The Department of Conservation has growing concerns about the health and safety of a young orca which appears to have been separated from its pod.
For more than a week now DOC staff have been monitoring the orca which has been spotted swimming alone off the Bay of Plenty coast.
Members of the community are being asked to stay away from an orca calf that's been spotted in the Bay of Plenty recently. Photo: Project Jonah/Facebook
The whale is swimming freely and DOC's marine mammal experts say options for assisting the animal are limited at present.
'It is unclear where the whale's family pod is and there are no simple answers in how to help the young whale return to its pod”, says district operations manager Jeff Milham.
DOC is concerned about stressing the young orca and is advising boaties and members of the public to keep away from the distressed animal.
The department will continue to monitor the whale as closely as possible.
But it is also wary of intervention, as this can lead to both stress and/or the orca potentially bonding artificially with humans which may jeopardise its chances of survival in the wild.
DOC is consulting with local and international marine specialists on how to deal with this challenging situation.
8 comments
laws of nature
Posted on 28-07-2016 13:02 | By Captain Sensible
It is possible that this calf has some mental or physical handicap and so is not wanted by it's mother...hence it being abandoned. This is nature. Orca's do not live in a PC bureacracy with govt departments and WINZ all sticking their noses in telling them what to do. It's nature ensuring the survival of their species by rejecting anything less than perfect.
@Captain Sensible
Posted on 28-07-2016 14:03 | By morepork
Just as well it doesn't work like that for us, eh? There'd be far fewer perfect individuals like you and me...
Captain crystal ball
Posted on 28-07-2016 15:08 | By maildrop
Or it could be perfectly ok and just got separated? I am assuming you haven't physically (or mentally!) examined it? Not sure how you would determine it's mental wellbeing. Are you one of the international experts the article mentions?
@ maildrop
Posted on 28-07-2016 15:40 | By Captain Sensible
No, I am not an expert. Are you? Did my statement that began with "It is possible..." not give a clue? However, I have seen this happen in the past with a Humpback whale and calf, and there are definite similarities.
Good heavens.
Posted on 28-07-2016 18:22 | By fletch
Its a fish. Do you race around looking for the parent of the snapper you just caught
@captain
Posted on 28-07-2016 18:46 | By maildrop
No, but I don't claim to be. You start, "it is possible..."but then, based on no knowledge or evidence make definitive assumptions that it has been "abandoned" because it is mentally or physically disabled, and rejected because it is less than perfect. It makes your "it is possible" completely meaningless.
@fletch
Posted on 28-07-2016 20:28 | By Bop man
I know your looking for a bite sooooo.... Its not a fish its a mammal and yep it is also just nature lets not waste lots of money on something that we cant help...
@ maildrop
Posted on 29-07-2016 09:36 | By Captain Sensible
Your comprehension needs some work. I have also told you that I have had experience first hand, with no do-gooder human beings involved, of a Humpback abandoning its baby. "It is possible" means.... just that! Nowhere did I say I was an expert. As a seafarer, I have seen millions of whales and dolphins around the world.
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