Ben the survivor back hunting with his old-time mates
An orca who has twice dodged death is proving to be a poster boy for researchers thanks to the scars of his adventures.
Ben the orca is helping researchers understand where the whales go in New Zealand waters and how far they can travel.
In 1997, he stranded at a beach near Mangawhai, north of Auckland, said Orca Research Trust founder Dr Ingrid Visser.
The original plan was to shoot the stranded orca but Visser intervened and Ben was helped back into the water after 21 hours.
‘‘The results show these animals should be given a chance, where we can,’’ she said.
The next year, Ben was spotted with substantial damage to his dorsal fin due to a boat strike, which Visser originally thought could kill him.
‘‘Because the injury was so severe, we had grave concerns if he was going to survive at all – now he’s hunting sharks and rays with the same mates that he was hanging out with before.’’
Since his injury, Ben – with his easily recognisable dorsal fin – has been spotted by researchers, dolphin watchers and citizen scientists more than 140 times.
Each time he was identified, the Orca Research Trust logged the details using software originally designed for plotting the safe passage for ships.
Visser said over 21 years, Ben had been spotted in 48 locations across New Zealand, including the Bay of Islands, Whanga¯rei Harbour, Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, Tauranga Harbour, Kaiko¯ura and as far south as Banks Peninsula.
He has swum at least 40,000km – the equivalent of a trip around the world.
‘‘We have compelling evidence of the distances that Ben can and does travel, and they are remarkable. He has been documented swimming over 190km in a single day, which is just amazing given his injury.’’
Ben is now the poster boy, or case study, for a chapter in a scientific book about the management and conservation of marine mammals.
Visser said Ben’s story reminds the public of the need to slow down and take care around these animals to avoid boat strike.
New Zealand had one of the highest orca boat strike rates in the world, which could partly be due to the very shallow waters orca tend to swim in, she said.
More protection was needed for the ‘‘acutely threatened’’ species, Visser said.
But Ben’s story also tells of the positive impact humans can have when they intervene in a whale stranding.
‘‘His story is so fascinating as it also includes a stranding and a rescue, but it might have been a completely different story, as the original decision by the authorities was to shoot him – so thank goodness that never happened.’’
The chapter, written by Visser, Tracy Cooper and Terry Hardie, is published in the book Contributions to the Global Management and Conservation of Marine Mammals, which is free to