sir2n018 [Ater 17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orea's Tour Of Grief Is Over “NPR ‘On Air Now ANIMALS After17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orca’s ‘Tour Of Grief’ Is Over August 12, 2018 - 9:17 PM ET In this photo, taken Saturday and released by the Center for Whale Research, an orca known as J-35, foreground, swims with podmates near Friday Harbor, Alaska a After carrying her deceased baby for at least 17 days and 1,000 miles, an orca mother has shown signs of returning to normal. She was seen Saturday with fellow members of her pod, chasing a school of salmon. She is no longer carrying her baby, and she looks healthy. "Her tour of grief is now over and her behavior is remarkably frisky,” according to a statement on the Center for Whale Research's website. hips wwe nprorg/20 18/08) 121638047098/after-17-days-and-t-000-miles-a-mother-ocas-tour-otgretis-over 19stanots Aer 17 Doys And 1,000 Mls, A Mather Orc's "Tour Of Gr Is Over: NPR Researchers commonly refer to the mother orca as J-35. She's also known as Tahlequah, a name she was given as part of the adopt a whale program at The Whale Museum on Washington's San Juan Island. Her recor is important — not just for her own health, but for the health of the rest of her pod. NPR's Colin Dwyer previously reported that "given the fact that orcas move in matrilineal groups, dependent on mothers and grandmothers," Tahlequah's death would put her adult son and others in danger. ANIMALS After Calf's Death, Orca Mother Carries It For Days In ‘Tragic Tour Of Grief” Not a single orca born in the past three years has been known to survive, according to the Center for Whale Research. That's why the fact that Tahlequah recently gave birth was so exciting, if only for a brief moment. Her calf died just 30 minutes after it was first spotted by a whale watch operator on July 24. The Center for Whale Research keeps track of every single known orca (known more ident killer whale), and population contains just 76 whales. According to NPR's Dwyer, the population of formally as the Southern Re of December 2017, the Southern Resident killer whales has decreased by about a quarter in the past 20 years, largely because their food source, the Chinook salmon, has also seen a dramatic population decline. Jenny Atkinson, executive director of The Whale Museum, told Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson that Tahlequah's grieving period was unusually long, Typically, Atkinson said, researchers have seen mothers carry stillborn calves for "a day or so." But Tahlequah's baby was not stillborn. "She carried this for 17 months before it was born," Atkinson said. "And we know that it swam by her side ... so there is a part of me that believes that the grief could be much deeper, because they had bonded." Atkinson said it made sense that Tahlequah's grief generated a global response. "Orcas ... are charismatic megafauna,” she said. "You're going to feel that pain of grief — particularly if you've gone through grief in your own life.” hips wwe nprorg/20 18/08) 121638047098/after-17-days-and-t-000-miles-a-mother-ocas-tour-otgretis-over 29sir2n018 ‘ter 17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orea's "Tour Of Gre? Is Over “NPR. For now, it appears that Tahlequah is moving on. Her podmates depend on it. Sign Up For The NPR Daily Newsletter We stay on top of the latest stories and deliver them to your inbox every weekday. | What's your email? ‘SUBSCRIBE By subscribing, you agree to NPR's terms of use and privacy policy. More Stories From NPR SCIENCE From A Million Eggs, Putting Together Clues About Science's Past And Future hips wwe nprorg/20 18/08) 121638047098/after-17-days-and-t-000-miles-a-mother-ocas-tour-otgretis-over a9