WA - Orca mother carries dead calf for fourth day, San Juan Islands

[DakotaMayi]

You mean she won't be able to have more pregnancies? I don't know much about orcas.

Orca's live for around 80-100 years. I'd imagine she still has time for more calves.

 

[Elainera]

But humans have those things happen too, with no obvious reasons.

Yes that is certainly also possible.

But in one article they said the baby might have died due to malnutrition of the mother so I was wondering whether they had been able to retrieve the fetus when she miscarried and that's why they think that.

 

[Jennifer17]

You mean she won't be able to have more pregnancies? I don't know much about orcas.

From what I have read, they are fertile to their mid forties.

 

[DakotaMayi]

From what I have read, they are fertile to their mid forties.

I just went back through a book I have about them and according to that, this is correct. Thanks Jennifer.

 

[Seattle1]

Orca's live for around 80-100 years. I'd imagine she still has time for more calves.

Really? I remember learning that Seaworld/captivity, life span was around 14 years which I thought was @ 50% of the wild population or 28 years for female. If they really live 80 years that's great!!

 

[DakotaMayi]

Really? I remember learning that Seaworld/captivity, life span was around 14 years which I thought was @ 50% of the wild population or 28 years for female. If they really live 80 years that's great!!

Yeah! Females tend to live a good decade or more longer than males but yes, Seaworlds orca life span is shockingly terrible in comparison to their wild lives. Google Granny the Orca. They expected her to be around 105 when she passed. And she stayed as the matriarch through and through, leading her pod to the right food and deciding which direction to head. I think she was J2. Let me double check and grab a link.

Wikipedia: Granny (orca) - Wikipedia

It says here that her age is a source of dispute but, even if she lived the shorter time (80 years), that is still much longer than in captivity.

 

[Elainera]

For Immediate Release, August 1, 2018

Lawsuit Launched to Establish 'Whale Protection Zone' for Endangered Orcas

Vessel Noise, Disturbance Would Be Limited Near Washington's San Juan Island

SEATTLE— Conservation groups today sent a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales from boat traffic and noise in a key foraging area near Washington’s San Juan Island. The proposed “whale protection zone” could help save an iconic orca species that is down to just 75 individuals and facing extinction.

Read more: Lawsuit Launched to Establish 'Whale Protection Zone' for Endangered Orcas

Hopefully Tahlequah's plight is not in vain.

 

[Elainera]

This a new and informative article:
Grieving orca off B.C. coast highlights plight of endangered killer whales

I noticed this:
"Researchers have collected poop samples from the group of whales that includes the grieving mother. "

I was wondering whether that is possible, well apparently it is.

 

[DakotaMayi]

This a new and informative article:
Grieving orca off B.C. coast highlights plight of endangered killer whales

I noticed this:
"Researchers have collected poop samples from the group of whales that includes the grieving mother. "

I was wondering whether that is possible, well apparently it is.

That's both disgusting and genius

 

[Elainera]

They are still carrying the calf.

"We do know her family is sharing the responsibility of caring for this calf, that she’s not always the one carrying it,” Jenny Atkinson, director of the Whale Museum on San Juan Island, told CBC’s As It Happens"

"While still sad, this is good news for experts who were worried that the mother whale, also known as J-35, would tire from her tour of grief, now going on its ninth day, and fall behind her pod."

"Ken Balcomb, the founder of the Center for Whale Research, is still concerned for the mother whale and says the length of this mourning ritual is unprecedented in his 20 years of study, reports Q13 FOX."

“I’m concerned with potential perinatal issues that have killed other mothers,” Balcomb told the local FOX affiliate."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-mother-orca-w

 

[Elainera]

Another member of the pod is very ill and they are now trying to feed and treat it with the help of local fishermen.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...tside-the-box-response-to-save-j-pod-orca-who

"The federal government is marshaling an emergency response for J50, the starving 4-year-old orca whale, which will include feeding live chinook — dosed with medicine — to the ailing animal who may only have days to live.

The young whale is so emaciated, the back of her cranium is visible. A worrisome white patch has also been spotted on the back of her head, near her blowhole. It could be an infection."

"A health assessment is planned to gauge her activity level and breathing. Biologists also will be noninvasively taking samples from her. Hanson will sample her breath and survey the droplets for pathogens, using a petri dish held from a distance over her blowhole. Other scientists are in the field now, using a drone to collect photos of her. Another biologist will collect scat from the whale from the surface of the water for analysis."

More about the plan in the link. I hope it works! J50 is also female.

 

[Jax49]

Link above didn't work but hopefully this one will:

NOAA plans ‘outside the box’ response to save J pod orca, which may have just days to live

 

[DakotaMayi]

Another member of the pod is very ill and they are now trying to feed and treat it with the help of local fishermen.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...tside-the-box-response-to-save-j-pod-orca-who

"The federal government is marshaling an emergency response for J50, the starving 4-year-old orca whale, which will include feeding live chinook — dosed with medicine — to the ailing animal who may only have days to live.

The young whale is so emaciated, the back of her cranium is visible. A worrisome white patch has also been spotted on the back of her head, near her blowhole. It could be an infection."

"A health assessment is planned to gauge her activity level and breathing. Biologists also will be noninvasively taking samples from her. Hanson will sample her breath and survey the droplets for pathogens, using a petri dish held from a distance over her blowhole. Other scientists are in the field now, using a drone to collect photos of her. Another biologist will collect scat from the whale from the surface of the water for analysis."

More about the plan in the link. I hope it works! J50 is also female.

Oh my! This poor pod. Although, I think all of them are struggling. Especially in the sound. Terribly sad, I hope they can save her. Another female too! Not good for the future of the pod.

 

[Elainera]

Her name is Scarlet and they did not find her Friday

More about the complicated rescue mission here:
Second J Pod orca focus of possible rescue mission, as concern continues for mother carrying dead calf

 

[DakotaMayi]

Her name is Scarlet and they did not find her Friday

More about the complicated rescue mission here:
Second J Pod orca focus of possible rescue mission, as concern continues for mother carrying dead calf

Oh my, time is ticking. Although, I noted that they said: "Milstein says they were unable to locate J50 Friday. J pod was last seen late Thursday afternoon, passing south of Victoria swimming west toward open ocean and is now believed to be off the west coast of Vancouver Island. J 35 was seen still carrying her dead calf during the sighting."

BBM. So, I would take this to mean that they have not seen any of the pod since Thursday, rather than they saw the pod on Friday without Scarlett. I am sure that not all of the whales of this pod have died, so I'm hopeful that they just need to locate the pod now they have moved to Vancouver island. I hope, anyway.

 

[2Hope4]

I was looking for an update to J35 and J50 when I saw this about a different pod, but it's by itself!!
Acoustic playback equipment used to lure orca out of Comox Harbour

Orca lured from Comox Harbour beats researcher home to Alert Bay

 

[Elainera]

Oh my, time is ticking. Although, I noted that they said: "Milstein says they were unable to locate J50 Friday. J pod was last seen late Thursday afternoon, passing south of Victoria swimming west toward open ocean and is now believed to be off the west coast of Vancouver Island. J 35 was seen still carrying her dead calf during the sighting."

BBM. So, I would take this to mean that they have not seen any of the pod since Thursday, rather than they saw the pod on Friday without Scarlett. I am sure that not all of the whales of this pod have died, so I'm hopeful that they just need to locate the pod now they have moved to Vancouver island. I hope, anyway.

Yes I think you're right Ana. I will go and check for latest news in a while. For now here is an article with reader comments, poems, artwork, etc, very beautiful. So many share Talequah's sorrow.

‘I have not slept in days’: Readers react to Tahlequah, the mother orca clinging to her dead calf

 

[Elainera]

I can't find anything about the dead calf and whether they saw the J pod on Friday or Saturday.

In this article researcher Ken Balcomb who has studied the orcas for 42 years speaks about their situation:

"At the crux of the issue is a lack of food, according to Balcomb.

The Southern Resident orcas aren't genetically built to eat seals or sea lions like their transient cousins. Instead, they rely on fat-rich Chinook salmon that were once much more abundant. State, federal, and tribal leaders have been working together to bolster hatchery runs to supplement the dwindling native species, but so far it has been a failure."

Orca expert warns drastic measures needed to save Southern Resident orcas

 

[Elainera]

"There has been no sign of J Pod, J50's family, in San Juan Island waters since Thursday. The pod has been keeping to the outer coast and west end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and environs. As of Sunday night, biologists didn't know how the ailing orca was faring, nor whether Tahlequah was still carrying her dead calf, according to Soundwatch, a nonprofit group that's been monitoring the animals and helping keep boaters away from them."

"An emergency health assessment and feeding operation are in the works Monday for a starving 4-year-old southern resident killer whale who may also have an infection.
The Lummi Nation is ready to supply fresh chinook salmon, served bright, alive and swimming, said Chairman Jay Julius. King County has provided the SoundGuardian, a new research boat with crew to help, according to Executive Dow Constantine. Biologists and veterinarians are standing by to do a health assessment, including taking samples of the whale's breath, and collecting her scat from the water."

"But there are lots of uncertainties: Rescuers must develop a precise protocol and attain final permits from the federal government. Most of all, the whales have to show up."

Rescue effort for sick orca is ready — if pod can be located

Good luck!!!

 

[DakotaMayi]

My dear favorite, Lolita (second of course to our departed Tilikum) is related to J-35 as she is a southern resident Orca also. She is from the L-pod. She has been housed at the Miami Seaquariam (Seaprison) for over 4 decades. Her tank mate, Hugo, killed himself by ramming his head into the tank and bleeding out.

Watching the J pod mourn for nine days is hard, but when you realize that Lolita—who has been held captive for over 45 years in the world’s smallest orca tank—is also a member of the Southern Resident orcas (from the L pod), you’ll be crushed.

In 1970, more than 90 orcas were stalked and then herded into a 3-acre net by the use of deafening explosives, speedboats, and airplanes in Puget Sound, a deep inlet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington state, where the Southern Residents frequently swim. During the wild capture, young calves were torn away from their mothers.

The Southern Resident orca population was reduced by more than 30 percent, and to this day, it has not recovered.

Here's How Lolita Is Tied to Grieving Orca Mom Who's Gone Viral | PETA