{"id":3993,"date":"2018-08-18T11:26:04","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T23:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/new-zealand\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2024-07-12T12:36:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T00:36:24","slug":"an-orca-mother-finally-abandons-her-dead-calf-that-she-carried-for-over-two-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/an-orca-mother-finally-abandons-her-dead-calf-that-she-carried-for-over-two-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"An Orca mother finally abandons her dead calf that she carried for over two weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Orca Whale jumping out of the water.<\/p><\/div>
\nAfter 17 heartbreaking days, Tahlequah (J35), the orca mother who captured the world\u2019s attention, has finally stopped carrying her dead calf through the Salish Sea off the Pacific coast of Washington and British Columbia. In response, Greenpeace USA released the following statement calling for greater efforts to protect endangered Southern Resident Orcas, of which only 75 remain. Scientists have also been tracking J50, a 4 \u00bd year-old member of the same pod who is sick and at risk for an early death.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than two weeks, Tahlequah united millions of people worldwide in heartbreak and love as she carried her dead calf for 1,000 miles,\u201d\u00a0said Greenpeace USA Field Organizing Manager Ben Smith, a Seattle resident.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Southern Resident Orca is an incredibly important part of the culture and history of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, that population is malnourished and in dire need of food and protection. That is why our elected officials and civic leaders have a moral responsibility to take action and ensure that the orca\u2019s main food source, salmon, recovers and is not further depleted; that we don\u2019t allow Trump to gut the Endangered Species Act; and that we aren\u2019t allowing projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to risk oil spills and tanker noise that threaten the Southern Resident Orca\u2019s ability to survive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Greenpeace USA recently released a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0that documents the risks that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project poses to Southern Resident Orcas, potentially leading to the pod\u2019s extinction if action isn\u2019t taken. The expansion project would bring a 7-fold increase in tar sands tanker traffic through the endangered orcas\u2019 critical habitat.<\/p>\n

The report was released while the Greenpeace ship, the\u00a0Arctic Sunrise<\/a>, sailed the Salish Sea off the Washington coast near Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, and the San Juan Islands. The ship followed the route that would experience a seven-fold increase in tar sands tanker traffic if the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is completed. While sailing this route, the Arctic Sunrise encountered a pod of orcas in the same area that Kinder Morgan assessed was a high-risk spill region, reaffirming the dangers that the pipeline represents to marine life. This also comes against the backdrop of news that\u00a0President Trump wants to gut the Endangered Species Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not only would an oil spill contaminate the waters in which orcas live, but it threatens the salmon population that they depend on for sustenance. Malnutrition and starvation are significant reasons that the Southern Residents are endangered. This problem is exacerbated by the ship noise, which interferes with orcas\u2019 echolocation, the way in which they communicate with one another and hunt for food. Even without an oil spill, the noise alone from an increase in tanker traffic could mean extinction for these orcas.<\/p>\n

Included in\u00a0Greenpeace USA\u2019s report<\/a>:<\/p>\n