In 2018, the world’s collective heart broke for Tahlequah, a Southern Resident killer whale in the Pacific Northwest that’s formal name is J35. The mama whale carried around her dead calf for more than two weeks. Now, Tahlequah is pregnant again.
New research shows that post-menopausal orca grandmothers maintain an important role in their pods by boosting the survival rates of their grand-calves.
Remember that orca mum that carried around her dead calf for more than two weeks in the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea? Tahlequah, also known as J-35, had a rough year, and 2019 isn’t shaping out to be much better for her. Now, her 42-year-old mother, J-17, appears malnourished and isn’t…