Orphaned baby orca escapes Canadian lagoon after a month of trying April 27, 2024

The orca, nicknamed Kwee-sa-hay-is, which means Brave Little Hunter, spent more than a month in the cove [Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada]

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Orphaned baby orca escapes Canadian lagoon after a month of trying

An orphaned orca calf that was trapped in a lagoon for more than a month off the coast of British Columbia is finally free.

The orca had been trapped since March 23, after its mother died, prompting a massive rescue effort on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Repeated efforts to coax her out or carry her along a narrow path to the open sea were unsuccessful.

But on Friday, the pup managed to swim out on its thanks to the high tide.

The escape marks a happy ending for the Ehattesaht First Nation, who led the rescue efforts and affectionately named the whale Kwee-sa-hay-is, which stands for Brave Little Hunter.

The two-year-old female calf became trapped in the tidal lagoon after her pregnant mother got stuck and died on a sandbank. The lagoon is near the coastal village of Zeballos, located in a narrow inlet on Vancouver Island that flows into the Pacific Ocean.

"Today, the community of Zeballos and people everywhere are waking up to incredible news and what can only be described as pride in the strength this little orca has shown," said Chief Simon John in a statement on Friday.

Chief John said the orca swam away at 02:30 local time (8:30 BST), "during high tide on a clear, calm, and star-filled night".

The 15-year-old mother's death was recorded on video in March, and repeated attempts to save her at the time were unsuccessful.

For weeks after her mother's death, the young calf wouldn't swim through the narrow channel and under a bridge into open water, prompting a team of First Nations community members and federal marine mammal experts to band together to try to free her.

This led to several unsuccessful rescue missions. In one attempt, rescuers tried to pick up the orca and move it using a sling. In another, they tried to communicate with her using recorded whale sounds to convince her to move.

At one point, a violinist from Nanaimo, British Columbia, tried to serenade the calf in an attempt to convince it to swim away.

Chief John said that protective measures are being put in place to protect the pup from boats or humans in the area.

The focus now, he said, is on reuniting it with its family.

"Every opportunity needs to be provided for her to return to her family with as little human interaction as possible," said Chief John.

At a meeting with fisheries authorities and First Nations representatives, they said she was recorded emitting sounds of excitement after leaving the lagoon.

"It was amazing how loud she was when she got to those deep, open waters," said one of them.

Authorities say the young orca has a proven track record of successful hunting. She was observed eating herring and birds while trapped in the lagoon.

The hope now is that she will be reunited with her group or find a group with relatives who can adopt her.

A statement from the First Nations community said that her successful escape will resonate for years to come and that it reinforces the understanding of the connections between humans, animals, and the Earth.

"Events like this have a deeper meaning and the moment of her departure will be thought about, commented on, and felt for generations to come," the statement said.

By Nadine Yousif