‘She Has Lost Someone Dear’: Professor Hopes Orca’s ‘Grief Swim’ Spurs Ethics Rethink

In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 1, 2025. The Canadian Press/AP, Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries

As the female orca known as Tahlequah once again carries the body of a dead calf through waters near Vancouver Island, for the second time in seven years, researcher Barbara J. King says there’s no mistaking the nature of the phenomenon.

King said she’s “more convinced than ever that animals, many animals, are expressing grief that emerges from love.”