UPDATE: As of 10:30 a.m., Marine Education and Research Society says on social media that there are now efforts to bring the calf out of the lagoon and reunite with their family.
——————————————————–
A mother orca who got stranded on North Vancouver Island died this weekend.
According to the North Island-based Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) on social media, the orca was stranded in the Zeballos Causeway. Despite several hours of intense efforts from the community to rescue her, the whale drowned.
They say the incoming tide and inability to refloat her left the orca lying on her side, resulting in her death.
The situation was immediately reported to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and MERS. DFO are currently on-site.
The reason why the orca was stranded is still unknown.
The society says the orca’s ID was T109A3, born in 2009. Her calf, born in 2022, is still alive nearby.
More updates will come when more information becomes available.
