Orca calf stranded in Canadian lagoon to be airlifted and reunited with family, rescuers say

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Orcas push about against Team JAJO boat. (Team JAJO / The Ocean Race)

• Plans are underway to airlift a stranded killer whale calf from a remote tidal lagoon off northern Vancouver Island.
• Canadian Fisheries Department and First Nations officials are coordinating the rescue effort.
• The rescue could happen within days or within the next two weeks, according to Paul Cottrell from the Fisheries Department.

Plans are underway by to airlift a stranded killer whale calf out of a remote tidal lagoon off northern Vancouver Island in an effort to reunite the young orca with its extended family, Canadian authorities said Wednesday.

Canadian Fisheries Department and First Nations officials said the plan involves placing the 2-year-old calf into a sling, lifting it out of the lagoon by helicopter and putting it in a net pen in the ocean while they wait for its family pod to be near before release.

Rescuers have been unable to coax the young whale out of the area since its pregnant mother was stranded at low tide in the lagoon and died March 23.

LOLITA THE ORCA DIES AT MIAMI SEAQUARIUM AS CAREGIVERS PREPARED TO FREE THE 57-YEAR-CAPTIVE MAMMAL

The plan was agreed to during a meeting between members of the Ehattesaht First Nation council, Fisheries Department officials and marine technical experts.y

An orphaned Orca calf is seen on April 2, 2024, in a lagoon near Zeballos, British Colombia. The two-year-old Orca has been alone in the tidal lagoon near Little Espinosa Inlet since March 23, when its pregnant mother became trapped by the low tide and died on the rocky beach. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John said his people have deep cultural and spiritual connections to orcas and the nation has been receiving calls of concern and support from around the world.

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Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal coordinator with the Fisheries Department, said the rescue could occur within days, but more likely within the next two weeks.