Orphan orca’s saga will be talked about for ‘generations,’ says First Nation chief
Global News
"It's been a joyful day, a really joyful day," said Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John. "There was a lot of anticipation for this moment for the past five weeks."
An orphan killer whale calf escaped from a remote Vancouver Island tidal lagoon on Friday. It had been trapped for more than a month, and immediately swam towards the open ocean, making calls for its extended family members, say overjoyed rescue officials.
The young orca’s bid for freedom occurred at a high tide early Friday and involved swimming through a swift-moving narrow channel, with Esperanza Inlet in the near distance.
“It’s been a joyful day, a joyful day,” said Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John at a news conference. “I’m very ecstatic about how things happened today. There was a lot of anticipation for this moment for the past five weeks.”
The orca has been the focus of intense rescue efforts since March 23, when her pregnant mother became stranded on a rocky beach and died near the bridge in the small inlet next to the community of Zeballos, B.C., more than 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria.
The calf chose a “clear and glass-calm, star-filled night” at about 2:30 a.m. to swim under the bridge and down the inlet, said a joint statement from the Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations.
The young orca’s behaviour changed almost at the moment she headed for the open ocean, said Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal co-ordinator with the Fisheries Department.
“We were just amazed at how quickly, and how the behaviour of this animal changed when it went from the shallow inlets, where it was restricted, to these wide-open inlets that are very deep,” he said. “Her behaviour, her acoustics changed. She actually sped away from the boat and moved into Esperanza Inlet and really took off.”
Cottrell, who has been in Zeballos since last month working with area First Nations’ people on a rescue plan, said he’s confident the young orca will survive and find family.
