- By Nadine Yousif
- BBC News, Toronto
April 26, 2024
Updated 8 hours ago
image source, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
image description, The orca, nicknamed “Kwee-sa-hay-is,” meaning “brave little hunter,” spent over a month in the bay
An orphaned orca calf trapped in a lagoon off the coast of British Columbia for more than month is finally free.
The orca had been stuck since its mother died on March 23, sparking a major rescue operation off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Repeated attempts to coax her or carry her along a narrow path into open water were unsuccessful.
But on Friday, thanks to the tide, the calf managed to swim out on its own.
The escape marks a happy ending for the Ehattesaht First Nation, which led the rescue effort and affectionately named the whale Kwee-sa-hay-is, meaning “brave little hunter.”
The two-year-old female calf got stuck in the tidal lagoon after her pregnant mother became stranded and later died on a sandbar. The lagoon is located near the coastal village of Zeballos on a narrow bay 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 shown by this little orca,” Chief Simon John said in a statement Friday.
Chief John said the orca swam away at 02:30 local time (8:30 BST), “at high tide on a clear, crystal clear, star-studded night”.
The 15-year-old mother's death was captured on video in March, but repeated attempts to save her were unsuccessful.
For weeks after her mother's death, the young calf was unwilling to 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 come together to work on the Freeing the calf to work.
This led to several unsuccessful rescue missions. In one attempt, rescuers tried to capture the orca and move it with a sling. In another case, they tried to communicate with her by using recorded whale sounds to convince her to move.
At one point, a fiddler from Nanaimo, B.C., tried to serenade the calf to entice it to swim away.
Chief John said protective measures are now being taken to protect the calf from boats or people in the area.
The focus now is on reuniting her with her family, he said.
“Every opportunity must be taken to have them back with their family with as little human interaction as possible,” Chief John said.
In a briefing with fisheries officials and First Nations representatives, they said she was recorded making excited noises after leaving the lagoon.
“It was unbelievable how loud she was when she reached the deep open water,” one said.
Officials say the young orca has a proven track record of hunting. She was observed eating herring and birds while trapped in the lagoon.
The hope now is that she will reunite with her group or find a group with relatives who could adopt her.
A statement from the First Nations community said their successful escape will have an impact for years to come and that it increases understanding of the connections between people, animals and the earth.
“Events like these have deeper meaning and the timing of their passing will be remembered, talked about and felt for generations to come,” the statement said.