An orca, who carried her dead calf for 17 days and swam over 1600 km of ocean in 2018, has given birth to a new baby, according to the Center for Whale Research.

A Facebook post said the calf was born to Tahlequah, known to researchers as J35. It was spotted for the first time on December 20 while swimming along with J pod in the Puget Sound area, CNN reported.

“The Center for Whale Research has received additional information on the new calf born into J pod. On Monday, 12/23, a team of researchers, including scientists from NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, were able to conduct longer-term observations of the new calf. These observations allow us to more confidently assign the new calf’s mother as J35 and give it the alpha-numeric designation J61,” read the post by the Center for Whale Research.

The team photographed the calf’s underside, confirming it was a female. “The team, including multiple experienced killer whale researchers, have expressed concern about the calf’s health based on the behavior of both J35 and J61. Early life is always dangerous for new calves, with a very high mortality rate in the first year. J35 is an experienced mother, and we hope that she is able to keep J61 alive through these difficult early days,” it added.

Michael Weiss, research director of the Center for Whale Research, told CNN that the researchers were initially not able to confirm the identity of the calf, but after observing it “confidently,” they assigned Tahlequah as the mother and the baby as alpha-numeric J61.

A nature enthusiast and photographer, who captured the calf, said he was shocked after seeing the calf. “I was just looking through my photos to see who the whales were that passed close to the port side of the ferry I was on and noticed a much smaller dorsal on one of the photos.” 

After scrolling through the series, the photographer realised “it was very tiny calf, much smaller than any of the known young ones in the group.” 

Tahlequah, or J35, made headlines six years ago after she swam with the body of her calf for about 1,000 miles of ocean. The calf had died within hours of birth. She swam with the body for more than two weeks to prevent it from sinking.

Two years later, she gave birth to her first known baby since the incident, J57, in 2020. She is also the mother of another orca named J47.

A man has been criticised on social media for jumping from a boat near two orcas, or killer whales, in New Zealand. The video of the man’s act has been shared on Instagram by the Department of Conservation (DOC), which has called the incident “shocking and foolish”. The DOC said that it appeared to be a deliberate effort to touch or “body slam” the marine mammals. The department also announced that the 50-year-old diver has been fined New Zealand $600 (Rs 30,600).

The incident took place off the coast of Devonport in February, but the department shared the video now.

“The man showed reckless disregard for his own safety – and that of the adult male orca with a calf swimming near the vessel,” DOC said in the accompanying Instagram post.

The clip was recorded by other passengers on the boat. In the clip, the man is heard saying “I touched it” and asking “Did you get it?” in apparent reference to the filming of the incident.

“This is stupid behaviour and demonstrates a shocking disregard for the welfare of the orca. It is extremely irresponsible. Orca are immensely powerful animals, and this really could have ended horribly – with either the startled whale being injured, or the man responsible being harmed by the aggravated animal,” the DOC said in a statement.

It added that it is illegal to swim with whales, or disturb or harass any marine mammal. “It’s a very clear breach of the Marine Mammals Protection Act.”

Orcas are apex predators and the species’ population found around the waters of New Zealand is estimated to be between 150 and 200 individuals.