod in Active Pass, shared by the Salish Sea Orca Squad, shows Tahlequah travelling without the deceased calf.
Tahlequah was last seen pushing the dead body of her newborn calf in B.C. waters on Jan. 10, near Discovery Island, located off the eastern side of Greater Victoria.
The orca mom was not seen again until Feb. 3, which means researchers are currently only able to confirm she was travelling with the calf's body for at least 11 days.
This is the second time the orca has been observed performing what some describe as a 'grief procession'. She famously pushed the body of her dead newborn for 17 days in 2018, travelling over 1,600 kilometres.
