A thousand miles of mourning
By OneKind supporter Peter Kelly
Swims Tahlequah with her dead baby
that humans call a calf
Did not let go of her dead baby
for seventeen days of grief
following as many months’ gestation
and thirty minutes of life
Calls upon her pod and family
to help the pain subside
As she holds on to her dead baby
other Orcas swim beside
the killer whale that humans record
as number J35
giving support
sharing her hurt
showing patience
letting her know
she is doing right
to hold on tight
still doing right
as she lets go
of
her
infant
that
humans
call
a
calf
Note: in August 2018, an orca with research name J35, given the nickname Tahlequah, finally dropped her dead calf, which she had been pushing with her head for at least 17 days and 1,000 miles off the Pacific Northwest coast, in an unprecedented show of mourning that drew international attention. Experts considered she had developed a bond during the short time her offspring survived and her ‘tour of grief’ was a demonstration of the complex emotional behaviours of cetaceans.
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