Mom Orca’s Grief and Marine Ecology’s Alarm Bells

As reported by the National Geographic Society on January 4, 2025, famed orca mother tahlequah gave birth to her fourth child in late December 2024 and passed away just before the New Year in 2025. tahlequah had sparked global attention for orca conservation in 2018 by swimming on her back for 17 days with her abortive calf, and the loss of her calf once again sounds the alarm for marine ecological conservation. The young whale’s untimely death is another wake-up call for marine ecological conservation.