‘Really happy’: Video captures B.C. orca calf eating first meal in 27 days
Global News
The young whale ventured into the lagoon off northwest Vancouver Island with her mother last month. She has been swimming around in the waters by herself ever since.
It’s the good news many have been hoping for — at least until a successful rescue can be accomplished.
kʷiisaḥiʔis or Brave Little Hunter had a big meal on Thursday evening.
Officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ehattesaht First Nation have been trying to supplement the food source for the orphaned and stranded orca whale calf since it became trapped in the lagoon near Zeballos B.C.
“Luckily yesterday, late evening, it was actually successful,” Paul Cottrell with the department told Global News.
“And seeing that now gives us some options, gives us time. So that’s a win. And given that she was showing subtle changes in body condition, it’s really important that she’s getting those nutrients. So we’re really happy that this is happening.”
Cottrell said this gives the team of rescuers more time to formulate a rescue plan for the two-year-old orca.
The young whale ventured into the lagoon off northwest Vancouver Island with her mother last month.
The pregnant mother whale became stranded on a rocky beach at low tide and died. Rescuers have been trying to get the calf to leave the lagoon, 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria, so it can reunite with its pod.
