Orca calf kʷiisaḥiʔis leaves B.C. lagoon
Posted April 26, 2024 10:57 am.
Last Updated April 26, 2024 11:26 am.
After over a month of being stuck in a lagoon on Vancouver Island, an orca calf is now back in the open water.
According to the Ehattesaht Nation, kʷiisaḥiʔis “swam past the sand bar her mother passed away on, under the bridge, down Little Espinosa Inlet and onto Esperanza all on her own” around 2:30 a.m. Friday, at high tide.
Mass efforts to free the calf, named Brave Little Hunter, from the lagoon near Zabellos had been ongoing, though unsuccessful.
kʷiisaḥiʔis’ big escape came after an evening of feeding, swimming, and playing, the Nation says.
“And after most everyone had left to get some sleep the small group who remained stood as witnesses to watch her swim under the bridge and down the inlet,” the Ehattesaht said in a release Friday morning.
The Nation says members will now encourage the calf “out toward the open ocean,” with the hopes her family will hear her calls and that they can be reunited.
While she’s no longer caught in the lagoon, the Ehattesaht says the work is not done.
“We are now in a new phase and while the Team is ecstatic there will be increased patrols and protective measures taken to ensure that she has no contact with boats or people. The Nations and DFO will be asking everyone to keep well clear of the area and kʷiisaḥiʔis in particular,” Ehattesaht leadership explained.
“With this part of the challenged solved by kʷiisaḥiʔis herself, every opportunity needs to be afforded to have her back with her family with as little human interaction as possible.”
kʷiisaḥiʔis and her mom got into the lagoon by swimming through a narrow and fast-moving channel connecting it to the ocean.
According to Ehattesaht Chief Simon John, a community member came knocking for support, to try and get the mother “upright and out of danger.”
“We started organizing, basically immediately, to get people out there,” he recalled in an update at the end of March.
“By the time it all happened, I think the tide was at its lowest point and I think it had already been over six hours,” John continued. “The whale … tried to move and get back into the water as the tide came in, but when the tide came in, the whale actually started to suffocate.”
John explained even through the night, the mother whale had aspirated the contents in her stomach, contributing to her condition. The whale was pregnant at the time of her death, with officials saying that likely played a role in her inability to stay upright.
“Ehattesaht and Indigenous people across Canada are writing new stories in these modern times reinforcing the presence of a deep connection between the spirit world, the animal world and the people who have remained on the land and waters for all time. Events like these have a deeper meaning and the timing of her departure will be thought about, talked about and felt for generations to come,” the Nation said Friday, following kʷiisaḥiʔis’ departure.
