Rescuers pause efforts to free trapped orca calf

Members of the Ehattesaht First Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Vancouver Aquarium have temporarily sus‐ pended an operation to move a stranded killer whale calf out of a remote Vancouver Island lagoon and into open water.

The rescue team says it will have to change tactics af‐ ter being "truly humbled at the intelligence, adaptability and resilience" of the calf who "simply decided she was not ready to be moved" on

Friday, according to a joint statement.

The two-year-old female transient killer whale, known as kʷiisaḥiʔis (Brave Little Hunter), has been stuck in the tidal lagoon near the vil‐ lage of Zeballos, on the northwest coast of Vancou‐ ver Island, since March 23, when its pregnant mother became trapped by the low tide and died on a rocky beach.

The DFO said kʷiisaḥiʔis evaded several attempts to coax her into the shallow end of the lagoon during Friday's rescue, and returned to the area she has been hanging out in.

"Anytime people under‐ take an effort like this you have to be prepared that the animal may not want to cooperate," the statement said.

Paul Cottrell, DFO marine mammal co-ordinator, said at the rescue site that the outcome was disappointing after a "huge effort."

"We're kind of looking at other options now going for‐ ward, realizing that this ani‐ mal is very smart," Cottrell said. "It's adapting to our tac‐ tics and we're gonna try a dif‐ ferent tactic going forward."

He said the team re‐ mained optimistic and "the team's not giving up."

The orca was examined by experts and veterinarian staff from the Vancouver Aquari‐ um, and still appears to be in good health and is swimming well.

WATCH | Planning for a complex rescue:

Calf to be transported in sling

For weeks, experts - including First Nation members, DFO marine mammal experts, whale scientists and boat and machine operators have gathered in the small community of about 200 people to plan how to free the killer whale calf.

They have spent much of the past week in meetings preparing for a rescue attem‐ pt, which Ehattesaht Chief Simon John has said the na‐ tion considers to be a pivotal moment in its modern his‐ tory.

The DFO said in a release that it was planning to use a sling to lift kʷiisaḥiʔis out of the lagoon and transport the calf to open water.

On Thursday, rescuers were practising lifting the sling with an excavator and transporting it to the bed of a truck.

DFO has said the road to the lagoon will be closed dur‐ ing the rescue to protect the orca's safety.

IN PHOTOS | Efforts to free orphaned B.C. orca:

The Ehattesaht First Na‐ tion said in a release that the whale's health is at the fore‐ front of all decisions.

"When we look at [kʷi‐ isaḥiʔis] from a distance we can't really see too many changes but her calls are cer‐ tainly the hardest part of the past two weeks," the release said.

"They are sorrowful and as they go unanswered, your heart sinks."

Past rescue attempts to free the orca have unfortu‐ nately been unsuccessful.

Previously, rescuers tried to coax the whale out of the lagoon by using recorded killer whale vocalizations.

On March 28, around 10 boats attempted to herd the orca by using oikomi pipes, which are made out of metal and create a loud noise un‐ derwater when struck. But to escape the lagoon, the orca would have to pass over the same sandbar where its mother was beached and died.

At one point, DFO even considered lifting kʷiisaḥiʔis out of the lagoon via heli‐ copter, but it has since aban‐ doned that plan.