For at least 11 days, a mother killer whale has been carrying the body of her dead newborn calf.

Only a handful of days old, the female calf was confirmed dead on New Year's Eve. The next day, the southern resident orca mom, known as Tahlequah or J35, was seen with the dead calf 鈥渄raped across her snout鈥� or placed on top of her head.

This is the second time the orca has been observed performing what some have described as a 'grief procession'.

She famously pushed the body of her dead newborn for 17 days in 2018, travelling over 1,000 miles.

Tahlequah was seen in B.C. waters on Jan. 10, near Discovery Island, located off the eastern side of Greater Victoria. She was observed by researchers to be travelling with J57, her son, who is almost five years old.

Again she was seen attempting to carry the newborn's dead body.

"We were not seeing much of the carcass and the seas were starting to get sloppier, but J35 appeared to be trying to keep it from sinking," said a report by the Centre for Whale Research.

There have been no further sightings of the grieving mother since Jan. 10.

"The whales at this time of year often spend increasing amounts of their time on the outer coast or other areas, so the reports can be unpredictable," said Michael Milstein, senior public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Centre.

Speaking on Jan. 2, experts said they believe Tahlequah is experiencing emotions connected to the loss of her calf.

鈥淚 think it's fair to say that she is grieving or mourning,鈥� said Joe Gaydos, science director for SeaDoc Society.

In waters roughly 200 metres from Tahlequah, researchers observed more members of J pod, including new calf J62, who was first spotted on Dec. 31, 2024.

According to researchers, the calf appeared healthy as it travelled surrounded by its family and female whale J42.

"There was some milling and rolling by individuals in this group although we never saw the calf being rolled around," said the report. "The calf mostly seemed to be wedged between J41 and J19, but mainly with J41."

Researchers believe J41 is the "likely" mother, as earlier in 2024 she was reported to appear pregnant.

The Centre for Whale Research said the population of the endangered southern resident orcas had dipped to 73 in its July 1, 2024 census following the death of two adult male orcas.