The bereaved whale mother who made headlines when she heartbreakingly grieved her dead baby for more than two weeks has given birth to a new calf, scientists said.

An orca who made headlines in 2018 after she carried her dead calf on her head for more than two weeks and a distance of 1,000 miles has given birth again, according to the Center for Whale Research.

The killer whale who captured hearts across the world in 2018 for refusing to let go of her dead calf has given birth to her second baby in the last four years.

She is the mother orca who captured the world’s attention by carrying her dead calf for 17 days and 1,000 miles. But now, there’s a new baby by her side — a symbol of hope in this, our own season of renewal.

The calf born to Tahlequah, known to researchers as J35, was first spotted on Dec. 20 swimming along with J pod in the Puget Sound area for the past several days. Initially, the researchers could not confirm the identity of the calf with certainty.

Six years ago, Tahlequah swam with her dead calf for 17 days, preventing its body from sinking, in an apparent act of grieving. The mother whale’s first known baby since that incident came two years later in 2020.

A young female orca calf recently spotted by the CWR has now been confirmed to be the offspring of a whale who carried her dead calf for 17 days in 2018.