An endangered killer whale that drew international attention as she carried her dead calf on her head for more than two weeks is finally back to feeding and frolicking with her pod, US researchers say.
The Center for Whale Research in Washington state says it watched the orca, known as J35, chase a school of salmon in Haro Strait west of San Juan Island on Saturday afternoon.
The whales have been struggling because of a lack of salmon, and J35's calf died soon after birth on July 24. The mother carried the baby on her head for at least 17 days, in an image of grief that struck an emotional chord worldwide.
The mother was preventing the body from sinking to the ocean floor. J35 was slowly nudging it towards the surface of the Pacific off the coast of Canada and the northwestern US.
She finally abandoned the carcass as it decomposed.
In this file photo taken Tuesday, July 24, 2018, provided by the Center for Whale Research, a baby orca whale is being pushed by her mother. Source: AAP
Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb says he is immensely relieved to see J35 returning to typical behaviour.
The Southern Resident killer whale, as J35 is listed, depends on the Chinook salmon for food. Unfortunately, the salmon has been in dramatic decline in recent years.
The Southern Resident killer whale is listed as an endangered species with roughly only a third of the calves born in the last 20 years surviving, according to the BBC.
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