Marine Experts Plan to Free Willy’s Counterpart
WASHINGTON STATE
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Marine mammal experts will capture a sick, orphaned young killer whale near Seattle on Thursday in an unprecedented and daring attempt to reunite the 1-ton mammal with its family in Canada.
Emaciated, covered with lesions and having foul breath hinting at digestive problems, the black-and-white female has captivated residents by sidling up to ferries and other boats in Puget Sound.
Ironically, the whale’s preference for people drove scientists’ decision to snare her, treat her ailments in an aquatic cage and then transfer her to British Columbia’s Johnstone Strait before she gets hit by a boat or starves to death.
The orca would spend at least two weeks with doctors before the ride about 250 miles north.
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