Toa taken to his final resting place

As his breathing became shallower and his heart rate weakened, a hush fell over those who had gathered to be with Toa the orphan orca in his final moments.

Under a bright moon and cloudless sky, the life of the young calf – who became separated from his pod, before washing up on a beach near Plimmerton, north of Porirua, 12 days earlier – finally came to an end on Friday night.

While the desperate air and on-shore search to reunite Toa with his mother or with another pod proved fruitless, those who worked so tirelessly to tend to him were determined to envelope him in aroha in his last stage of life.

Among his human family present on Friday night was teenager Ben Norris, the first person to discover the orca, marine biologist Dr Ingrid Visser – one of a host of experts involved in Toa’s care – and numerous Department of Conservation and Orca Rescue Trust staff.

Members of the Hongoeka wha¯ nau of local iwi Nga¯ ti Toa Rangatira were there too, including Justin Stretch, Sandra McGill and Rongoa Richmond.

After receiving an urgent call from Visser explaining Toa’s condition was in rapid decline, the trio donned their wetsuits and rushed to Toa’s sea pen at Plimmerton Boating Club, a pen he had returned to only two days earlier.

With many of the regular volunteers already in the water, they waded in beside the orca, with Stretch and Richmond immediately moving to cradle Toa’s head.

‘‘We knew what was coming,’’ Stretch said. As several karakia were uttered, the calf quietly faded away.

‘‘It was a very peaceful time. Everybody was very calm. He was calm. He couldn’t have slipped away any better,’’ Richmond said.

While his death occurred relatively quickly, there had been signs earlier on Friday that Toa’s condition was deteriorating. Toa lacked energy and was suffering buoyancy issues, requiring the calf to be held up by volunteers in the shallows for long periods.

As Ma¯ ori tangihanga custom dictated, Stretch spent the night with Toa’s tu¯pa¯paku (body of the deceased) before being farewelled by Toa’s carers at dawn. He then made the short trip from the boating club to his final resting place at Hongoeka Bay.

‘‘It was a beautiful night, a cloudless night. The moon was shining through the trailer on us. It was perfect,’’ Stretch said.

McGill said the ceremony was ‘‘beautiful’’ with people gathered in a half-circle around the trailer supporting Toa’s frame.