The mother orca known as J35 was seen yesterday carrying her dead calf for the 16th straight day. "I am absolutely shocked and heartbroken," said Deborah Giles, a research scientist at the University of Washington Center for Conservation Biology and research director for nonprofit Wild Orca. The calf, part of a highly endangered population, only lived for half an hour. Giles added that she is concerned about the health of the mother orca. She said that even if J35's family is sharing food with her, the orca could not be getting enough nutrition to regain the weight loss from gestating her fetus and subsequently mourning it. "I am sobbing. I can't believe she is still carrying her calf around," Giles said.
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