Orca strandings becoming more common, B.C. expert says as work to save calf continues

Rescuers are racing to save an orphaned orca calf, refusing to leave a tidal lagoon where its mother died on the west coast of Vancouver Island, while an expert says strandings like this are becoming more common.

“The Biggs killer whale population on our coast is increasing, and has been for several years,” explained Jared Towers, executive director of Bay Cetology in Alert Bay.

“As their population increases in number, you get more and more whales using the same habitat, and these individuals are going into lots of little nooks and crannies and exploring new areas. That’s likely what led to this event happening in the first place,” he told CityNews.

Towers says he has dealt with similar scenarios along the Pacific coast as recently as last September when he managed to lure a number of orcas out of a tidal lagoon in Alaska.

“By using similar tactics as we used in Alaska, and I’ve used here on the B.C. coast on a couple of different occasions, we are hoping to lure this calf out and give it hope to reunite with its extended family.”

The two-year-old orca was orphaned Saturday when its mother died in shallow water near the village of Zeballos.

Towers believes the pair were hunting for food.

“It’s very much the nature of this particular population of killer whales. Live strandings of big killer whales happen in part because they like to chase seals — their primary prey — and seals often hang out in shallow water. Sometimes, once every few years or so, one of these killer whales gets stuck,” he said.

“As long as it remains in an upright position when the tide comes in, that killer whale can swim free, and we’ve documented this several times in this population.

“But now that the population is increasing so much over the last 20 or 30 years, it seems that we get more and more of these cases.”

Instead of happening once every decade or so, Towers says strandings now occur every few years along the west coast.

“In this case, the mother rolled over when she was stranded and, when the tide came in, she drowned. Now there’s the entrapped calf on top of that which we are dealing with.”

So far, efforts by the local community and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to coax the calf out of the lagoon at high tide have been unsuccessful.

A young orca can survive for about two weeks without food, but the two-year-old may still be weaning off its mother’s milk.

The hope is to reunite the whale with its pod before it starves. The mother has now been removed from the area and a necropsy has been done, with the DFO saying the whale was pregnant at the time of her death.

Tragedy brings heartbreak, and chance to reconnect with land, water, animals, culture: Ehattesaht Chief

In a statement Tuesday, Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John shared that the death of the whale is “heartbreaking.”

“[On Saturday,] our community responded and everyone was working to save her but we weren’t able to move her enough to save her. We think she may have been there for a few hours but I don’t want to guess. That’s for the experts,” John said.

“Certainly it is heartbreaking being there and being helpless.”

John says they’re magnificent animals, and being so close to the stranded whale while her calf looked on “is hard to describe.”

“It is really important to remember that we are connected to these animals and I believe these events are really difficult but really important. Everyone is to a certain extent and we have to take a bit of time to think what it means to us all.

“In our stories, the killer whale came onto land and transformed into the wolf and then the wolf transformed into man.”

John says incidents like this “reawaken” his people and their connection to the land, water, and animals.

“I am not sure but sometimes in the sad events we gather strength. I think that is important.”

John shares the work now moves to saving the whale’s calf, who the Nation has named kʷiisaḥiʔis (kwee-sahay-is) — Brave Little Hunter in English.

“We will have to think about her safety and limiting all the human interaction so we will be closing the road for most of the day with local traffic only passing. I know people will want to visit and help but really DFO and ourselves need some time to formulate a plan and we need to think about the little one,” he added.

John shares that the Ehattesaht community will be gathering to share a meal and connect with culture, saying, “some of those teachings will be important.”

“We work on big things all the time. Our people, the toxic drugs, UNDRIP and reconciliation, jobs. But then something like this happens and you are forced to reconnect.

“I think there is something here. Telling us to reconnect. Take this time and focus on one thing and try to do it to the best of our teachings and what the experts have to offer.”

The DFO says in an email to CityNews that responders have been trying to coax the calf out by playing “recorded pod members’ calls” at high tide.

“This is a method that has had some success in other incidents in the past,” the DFO explained.

“A C&P patrol vessel and area fishery officers supported this pod call effort using the vessel as a platform for the deployment of lubelle speakers. Unfortunately, in this case, it was not successful.”

The DFO says the tide window is closing in the coming days, “which may not allow for on-water efforts during that time.”

“Discussions are ongoing with the Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations and the DFO responders on plans moving forward,” it added.

-With files from Raynaldo Suarez, Robyn Crawford, and Hana Mae Nassar