Bigger boats, more nets, people arrive in Zeballos, B.C., for new orca rescue attempt
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ZEBALLOS, B.C. — A large seine fishing vessel capable of casting a net strong enough to hold a nearly 700-kilogram killer whale calf has arrived in Zeballos, B.C., to participate in the latest attempt to rescue the young orca stranded in a remote tidal lagoon.
The flat-bottom aluminum vessel has a built-in crane-like device for lifting heavy nets, and it’s expected to be deployed as part of a rescue effort that could happen any day now in the lagoon on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island.
The female calf has been stranded alone for nearly a month since its pregnant mother died after becoming trapped on a beach at low tide.
An unsuccessful rescue attempt last Friday involved a team of more than 50 people who failed to corral the calf into a shallow area of the lagoon, where the plan was to manoeuvre the whale into a sling, lift it onto a truck, then take it on a barge out to sea, for a potential reunion with its pod.
