Rescued orca reunites with family pod
Two years after a young transient orca had to be rescued after becoming stranded in a cove off an island in British Columbia in July 2013, researchers from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans have spotted him back with his family pod.
When originally discovered in the cove, the orca named Sam could be heard calling for his mother but would not leave the harbour. After spending weeks keeping an eye on the whale, the team stepped in to corral him back into the ocean when concerns grew that he was not eating properly. While transient orcas are regularly seen in the area, they range over much larger distances that the resident population so it seemed there was only a slim chance that he would ever meet up with his family again, who had last been seen 2 years previously.
After two years during which he was sighted with other whales, researchers were thrilled when on July 2nd this year he was seen once again, this time happily reunited with the rest of his pod.
