An orca known as Tahlequah, who raised worldwide concern when she carried her dead calf for 17 days and more than 1600km almost two years ago, is pregnant.
John Durban, senior scientist of Southall Environmental Associates and Holly Fearnbach, marine mammal research director for the nonprofit SR3, recently recorded drone images of the endangered southern resident whales and discovered pregnancies amid the J, K and L pods, the Seattle Times reported.
The pregnancies are not unusual but Tahlequah's pregnancy carries special meaning for a region that grieved the death of her calf with her.
The southern residents that frequent Puget Sound are struggling to survive, and most pregnancies are not successful. Tahlequah's baby was the first for the whales in three years. The mammals have since had two more calves, in J pod and L pod. Both are still alive.
The current population of southern resident orcas is 72.