My heart goes out to the Orca as she grieves the loss of her sweet baby. This morning I rushed to my computer for an update. I have been counting the days that J35 has been carrying her 400 lb. deceased baby Orca. She pushes it through the water, unwilling to part with her baby. If the body of her baby sinks she dives down or drifts in the current under water and she pushes her baby up to the surface. She has carried it now for 5 days as I write this.
All this said, we mothers know what it means that she has been carrying this baby for her 17 months (!) of gestation. This is unity of being. A life of total dependency and real intimacy. Being pregnant, I imagine, gave her hope for her species because one whale in her pod is starving to death, and their numbers have shrunk over the years. She already has one son that she gave birth to in 2010 and he lives with her in the J pod. She knew what was supposed to happen after her little one's birth. So sad.
Orcas struggle with the loss of food in the waters and other environmental risks. Truly we need to do all that we can to preserve animal life. Every baby brings hope for the future, every life matters, and there is nothing more precious than a newborn.
Orcas struggle with the loss of food in the waters and other environmental risks. Truly we need to do all that we can to preserve animal life. Every baby brings hope for the future, every life matters, and there is nothing more precious than a newborn.
Two years ago I wrote a blog about a Juvenile Humpback whale, which died in the Puget Sound and was washed up on shore. I was there when it was breathing its last. I was there that day wanting and praying for a miracle. My love for the wild of Puget Sound runs so deep. This week my prayers have been turned to the sweet grieving heart of J35. While at the same time my own mother’s heart and values have been awakened as I have watched her struggle to let go.
J35 your passion for your baby truly touches my heart. Oh that we would all share your passion for our infants, children, and community. Our babies matter. Nature matters. Would the mother’s heart in us rise up and can we cherish our young in life and death?
Clearly, this grief is raw and real in the animal world.
Clearly, this grief is raw and real in the animal world.
Tomorrow morning I will wake up to check on J35 and to see if she is still pushing her baby in the water. Whether she has let go or not I will forever admire her for her indescribable love and unwillingness to not harden her heart toward her dead baby and grieve with such unrestrained passion.
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