An endangered orca mother carried her dead baby across the Salish Sea for 4 days

She was to be the first baby born of her killer whale species in three years – and a female who could have given birth to her own calf in a decade.

But on Tuesday, only about half an hour after learning of his birth, observers arrived at the San Juan Islands to find that the calf was dead.

His lifeless body was carried on his mother's nose across the Salish Sea, a researcher told Global News. Friday.

Cover of killer whales on Globalnews.ca:

New regulations to protect resident orcs

The Killer whale, known as "J35", is a Southern Resident Orc – a part of A population that has been clbadified as endangered in Canada and the United States

There were 98 in 1995; today, there is only 75 left.

Whales travel between southeastern Alaska and central California, spending most of their time off Vancouver Island and the state of Washington in the summer

– There were 98 southern resident killer whales in 1995, and there are now 76

] A whale-watching boat spotted the mother with a live and breathing calf Tuesday, Taylor Shedd, program coordinator at the San Juan Soundwatch, an island-based organization, tells Global News

The Center's Whale research arrived at the scene half an hour after learning of the birth of a baby

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WATCH: As of 2015 – resident killer whale calf in the south spotted off the coast of Washington

"These whales are critically endangered, we need this reproductive power to l & # 39; future. " losing a woman or a man, losing an individual is horrible, but a woman can be more worrying. "

Soundwatch learned on Wednesday that the mother was still carrying her calf, and took it upon himself to make sure that she was safe. [19659002Forthefactthatthesunisbeingguardedagainstapregnantfemalesisteratthesurfaceofthefuture

Since the calf was found dead, Soundwatch watches J35, watching to make sure it has enough space to move safely.

Behavior for a killer whale – breathing in an unusual way, Shed [19659021] "She was very tired in her breathing, taking those long breaths as she was on the surface, "he says.

Shedd observed a more unusual breathing on Thursday – he would see her rise to the surface. inhale, then see the calf roll on his back or fall from his mouth before she takes a few more breaths.

The whale then takes a "big thin dive" where it shows the bottom "For me, this suggests that the calf has a very negative buoyancy and that it had to dive very deep and rise to the surface", Shedd said.

LAD: New Puget Sound Orca dies shortly after birth

Southern Resident killer whales have been spotted with dead calves on their heads – a group of whales have even been spotted, says Shedd.

But it 's still a mystery why whales do it "

" Many of us think it' s probably a mourning, "Shedd says.

"I think they're smart enough to know that this calf is not alive and that it will not come back. "

" But whatever the process of mourning, these whales, that they carry, I can not even begin to claim what emotion or stress is to lose that child and carry it. "

The researchers, he said, speculated on why J35 did this.

" Is she trying to get her to a place, maybe to be where it was born? "at this point and did not let it go again, so we do not know. We have no idea."

The National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) has noted three major threats to their numbers: contamination, the lack of "Studies and data show that when there is a lot of ship noise in the area, these whales spend less time feeding themselves and to graze. "

"

" The noise and disturbance of ships therefore alter their behavior, so that they do not feed as much.

Nevertheless, scholars like Shedd still hope the population can

"Some people call this the last generation of southern residents, it's at that time that it's also disastrous ", he said.

There are other orc populations in the world that thrive. , Shedd notes.

"I hope people will not give up that hope."

• With Associated Press Records