Baby orca stranded on beach dies despite desperate rescue effort, California experts say

An orca calf found stranded on a shore in Northern California has died despite rescuers’ attempts to save it.

The calf – a member of an ocean species known for being highly social – had somehow gotten separated from its mother and pod, the Orca Rescues Foundation said in post on Facebook.

The killer whale was found lying in the sand at Monterey Bay’s Carmel River State Beach on Sept. 10.

Marine scientists arriving at the scene estimated the baby had been stranded for over nine hours, the foundation said.

Rescuers estimated that the orca was less than 1 year old, KSBW reported.

“Rescue crews, which included those from The Marine Mammal Center, California Marine Mammal Stranding Network and California State Park staff, worked for hours to keep the seemingly healthy orca calf comfortable, hydrated and upright, as others kept a lookout for its family,” the foundation said.

All the while, the baby vocalized and moved its tail..

The pod was nowhere to be found, and “efforts to get the orca back into the water were unsuccessful.”

Monique King of the Marine Mammal Center told Monterey County Now that releasing the animal back into the water alone would not have been an “ideal situation.”

“At that age, they are not independent enough to forage for themselves and hunt for themselves, and they’re social animals, so they need to have the family dynamic,” King said, according to the outlet.

Rescuers planned to take the calf to Long Marine Lab Rescue Center in Santa Cruz, about a 50-mile drive away, for care and evaluation, the foundation said.

The journey began, but then ended sooner than rescuers hoped.

The youngster died while in transit to the rescue center.

The exact cause of death is not yet known, but experts wonder if it may have been the trauma of the day.

“Sometimes the physical burden and stress of these strandings, and being away from its mother, is enough to cause these little guys to slip away,” the foundation said. “RIP little soul.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Baby orca stranded on beach dies despite desperate rescue effort, California experts say."