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As Taylor Shedd climbs into a blue zodiac and retreats from the shoreline of San Juan Island in the state of Washington, he prepares for another long day watching a helpless whale who refuses to let go of his dead calf.
Calf was born on July 24, but died shortly after birth. Since then, the killer whale known as J-35 has been seen arching his back in order to push his dead offspring along the surface of the water with his forehead, or carry the calf by squeezing his tail in his mouth.
35 is one of 75 endangered southern whales that roam the straits and sounds around the San Juan Islands and the Gulf Islands of Canada.
Last week, Shedd spent up to 12 hours a day watching binoculars in his camera trying to confirm if the killer whale still carries his dead offspring. It is only when he uploads his photos every night that Shedd, who worked on whale watching boats in adolescence, is studying marine biology at the same time. university.
"It's where it's really going," says Shedd. "She still has that stress and suffering that she has to endure."
Taylor Shedd, who works with Soundwatch, watched and documented the difficulties of J-35 as teams work to try (Nicolas Amaya / CBC)
Shedd is with Soundwatch, an organization created by a whale museum of the state of Washington. He oversees the sea around the San Juan Islands and educates boaters on the need to protect marine life.
With members of the Straitwatch organization, based in British Columbia, he was part of an effort to monitor the helpless killer as it goes through a process that scientists still do not understand completely.
Shedd observed whales exhibiting this type of behavior before, but he has never heard of an orca carrying a dead calf for more than a day or two. The eight days that have been documented in this case are unprecedented, he says.
Concern about Health
"It really catches you when you see that," says Paul Cottrell, Coordinator of Fisheries and Marine Mammals. Oceans Canada. He spent four days on the water in a Government of Canada boat, which helped to keep sea traffic away from the killer whale.
"It's probably harder for her to feed herself while she's doing all that, so we're concerned about her body condition in the future."
The J-35 is one of 75 endangered southern whales. Its capsule contains 23 whales (Soundwatch)
An observer said that the J-35 seems to have some help – but not humans.
Jenny Atkinson, director of the Whale Museum of San Juan Island, told As It Happens guest of Piya Chattopadhyay, that capsule members seemed to share the burden of J -35. we do not have any pictures of other whales that wear it, because we have seen it so often without the calf, we know that someone else has it. " , said Atkinson on CBC Radio
. be deployed this week in an effort to observe mammals from above and take steps to help determine their health.
Cottrell hopes to be able to recover the body of the calf, once the mother has finally let go. If this continues, a necropsy will be conducted to determine how the calf is dead.
But for now, the main job is to keep the J-35 safe while it follows a process that, according to some studies, appears to mourn.
Holding Boats
Earlier this month, new rules came into effect in Canada, similar to those already in place in the United States. Canadian rules require whale watching vessels to remain at least 200 meters from endangered southern resident killer whales. But for the moment, the operators have decided to stay 400 meters from this group of whales because of the J-35
Listen J-35 and the pod in the recordings captured by the whale museum in Washington
Over time, the body of the dead calf could weigh more than 200 kilograms – becomes progressively more floating. But for now, it's still flowing. Whenever the J-35 releases its offspring, the whale must dive and push it to the surface, which, according to scientists, requires a tremendous amount of energy.
During the past week, Shedd said that the J-35 dragged more than one kilometer behind the rest of the group, consisting of 23 whales. The pod, or smaller groups called matrilines, often travel together as whales move in search of food.
Paul Cottrell, who works with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, spent several days avoiding J-35 shipping (Briar Stewart / CBC)
"We can not do anything directly Shedd says, "We can not help him to carry the calf.We can not just go give him a salmon."
They intend to continue to monitor and monitor the mother Everyday as long as she keeps the veal wearing, he and the rest of her organization have been bombarded with interest from media outlets all over the world, and they hope that, no matter what, the Fate of J-35 brings to light all the whales of orcs in critical danger of extinction and the need to protect them.
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