A southern resident orca was seen carrying a dead calf in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, experts say.
Researcher Mark Malleson of the Center for Whale Research saw the mother and her immediate family near Sombrio Point on Vancouver Island, B.C., on Saturday when he noticed the somber sight, the research center said in a social media post Wednesday.
The orca mother, known as J31 of the southern residents’ J pod, was carrying the newborn’s body over her nose and lightly clutching its fin in her mouth while Malleson watched her for about half an hour, center research director Michael Weiss said.
“Because that relationship is so strong and important to their lives, it makes sense they wouldn’t immediately be able to let go of that calf’s body,” Weiss said.
It's unknown whether the calf had been carried to full term, died after birth or was a stillbirth, the center said.
Orca mothers and their offspring have tight bonds that often last a lifetime, Weiss said. The offspring stay with their mothers until they have offspring of their own, at which point that becomes their strongest relationship, but they will still stay with their mother’s group.
In 2018 and again in 2025, mother orca Tahlequah, also known as J35, carried her dead calves, stirring grief around the world.
J31 had also been seen carrying a dead calf in 2016, the center said, and she has a surviving daughter, J56, who was born in 2019.
Failed pregnancies and reproductive losses aren’t uncommon and have actually been trending in the southern resident population over the last 30 years, Weiss said. About two-thirds of their pregnancies are unsuccessful.
As of 2025, 74 southern resident orcas remain in three pods: J, K and L. They are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The southern residents are particularly reliant on Chinook salmon populations, which have been on the decline, Weiss said. The fat in the fish is very important for new moms and helps them nurse their calves.
Puget Sound Chinook are also threatened and sensitive to climate change, amid a loss of habitat, warmer waters, lower and higher stream flows, and other stressors.
Female orcas that have had failed pregnancies usually show signs of nutritional distress, and their pregnancies are less likely to be successful in years when there are fewer and smaller salmon, Weiss said.
On top of that, the southern residents are being inundated with toxicants from long-lasting manufacturing chemicals like PCBs and persistent organic pollutants that were banned from use long ago, Weiss said. The toxicants are stored in the whales’ fat to fuel their metabolism, compounding their harmful effect in periods of low prey availability.
“For a population as small as the southern residents, the successful birth and survival of every calf matters,” the research center said.
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