Orphaned orca calf stranded for weeks in Canadian lagoon swims to freedom on her own
- A local indigenous tribe, which named the orca Brave Little Hunter, said she swam past the area where her mother had died
- The mammal previously dodged multiple rescue attempts to catch and release her in open waters
An orphaned killer whale calf that had been trapped for weeks in a tidal lagoon on Vancouver Island, dodging multiple rescue attempts, on Friday swam out on her own, a local indigenous tribe said.
The Ehattesaht First Nation had watched over the orca calf they named Brave Little Hunter after her pregnant mother died on a rocky beach in late March.
They, along with fisheries officials, made several unsuccessful attempts to catch and release her in open waters.
Attempts reportedly included using a sling to transport her, playing recorded killer whale vocalisation to lure her out of the remote lagoon, and even serenading her with violin music.
Then suddenly at 2:30am local time on Friday, during high tide on a starry night, she “swam past the sandbar her mother passed away on, under the bridge, down Little Espinosa Inlet and onto Esperanza [Inlet] all on her own,” the Ehattesaht First Nation said in a statement.
A small group watched her go, it said, after being treated to “a long night of [her] breaching and playing.”