The last sighting of the young orca named kwiisaḥiʔis was Friday afternoon as she swam into deeper water of Esperanza Inlet south of Zeballos.
She was under the watchful eye of rescuers before literally taking off on her own.
“Her behaviour and her acoustics changed the deeper the water got. She actually sped away from the boat and moved into this Esperanza Inlet and just really took off from the group,” said Paul Cottrell a Marine Mammal Rescue expert at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
DFO, the Ehattesaht First Nation and Nuchatlaht First Nation decided not to tag her with a transmitter for tracking because of concerns around infection, so she’s now on her own, but sightings will come in to help track her whereabouts.
Officials are optimistic that after being fed seal meat she’ll now be able to feed on her own until she finds her family or another one.
“Whether it’s her family pod or it might be a related pod, or even just another Biggs pod, they’re very adaptable at adopting young animals,” said Cottrell.
However, going back to Thursday afternoon there were tense moments for those trying to rescue her.
Remarkable drone video showed how curious she was about leaving the inlet where she’d been trapped for five weeks, but she didn’t leave.
She is seen swimming right up to the entrance under a bridge as a strong current flows outward, but she turns around, unsure and maybe afraid.
It was high tide but as the water started to recede concerns for her rose.
“It was very close to the sandbar where her mother did live-strand. We were concerned she could have the same fate,” Cottrell said.
Her mother died March 23 after becoming stranded on a sandbar in Little Espinosa Inlet. It is believed she had been teaching her 2.5 year old calf how to hunt for seals.
A necropsy determined she was pregnant.
Robert John of the Nuchatlaht First Nation had been feeding the orphaned orca seal meat for over week trying to lure her to the opening.
He was worried that she might get spooked and just move back up the inlet.
“I was so worried about that, yes,” he told CHEK News. “If she went back up there we would have been back at square one.”
But she swam out on her own at 2:30 a.m. Friday, much to the relief of rescuers and the community.
“Today, Oh my goodness I was almost jumping,” said one member.
“Everybody’s prayers have been answered,” said another.
Saturday is national Marine Mammal Rescue Day and Paul Cottrell, who has been involved in numerous whale rescues up and down the coast, says this might top them all.
“It’s hard to describe. I mean, it’s been one of the best experiences of my life for sure,” he said.
kwiisaḥiʔis (Kwee-sah-hay-is) is now free and they say the rest is up to her.
READ PREVIOUS:
- APRIL 27: Trapped orca swam out of lagoon overnight into Espinosa Inlet
- APRIL 21: Whale experts confident orca calf will survive, find family if rescue plan succeeds
- APRIL 19: ‘It was joy’: Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
- APRIL 18: Ehattesaht First Nation launches GoFundMe to recoup costs of orca calf rescue efforts
- APRIL 17: B.C. woman tries to coax trapped killer calf out of tidal lagoon with her violin
- APRIL 16: U.S. killer-whale catcher has advice for B.C. rescuers — build rapport with your orca
- APRIL 15: Orphaned B.C. orca may be eating fish, vet says, as rescuers plan new strategy
- APRIL 13: B.C. rescue team regroups after little orca thwarts capture in remote lagoon
- APRIL 12: ‘Very smart’ B.C. orca calf evades rescuers, forcing switch in tactics
- APRIL 11: Tiny B.C. town rallies around killer whale calf rescue effort as time ticks away
- APRIL 10: Plan to lift B.C. orca calf out of remote lagoon still in the works
- APRIL 9: Trapped B.C. orca calf’s skin whitening, no sign of emaciation: Fisheries Department
- 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
Dean Stoltz
