Tsuchi is one of the whales that hold a very special place in my heart. Not only is she from one of my favorite matrilines, but she's also survived so many losses.

Tsuchi is a 31-year-old female Southern Resident killer whale. She got her name from the Japanese word for "melon-headed whale", a species sometimes seen off the Washington coast.

Tsuchi was first seen on January 2nd, 1995, alongside her mother J11 Blossom. She's her mother's second surviving calf and the middle child.
She has an older brother, J27 Blackberry, and a younger brother, J39 Mako. Tsuchi belongs to the J11 matriline.
A genetic study couldn't identify her father; however, she has several paternal half-siblings, and her sire is listed as Dummy male *7.

In 2008, she was measured at 6 m (19.7 ft). Tsuchi has a unique jagged pattern behind the subocular patch.

When their mother went missing in 2008, J39 Mako was only five years old. She and J27 Blackberry helped raise him.
They all have a close relationship, a bond only strengthened after the death of their mother.

Sadly, Tsuchi is best known for how many calves she's lost.

From 2009 to 2013, Tsuchi lost 4 calves to miscarriages.
In 2014, she gave birth to a stillborn calf.

On January 18th, 2016, Tsuchi was seen carrying a deceased calf. The calf had never been seen before and died after a few days.
This calf was posthumously named Mintaka.

Following yet another miscarriage in 2017, on May 30th, 2019, Tsuchi was seen near Tofino.
With a calf. This calf would later be named J56 Tofino.
Two months after the first sighting, it was confirmed that J56 Tofino was female.
J56 was the first surviving calf in J pod in three years.
Tofino was in bad condition in September 2020, but her condition has since improved.

About a week ago, Tsuchi was once again in the news for carrying a deceased calf. This calf had been carried to full term but died after birth or was a stillbirth.

Tsuchi is a harsh example of how badly the Southern Resident killer whales are struggling.
Their calves have a 50% survival rate.
A number of factors are responsible for their decline. The decline of salmon is one of the biggest threats to their survival.

In addition, persistent pollutants likely play a part in the high number of miscarriages. Because orcas are apex predators, pollutants build up inside their bodies.
These pollutants are passed on to their calves during pregnancies. This may be one reason why females live longer than males. They pass on the pollutants in their system and decrease the percentage of pollutants in their bodies.

However, I will make a post about the history of SRKWs soon and include more of their struggles.