This is reported by the Whale Research Center, external the death of any calf was a “tremendous loss,” but added that the death of the newborn Tahlequah was “particularly devastating” given its history.
The center, which studies southern killer whales and works on their conservation, said Tahlequah lost two of the four calves documented in the documents – both were females.
Both Canada and the United States list southern killer whales as endangered.
For food, whales depend on teal salmon, whose numbers have declined dramatically in recent years.
The failure in reproduction is said to be related to food and access to these salmon study from the University of Washington, external.
Whales can travel an average of 120 km (75 miles) per day.
In 2018, a Talekwa pushing a dead calf was spotted off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia.
