J61 was an approximately 1-week-old female Southern Resident killer whale who was first spotted on December 20, 2024. Her mother is J35 "Tahlequah."

Early Life[]

J61 was first seen on December 20, 2024, just a few days old, in Puget Sound with her mother J35 "Tahlequah." Every member of the J17 matriline surrounding the new mother-daughter pair.^[1] Tahlequah made headlines all over the world in 2018 when she carried her deceased daughter for 17 days and over 1000 miles. This was dubbed the "Tour of Grief." Two years later in 2020, she gave birth to a son, J57 "Phoenix." Then four years after the birth of Phoenix, gave birth again, this time to J61 in 2024.

Researchers confirmed J61 was female on December 23. They also believe J61 was born prematurely and expressed concerns for her health based on the behavior of both J61 and her mother Tahlequah.^[2] J61 was observed being pushed around on Tahlequah's rostrum and was not looking lively, which researchers were concerned about. ^[3]

Death[]

NOAA Researchers observed Tahlequah and the rest of J pod on December 31 and did not see J61, leading them to believe she passed away.^[4]  A day later on January 1, 2025, Tahlequah was once again seen pushing her deceased daughter, just like she did in 2018.^[5] Researchers believe J61 had died days prior to the observation on January 1st.^[6] Tahlequah and her family weren't seen for over a week, but on the morning of January 10 she was seen in Haro Strait off San Juan Island still carrying J61's body.^[7]

Gallery[]

• Photos of J61
• Videos of J61

References[]