Rescuers try to save the calf, but he flatly refuses to leave the trap where his mother’s killer whale died.
On March 23, a mother and her two-year-old orca calf entered the lagoon that lies south of the village of Ceballos on the northwest coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island. An older orca turned sideways while hunting and later washed ashore as the tide receded, Live Science reported.
Local residents tried unsuccessfully to turn the female, who was stuck on her side, onto her belly and give her water, according to Jared Towers, a marine scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and director of the non-profit organization Bay Cetology. The adult orca eventually died, and an autopsy revealed that she was pregnant at the time of her death.
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The problem was also that the orphaned cub was trapped and refused to leave the lagoon. For almost a week, rescuers tried to help the calf leave the lagoon and return to the sea, but their attempts were in vain – the killer whale retreated even further into the lagoon.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that rescue teams have only 30 minutes a day to save the calf: The water rises so high that the calf can only safely leave the lagoon for half an hour a day, the researchers note. Towers also notes that the current in the area is strong, with some currents high enough to prevent the whale from leaving the lagoon.
Rescuers also tried to use the killer whales’ acoustic signals and other methods to get the calf out to open sea, but were unsuccessful. The animal reacted strangely to the rescuers’ signals, so they assumed the whale might have been injured. However, Tower believes that the whale is strong enough and can survive and join the group of killer whales if it manages to leave the lagoon.
Researchers have already given the calf a name, calling it “Keeesahies” (kwee-sa-hay-is), meaning “Brave Little Hunter.”
Previously Focus He wrote that killer whales brought old Hanchi back to life for an hour: For the first time, scientists filmed the last minutes of a whale’s life.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.