Rescue efforts intensify to save whale calf stranded near Vancouver Island

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in BC has confirmed with Daily Hive that their efforts to relocate a Bigg’s killer whale calf will resume this week as tides subside.

The rescue team is closely monitoring the stranded whale calf, which the Ehattesaht First Nation has named “kwiisahi?is,” translating to “Brave Little Hunter.” The team is using cameras and drones to assess its health from shore.

According to the DFO, the calf may be feeding on birds — typical behaviour for Bigg’s whales — but it’s unclear if it’s consuming other prey.

Meanwhile, there have been sightings of two killer whale pods in Barkley Sound, BC, which the calf could potentially be related to and potentially reunite with.

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This two-year-old orca has lingered in the Little Espinoza Inlet near Zeballos, BC, following the recent death of her mother, Sprong, for more than a week now.

Despite local attempts to assist the stranded mother orca, led by the Ehattesaht First Nation a member of Nuuchahnulth (Nootka) First Nations, the 14-year-old Bigg’s killer whale passed last Saturday, stranded on elevated terrain in the inlet when the tide receded.

According to DFO experts, Sprong was pregnant and was likely teaching her calf hunting skills in the inlet.

Jared Tower/Provided

A coalition of scientists, researchers, and the DFO has been working tirelessly to guide Spong’s calf away from the area, but with little success. The Ehattesaht First Nation attempted to guide the calf out of the inlet using canoes and a drum.

On Monday, the heart-wrenching cries of the young two-year-old, reaching out to her lost mother, echoed through a submerged listening device.

Efforts continue this week.