That was the response to this, and I just can't get it out of my mind:
Scientists fear for future of southern resident killer whales after fourth death this year, the latest a young breeding-age female
The death of a fourth southern resident killer whale this year — this time, an 18-year-old female just entering breeding age — has dealt a crippling blow to the future of the iconic, yet highly endangered species in the Salish Sea.
"To lose a southern resident killer whale from an endangered population is very disappointing," Peter Ross, director of the ocean pollution research program at the Vancouver Aquarium, said in an interview Friday. "To lose a young, pre-reproductive female, is deeply vexing because of all the lost potential. She could have delivered five or six healthy bouncing baby whales over her lifetime. To lose her does have a conservation implication."
There are now 77 individuals left in the southern resident killer whale population, including about 28 females of reproductive age, Ross said. Females become reproductively mature at age 15 to 17 and can continue to have a calf every 3.5 to five years into their early- to mid-40s....
"It's pretty alarming that we haven't had a successful birth in three years," Ross added of the southern residents. "All these signs underscore the incredible vulnerability of this very small population."....
Ross conducted research in 2000 showing the southern resident killer whales "were among the most PCB-contaminated marine mammals in the world."....
Whales are also thought to be suffering a shortage of their primary prey, chinook salmon, as well as marine noise and disturbance....
The 18-year-old female that washed ashore Thursday was a member of the J-pod, one of three families of southern resident killer whales that spend time in the inland waters of Washington state and Canada.
One of the commenters to the article said:
J who? do we know? :-( very very sad... I spent 2 summers on the waters with these guys, J's were our most observed - so so sad... what have we done to our world? :'(
To which someone else replied:
J32, Rhapsody.
It's one thing to be concerned about the fate of the orcas and how they're coping (or not) with decimated salmon runs and polluted waters and the disturbance caused by the local shipping lanes. But now suddenly this became an individual to me, a member of a family. A very limited family, a family under severe threat.
Ridiculous, I'm sure some would say. We can't go seeing all the wild animals around us as non-human persons, with names, and family relationships, and lives that matter to themselves and others.
But why not?
If we did, we might not be so ready to disturb their habitats and food sources for our own oh-so-important human purposes. We might have more empathy, and less of an overriding need to always put ourselves and our species' perceived needs first.
Anyway, J-32, Rhapsody, underwent a necropsy today. The 18-year-old was pregnant with a full-term fetus. Speculation is that she had trouble with delivery, or that she may have been weakened by poor nutrition and become unable to fight off disease. More tests in the coming days may give a fuller picture of how and why she died.
RIP, Rhapsody.