Mechanical Problems Delay Orca Transfer
An attempt from Manchester to return an orphaned killer whale to her home waters off Vancouver Island in Canada was put off for a day when the boat donated for the task could not get up to speed.
Officials of Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia said another attempt will be made early today.
The 2-year-old orca remains in her pen and reportedly is fine.
Experts from Vancouver Aquarium will care for the whale on her 12-hour trip north and after she is unloaded into Johnstone Strait, the narrowest passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
The hope is that the whale will rejoin her family when those whales return to the strait for the summer, probably this month.
The whale has spent the last month in a 40-by-40-foot net pen, eating about 60 pounds of fish a day while being treated for a skin condition and worms.
The capture, treatment and eventual release marks unprecedented cooperation between the National Marine Fisheries Service and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is overseeing the orca’s trip home.
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