Wildlife rescuers in New Zealand scrambled to keep a stranded baby orca alive on Wednesday, as volunteers scoured the waters off Wellington to find the calf’s mother.
The killer whale, a four to six month old male, ran aground on rocks just north of the capital on Sunday and was refloated by wildlife officers after distressed members of its family pod pulled away swimming, announced the Department of Conservation.
Named Toa – Maori for “warrior” – the 2.5 meter (eight foot) killer whale is not weaned and unable to survive alone in the ocean.
“He’s still young, that’s one of the big challenges we have,” marine species manager Ian Angus told AFP.
“We have to think about how we make sure we get him back to his mother because he needs help, certainly with feeding.
“How do we locate his mother? This is the second big challenge we are struggling with now.”
Angus said an aerial and sea search was underway off Wellington for Toa’s pod and the public was encouraged to report any orca sightings.
Toa is kept in a makeshift enclosure set up between two piers in the seaside suburb of Plimmerton.
It’s tube-fed every four hours and monitored around the clock by volunteers dressed in wetsuits to make sure it doesn’t run aground again.
Angus was cautiously optimistic about the young whale’s future, but said there is no facility in New Zealand that could care for the animal in the long term, making it imperative to find its mother. as soon as possible.
“He’s had a pretty stressful experience, but his health looks good at the moment,” Angus said.
“Killer whales are pretty hardy animals and we manage to hydrate them and slowly feed them, so there are some good signs.”
Although they are known as killer whales, orcas are actually the largest species of dolphin, with males reaching up to nine meters.
Recognizable by their distinctive black and white markings, they are listed as Critically Endangered in New Zealand, where their population is estimated at 150-200.
Groups of killer whales are relatively common in Wellington Harbor, where they have been observed hunting stingrays.
