An orphaned Orca calf is shown in a lagoon near Zeballos, B.C., on Tuesday.Photo:Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP
Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP
A rescue effort is being planned in Canada to help a killer whale calf stranded in a lagoon reunite with its extended family!
According toThe Canadian Press, the 2-year-old calf was first stranded in the lagoon located on the northern side of Vancouver Island in British Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 23 with its pregnant mother, who eventually died.
Officials say they have been trying to coax the calf out of the ocean since March 23 without success, but that the calf appears to be healthy.
“We look at this option as the most viable option to helping this whale,” Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal co-ordinator with the Fisheries Department, told the Canadian Press. “Everybody is rooting for us. If we don’t attempt it, the calf’s life is a worry.''
Cottrell also told the news outlet that while everyone involved would like to execute the plan within the next two days, two weeks is a more realistic estimate of the time it will take to safely reunite the young killer whale with the extended family members in its pod.
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Cottrell told the Canadian Pressthat the calf appears to be hunting prey to eat and doesn’t appear to have a sign of illness in the species called “peanut head,” a term referring to what a malnourished whale looks like when it loses its fat reserves.
“We are looking at partially supplementing food for the animal going forward,” Cottrell added.
In Canada, theSouthern Resident Killer Whales, which live in the northeast of the Pacific Ocean, are considered endangered, as only 74 remain in the wild as of December 2023. They are also listed as endangered under theU.S. Endangered Species Act.
source: people.com
