Canadian rescuers launch mission to reunite orphan killer whale calf with family

AN ORPHAN killer whale calf stranded off Vancouver Island will be airlifted into the Pacific as part of a rescue attempt to reunite it with its family.

Rescuers hope to use a sling to lift the two-year-old calf, which is trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off the coast of Canada, out of the water with a helicopter.

From there, it will be carried to a holding net pen in the Pacific Ocean until its family pod is located and swims near enough for the orca to be released.

Rescuers have so far been unable to coax the whale calf out of the lagoon, where its pregnant mother died on March 23 after being stranded at low tide.

The route the orca would need to pass through to free itself is a difficult stretch of water, made more hazardous by limited high tide opportunities. As a result, the airlift plan was agreed on Wednesday during a meeting between members of the Ehattesaht First Nation council – the governing body for a small region of Vancouver island – Canadian Fisheries Department officials and marine technical experts.

Simon John, the chief of Ehattesaht First Nation, said his people have deep cultural and spiritual connections to orcas.

He said: “Everybody’s worried about the whale up and down the coast. This whole process has been to reunite it with its pod.” The stranded orca calf has been named locally as “Little Brave Hunter”.

Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal coordinator with the Fisheries Department, said the rescue could occur within days but, more likely, within the next two weeks.

He said: “We look at this option as the most viable option to help this whale. If we don’t attempt it, the calf ’s life is a worry.”

He described the planned rescue as “complex, multi-variable and really difficult”.

Mr Cottrell added that the orca appears to be healthy and, in a positive sign, has been spotted seeking prey, including a bird that it “ingested”.

To help its feeding, the rescue team has been placing seal remains around the lagoon, which is located near the village of Zeballos, 283 miles north of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.

‘Everybody’s worried about the orca up and down the coast. If we don’t attempt this, it’s life is a worry’