The skin of a young killer whale trapped in a Vancouver Island lagoon is turning white due to the low salinity of the water, but the Fisheries Department says the calf is active and isn’t showing signs of emaciation.
The statement issued late Monday says the female calf’s behaviour and activity have remained constant.
It says planning for a rescue operation continues with the Ehattesaht First Nation.
The statement says freshwater in the lagoon has whitened skin on the dorsal side of the calf, but veterinary experts aren’t concerned about the short-term impact.
The Ehattesaht First Nation has named the two-year-old calf kwiisahi?is, meaning Brave Little Hunter.
The calf has been trapped alone near Little Espinosa Inlet, about 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria, since March 23, when its pregnant mother became trapped on a rocky beach at low tide and died.
Equipment has been arriving in the nearby village of Zeballos for a complex rescue operation, in which experts plan to use a net to corral the calf into a sling in the shallows of the three-kilometre-long lagoon.
The calf would then be hoisted out and transported to an ocean net pen in open waters, before hopefully being released when her family pod of Bigg’s killer whales is nearby.
The department said last week that a rescue attempt early this week was unlikely.
It said access to the lagoon will be closed to all but essential personnel when the rescue takes place.
SEE PREVIOUS:
- APRIL 5: Drone images show trapped B.C. orca calf is healthy female, Fisheries Department says
- APRIL 4: Plans to lift a B.C. orca calf out of remote lagoon aim for two-week timeline
- APRIL 3: Rescuers plan helicopter airlift of orca calf stranded in B.C. lagoon
- APRIL 2: Stranded orca calf remains in B.C. lagoon, breaching at regular intervals
- APRIL 1: Rescuers hope AI will help reunite orphaned whale with its family in B.C.
- MARCH 30: Low tide pauses efforts to save B.C. orca while rescuers plan next steps
- MARCH 29: Fisheries officials monitoring orphaned orca calf in lagoon off Vancouver Island
- MARCH 28: Killer whale rescue team puts boats back in lagoon in effort to entice calf to ocean
- MARCH 27: B.C. orca calf rescue team considers changing tactics to save stranded whale: DFO
- MARCH 26: DFO response team still trying to save orca calf near Zeballos
- MARCH 25: Baby calf still stranded near Zeballos; mother was pregnant when she died
- MARCH 24: Whale researchers and First Nations have hope for orca calf near Zeballos
- MARCH 23: ‘Really sad’: Hundreds tried to help orca that died on beach on Vancouver Island
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.