Mourning Orca Mother Carries Dead Calf For Week During 'Deep Grieving'

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NEAR VICTORIA, Canada (CBSMiami/AP) -- A very sad story from the wild as a grieving mother Orca swims with the body of her dead, newborn calf for days.

(Source: Center For Whale Research)

Experts with the Whale Museum on San Juan Island have been monitoring the 20-year-old whale, known as J35, since her calf died shortly after birth Tuesday.

For days now, the whale has been balancing the dead calf on her forehead or pushing it to the surface of the water.

The Center for Whale Research, which tracks whale population in the Pacific, captured images of the heartbreaking ordeal.

Experts say the orca and her pod are going through "a deep grieving process."

The calf was the first in three years to be born to the dwindling population of endangered southern resident killer whales. There are only 75.