Current:Home > FinanceTrapped baby orca nicknamed "Brave Little Hunter" dodges rescue attempts, swims to freedom on her own in Canada-LoTradeCoin
Trapped baby orca nicknamed "Brave Little Hunter" dodges rescue attempts, swims to freedom on her own in Canada
View Date:2024-12-24 08:56:45
An orphaned killer whale calf that had been trapped for weeks in a tidal lagoon on Vancouver island, dodging multiple rescue attempts, on Friday swam out on her own, a local Indigenous tribe said.
The Ehattesaht First Nation had watched over the orca calf they named "Brave Little Hunter" after her pregnant mother died on a rocky beach in late March.
They, along with fisheries officials, made several unsuccessful attempts to catch and release her in open waters.
An attempt in mid-April to free the whale involved using a net to corral her into a large fabric sling in shallow waters. The whale managed to dodge a 50-person rescue team that was using boats, divers and sophisticated underwater detection equipment. In another effort, a woman tried to coax the whale out of the lagoon by playing her violin during high tide.
Then suddenly at 2:30 am local time Friday, during high tide on a starry night, she "swam past the sand bar her mother passed away on, under the bridge, down Little Espinosa Inlet and onto Esperanza (Inlet) all on her own," the Ehattesaht First Nation said in a statement.
A small group watched her go, it said, after being treated to "a long night of (her) breaching and playing."
The team later caught up with the orca calf in Esperanza Inlet, hoping to "encourage her out toward the open ocean where it is hoped that the Brave Little Hunter's calls will be heard by her family."
In a statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said its marine mammal rescue team "monitored the animal to ensure it did not become stranded during an upcoming low tide." The agency also posted drone video of the killer whale.
"The team will also be monitoring the location of the calf while she seeks out her family," the agency said.
Although there has been tremendous public interest in the little whale's plight and efforts to save her, authorities asked everyone now to stay clear of the area and the whale itself in order to facilitate her reunion with kin.
Chief Simon John said officials and nation members were putting protective measures in place to ensure the whale has no contact with people or boats.
"Every opportunity needs to be afforded to have her back with her family with as little human interaction as possible," he said.
The orca's swim to freedom comes more than two months after a pod of killer whales that were seen trapped by sea ice off the coast of Japan we apparently able to escape.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- orca
- Canada
veryGood! (39968)
Related
- November 2024 full moon this week is a super moon and the beaver moon
- Inside Pregnant Bhad Bhabie's Love Story-Themed Baby Shower
- Why AP called the Nevada Democratic primary for Joe Biden
- Taylor Swift explains why she announced new album at Grammys: 'I'm just going to do it'
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- Tiger King’s Carole Baskin asks Florida Supreme Court to review defamation lawsuit ruling
- How many Super Bowls have Chiefs won? Kansas City's championship history explained
- Minnesota woman accused of trying to get twin sister to take fall for fatal Amish buggy crash
- Daniele Rustioni to become Metropolitan Opera’s principal guest conductor
- Slain CEO’s parents implore Maryland lawmakers to end good behavior credits for rapists
Ranking
- Britney Spears Reunites With Son Jayden Federline After His Move to Hawaii
- Georgia Republicans push requiring cash bail for 30 new crimes, despite concerns about poverty
- Viewing tower, visitor’s center planned to highlight West Virginia’s elk restoration
- Diptyque Launches First Ever Bathroom Decor Collection, and We’re Obsessed With Its Chic Aesthetic
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- The Daily Money: Easing FAFSA woes
- Taylor Swift thinks jet tracker Jack Sweeney knows her 'All too Well,' threatens legal action
- Scientists rely on private funding to push long COVID research forward
Recommendation
-
Kraft Heinz stops serving school-designed Lunchables because of low demand
-
How Racism Flooded Alabama’s Historically Black Shiloh Community
-
Fire destroys Minnesota’s historic Lutsen Lodge on Lake Superior
-
Tyla wins first Best African Music Performance award for Water at 2024 Grammys
-
What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
-
Senate deal on border security and Ukraine aid faces defeat as Republicans are ready to block bill
-
Bank plans to auction posh property owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to repay loans
-
China gives Yang Jun, dual Australian national and dissident writer, suspended death sentence for espionage