ZEBALLOS, Canada (AP) — A young orca trapped for more than a month in a Vancouver Island lagoon overcame a bottleneck by swimming at high tide early Friday, reaching a cove that could lead to its death, officials reported.
The Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations said in a statement that a team monitoring the 2-year-old saw her swim past the area where her mother died, go under a bridge and head toward the cove “completely alone.” .
The young orca has not yet left Little Espinosa Inlet to reach the open sea.
The calf had been trapped in the tidal lagoon near the town of Zeballos, British Columbia, since March 23, when its mother became trapped during low tide and died on a rocky beach.
“Today the Zeballos community and people around the world wake up to incredible news and what can only be described as pride for the strength this little orca has shown,” said Chief Simon John in a statement.
John said authorities and First Nations people were taking protective measures to ensure the orca did not come into contact with people or boats.
“We need to give him every chance possible to return to his family with as little human interaction as possible,” he said.
In mid-April, an attempt was made to free the cetacean using a net to trap it. The orca managed to avoid a rescue team of 50 people using boats, divers and sophisticated underwater detection equipment.
In another attempt, a woman tried to get the orca out of the lagoon by playing her violin during high tide.
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