Efforts Underway to Save Stranded Orca Calf after Mother Dies, BC Marine Group Steps In
A female killer whale from British Columbia passed away on Mar. 24 after becoming stuck in shallow waters near the Village of Zeballos on the west side of Vancouver Island.
The Marine Education & Research Society revealed in a social media update that the deceased whale was a Bigg’s killer whale known as T109A3, born in 2009 and giving birth to a calf in 2022.
Efforts were made to rescue the whale, who was likely hunting and got stranded by receding tides, with her calf being sighted nearby.
A dead seal found close to the stranded whale suggests she was hunting, but potential health issues could be uncovered through a necropsy examination.
Focus has shifted to ensuring the calf can leave the lagoon and potentially reunite with its family pod, as it was known that its mother often traveled with her mother and siblings.
A Fisheries Department official mentioned that department personnel were present at the scene, with additional details about the stranding anticipated to be shared on Mar. 25.
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