An orphaned orca calf that had been stranded in a remote lagoon on Vancouver Island off Canada’s west coast for over a month has finally swum out of the waterway by herself, according to the Ehattesaht First Nation. The young whale attracted significant attention and concerns from local authorities when it appeared trapped after its mother died while giving birth in shallow waters within the Zeballos lagoon on March 23.
After several failed rescue attempts due to rough seas, rescuers’ hopes that she would leave by herself were finally realized last Friday evening. The team watched as the calf breached the water and played before swimming under a bridge and out through an inlet during high tide at around 2:30 am local time (10:30 pm GMT Thursday). After spotting her in Espinosa Inlet later on, rescue teams will now follow her from a distance as she makes her way towards the open ocean.
The orphaned calf has been named “Little Brave Hunter” by locals and is also referred to using an alternate name within the native dialect spoken by the local community called ‘Kʷiisaḥiʔis.’ Fisheries officers aim for little-to-no interaction between boats, people, and the whale as they hope that her family will now be able to hear her calls so she can rejoin her pod.
In a statement issued by the Ehattesaht First Nation, officials said: “We are now in a new phase… While the Team is ecstatic there will be increased patrols and protective measures taken to ensure that [the calf] has no contact with boats or people.” The organization added that events like these have deeper meanings for their community as they believe strongly about the interconnectedness between “the spirit world, the animal world, and the people who have remained on the land and waters for all time”.
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