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World|science|August 10, 2018 / 10:20 AM
Killer whale still carrying dead baby after 16 days

AKIPRESS.COM - A killer whale has captured the world's attention by carrying her dead calf on her back for 16 days, BBCreported.

The mother whale was first spotted carrying her dead calf on 24 July, off the shore of Vancouver Island.

Researchers studying the Southern Resident killer say she is still carrying her baby, as of Wednesday.

Killer whales have been known to carry dead calves for as long as a week, but scientists believe this mother "sets a record".

"Maybe this is just her own way of just getting past the loss of another baby. She's probably lost two more in the past decade. It's got to be tragic for these animals to lose these babies, and it's happening at a record pace," said senior scientist Ken Balcomb, who works at the Centre for Whale Research, which studies the Southern Resident whale population.

The calf is believed to have died on 24 July, but Mr Balcomb said researchers do not have a cause of death.

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