Summary
Tahlequah, the orca who gained global attention in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for 17 days across 1,000 miles, has given birth to a new calf, designated J61.
The Center for Whale Research expressed concern for J61’s survival, as orca calves face high mortality in their first year.
Tahlequah, part of the endangered Southern Resident orcas, now has three surviving offspring.
With only 73 whales left in the population, threats like pollution, food scarcity, and contaminants remain critical challenges to their survival.
sorry for the confusion, I meant length of distance, not lifespan. so not orca years, but orca kilometers. i assume one orca kilometer is longer than a human kilometer since orcas are larger and probably they travel faster in water than we do on land on average. and I assume there’s no such thing as an orca mile because everyone keeps saying orcas are smart creatures.