Lone orphan orca stirs rising concerns in Bay

Concerns are increasing for the wellbeing of a lone orca calf separated from its pod in the Bay of Plenty.

International orca expert Jeff Foster arrived from America yesterday to monitor the orca and provide assistance and advice.

Orca Research Trust founder Dr Ingrid Visser, speaking as she and Foster sat 30m away from the orca, said: “It’s struggling, but it’s fighting.”

“We have to be realistic, it definitely needs some assistance. It will die and nobody wants to see an animal suffer like that. He’s very tired, he’s been here for 10 days, the poor little tyke, it struggles in the strong currents, so that is really hard.”

Visser said Foster had been out to see the whale and assess the area. He would report his findings to the Department of Conservation today.

They would be discussing intervention with DoC, and had been consulting iwi and key stake holders.

Visser said they had asked the public to give the young whale space.

“It needs all its energy to survive. People have been amazing and very, very respectful.”

The orca had also been monitored by DoC staff for over a week, and they were becoming increasingly concerned for its health.

District operations manager Jeff Milham said it was unclear where the orca’s family were. They advised boaties and the public to stay away from the young orca, and would continue to monitor it closely.

An online petition has been started on change.org by a person in Poulsbo, Washington, and shared on Huffington Post by Sam Lipman of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue’s Orca Aware Campaign, asking the NZ Government to allow intervention.