The world only knew Tama for 21 days, but in that brief amount of time he touched hundreds of lives. None more so than Tauranga's Alana Griffin.

Her father Vaughan Griffin says the 11-year-old was devastated after learning Tama, the baby orca discovered swimming alone off the Bay of Plenty coastline, had died last month.

Tauranga's Alana Griffin, 11, penned a heartfelt story inspired by the life and death of Tama the baby orca. Supplied Photo.

Affected by the orca's ordeal, Alana put pen to paper and penned a heartfelt story written from Tama's perspective which Vaughan has shared with SunLive.

'Alana is a really creative kid and she loves animals, she's always trying to them, she even sponsors a panda through the World Wildlife Fund and has done a bit of fundraising for them too.

'When the orca died, she decided to write the story and when she read it to me, I was a bit taken aback. It's quite insightful, clearly she'd thought a lot about the orca and the trouble it was in.”

Tama, the name bestowed on the orca by iwi Ngāi Te Rangi, died in a land based pool at Ongare Point in the early hours of August 6.

He was brought ashore by a specially established tactical response group that included Department of Conservation staff, the Orca Research Trust, local iwi and community, in an effort to save his life after Tama had spent 21 days alone and close to a buoy just off Ongare Point.

At the time it appeared the orca had been separated from its family pod.

BABY KILLER WHALE – By Alana Griffin

'So there I was all alone, swimming in the east coast of the North Island in New Zealand harbour.

I didn't know where my family was, it seemed like I was with them five minutes ago, but then it seemed like I was starving five minutes ago, without mum I'm going to be hungry and scared.

To survive I'm going to have to use up my own reserves of blubber. It seems like I have been separated from my pod for it least two weeks from today.

Before I could blink I saw six people, I knew they wanted to help but I knew they weren't my mother, I had to let them take me out of the water and put me in a land-based pool.

It felt like I couldn't move, with people pouring water over me at least keeping me wet, but I was still scared, I didn't understand what was happening I started getting scared, but I always think to myself why am I here, why am I not with my family did they abandoned me, am I normally

All these questions and no answers. But am I going to survive that's the big question.

Just then I felt someone touch me, all my thoughts went to my head, my stress levels went up, my breathing got harder, suddenly my heart stopped, I sunk to the ground.”