Grieving orca still carrying her dead calf more than 2 weeks later

WARNING - A VERY SAD AND POTENTIALLY UPSETTING PHOTO IS INCLUDED AT THE END OF THIS POST

If this doesn't convince you that animals have feelings I don't know what will. I believe that all living creatures are conscious, in fact, they must be in order to interact with what we call reality. While they may not experience the same types of sophisticated feelings as we humans do (maybe that's a good thing), they are capable of deep emotion and empathy. Experiments have been shown that even the most hated of mammals like myself, rats and other rodents, suffer when they see their own kind in peril or pain. Humans as a species should be embarrassed by the way we treat other lifeforms, and make what is already a struggle to survive even more difficult for them.

CBS SOURCE ARTICLE

An endangered, grieving orca is still carrying her dead calf more than two weeks after the newborn died, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reports. Researchers spotted the 20-year-old whale and the calf off of Washington's Olympic Peninsula on Wednesday, the station says. The calf died July 24 and images of the mother, also known as Tahlequah or J35, have struck the hearts of people worldwide. She has been carrying the calf with her for 16 straight days. "She literally is pushing her baby to connect with it and, hope against hope -- hoping that it will take a breath, which it will never do," biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin told CBSN. "I can imagine this [mourning period] could take a very, very long time." Just like humans, Corwin said, grief has to "take its course." He said it would be "stressful" for experts to intervene in the whale's process, adding that J35 "probably is medically or physically healthy to survive."

As of June 2018, the souther resident killer whale population -- the orcas found off the Puget Sound -- totals just 75 whales, according to the Center for Whale Research. While killer whales as a whole aren't threatened, the southern resident population is considered endangered under the Endangered Species Act, according to NOAA.

Are whales tasty? Maybe humans can put her out of her misery and get food in return.

I watched one of those nature shows on Netflix recently. One of the stories had three orca harassing a baby whale"dont remember what type" until it died from exhaustion. Its mother tried to keep it safe but it failed in the end.
After it died the orca just ate its tongue, then left...

After watching that episode it's hard for me to feel much sympathy for this whale.
Nature's a bitch.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

There's a good chance that her misery is a direct result of hunger that is caused by heartless human behaviors. Why not feed the whales heartless humans and get rid of the source of the problem?

a reply to: seattlerat


Orcas are smarter than humans. Human Mothers will kill their child, even before it's born, and not give it a second thought.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I am somewhat anti-orca biased since seeing a nature show where a pod (?) of orca gang up on a cute baby seal.

Are orca the hapless victims of marine propaganda, or are they really the Biffs of the sea?


ETA: I suppose "killer whale" is more than a clever name.

a reply to: seattlerat

I saw this when it first came up. Honestly I could not bring myself to keep up on this. I'm a grown man and everytime this topic popped up.... My heart sank and I tear woefully.

Dolphins, (porpoise)
Elephants
Dogs cats...

My point is that animal's do have feelings, and I hope she does not die of a broken heart.
She needs her pod now more than ever😢.
It's like watching a Sarah McLachlan comercial. 😭😢

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Sorry I can't add more to your thread.
Have these flags.
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originally posted by: seattlerat
a reply to: BrianFlanders

There's a good chance that her misery is a direct result of hunger that is caused by heartless human behaviors. Why not feed the whales heartless humans and get rid of the source of the problem?

Because humans aren't tasty and whales are.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: seattlerat


Orcas are smarter than humans. Human Mothers will kill their child, even before it's born, and not give it a second thought.

Some humans are smarter than that. Some humans won't get pregnant in the first place. Because they're smart and they know better.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I watched one of those nature shows on Netflix recently. One of the stories had three orca harassing a baby whale"dont remember what type" until it died from exhaustion. Its mother tried to keep it safe but it failed in the end.
After it died the orca just ate its tongue, then left...

After watching that episode it's hard for me to feel much sympathy for this whale.
Nature's a bitch.

iOrcas are incredibly mean. If there were a #metoo movement for orcas every male orca would be on the list. And the amount of anthropomorphizing by the media is over the top. No one knows what these creatures "emotional state" is like. Their usual way to kill seals is to grab them and snap them so that the seal's skin peels off--while alive--and then eat them. And, of course, as you see here, people will find some way to blame mankind for their state.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: seattlerat


Orcas are smarter than humans. Human Mothers will kill their child, even before it's born, and not give it a second thought.

Look everyone, he's pro-choice.^^^^






That was wrong, but I lack the maturity to have just walked away from the opportunity.

I've been keeping an eye on this, and 16 days is unusual, and quite sad. I also came across this, how accurate it is, I don't know. One eyewitness account.

After it died, Tahlequah refused to let it sink to the bottom to be eaten by predators. Instead, she kept the calf afloat, pushing it with her forehead while heading east from the southeast tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia toward San Juan Island, USA, north of Puget Sound.

At sunset, a group of about half a dozen female orcas gathered near the mouth of San Juan Island’s Eagle Cove, a resident reported to the Center for Whale Research. This group took turns keeping the dead baby orca afloat, and kept the baby in a patch of moonlight on the ocean for about two hours. “As the light dimmed, I was able to watch them continue what seemed to be a ritual or ceremony. They stayed directly centered in the moonbeam, even as it moved,” the resident reported.

Source


a reply to: Bluntone22

I feel that way about people, quite often. Predators are all the same. I still manage to have empathy on occasion.

I shared about this in the federal cutting of funds to endangered species earlier on. There were caring replies, unlike some the ones in this thread which are uneducated and uncaring sadly.

Much more than heartbreaking that this continues for her and is truly a sign of what is going on, and sadly in some respects it may be too late. I hope she can get the help she deserves ASAP, best regards to the researchers and vets.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I watched one of those nature shows on Netflix recently. One of the stories had three orca harassing a baby whale"dont remember what type" until it died from exhaustion. Its mother tried to keep it safe but it failed in the end.
After it died the orca just ate its tongue, then left...

After watching that episode it's hard for me to feel much sympathy for this whale.
Nature's a bitch.

This ENDANGERED pod, the southern resident killer whales (SRKW), DO NOT feed on other whales or even seals. They feed on Coho salmon, which is dwindling in number sin the sound due to damns, etc.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
After watching that episode it's hard for me to feel much sympathy for this whale.
Nature's a bitch.

To keep things in context - there are also human gangs that commit similar/worse crimes against other humans. Does that mean you feel no sympathy for any human?

Everything in the ocean feeds on something else. That's the law of the sea. Sharks -> Whales -> Seals -> Penguins -> Fish

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I watched one of those nature shows on Netflix recently. One of the stories had three orca harassing a baby whale"dont remember what type" until it died from exhaustion. Its mother tried to keep it safe but it failed in the end.
After it died the orca just ate its tongue, then left...

After watching that episode it's hard for me to feel much sympathy for this whale.
Nature's a bitch.

That's one way that Orcas predate on Humpback whales. The only part of the whale that they can actually eat, due to the blubber, is the tongue.

On the other hand, Orca pods have taught other orca pods how to immobilize and kill Great White Sharks...and the only thing they eat from those sharks is the liver.

a reply to: schuyler

Orcas are on of the few natural predators of sharks. You'd think being mean would be implied by the word "Killer" in their name.
No doubt they pick on cute animals too, but I like them a lot more than a more mindless killing machine like a great white. I respect them both.
But only one is likely to give you a chance to live.
I'll take that one lol.

originally posted by: seattlerat
a reply to: BrianFlanders

There's a good chance that her misery is a direct result of hunger that is caused by heartless human behaviors. Why not feed the whales heartless humans and get rid of the source of the problem?

No, there's not.

And there is not one single record of a wild Orca attacking a human. Captive ones, yes...wild...no.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

You're a real piece of work

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: seattlerat
a reply to: BrianFlanders

There's a good chance that her misery is a direct result of hunger that is caused by heartless human behaviors. Why not feed the whales heartless humans and get rid of the source of the problem?

Because humans aren't tasty and whales are.

Well, how about dolphin? After all, orcas are really big dolphins, not whales.