Despite life-saving efforts, mother orca dies on Vancouver Island

A mother orca has died after getting stuck on a beach on Vancouver Island.

According to the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), in a social media post, the animal drowned Saturday near the village of Zeballos.

Despite the effort to rescue her, the mother drowned, MERS said.

The society has confirmed the whale is a Bigg’s Killer Whale. She was identified as T109A3, born in 2009.

Her calf, who was born in 2022, was found nearby.

“There are efforts now to try to ensure the calf leaves the lagoon and reunites with other family members,” the society said. “We know this mother often travelled with her mother and siblings.”

The incident was reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s incident reporting line (DFO), and crews responded immediately.

Videos of the incident have been circulating on various social media accounts.

“The incoming tide and inability to refloat her so she was not on her side, led to her death,” a social media post reads.

Posts on social media show locals putting wet towels on the mother as her calf swam nearby.

It’s unclear how she became beached, but MERS believes she may have been hunting during high tide.

“The incoming tide and inability to refloat her so she was not on her side, led to her death,” its social media post read.

“There may have been something wrong with the mother’s health/condition whereby she was more subject to stranding on the lower tide. A necropsy could possibly provide insight.”

-With files from David Nadalini