photo credit: Captain Chance Strickland and Crew of M/V Steadfast via NOAA
An orca that got stranded on a rocky beach in Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, Thursday morning was freed with the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and sailors who happened to be nearby. ???At times during the stranding, the killer whale was vocalizing and other killer whales were spotted in the vicinity,??? NOAA spokesperson Julie Fair told CNN.
The stranded orca was first discovered on the rocks by a nearby vessel, the Steadfast. ???NOAA authorized them to use a seawater pump to keep the whale wet and any birds away,??? said Fair. The crew of that boat kept an eye on the whale until a NOAA officer and Alaska Wildlife Troopers arrived.
The killer whale finally refloated as high tide came in Thursday afternoon. Bay Cetology, a Canadian conservation group, was able to determine that it was a 13-year-old orca they have previously monitored, identified as T146D.
Fair said NOAA is examining photos and video of the killer whale to try to determine if it was injured. The animal was beached less than a day after an 8.2 earthquake off the coast of Alaska, but NOAA does not believe that caused the killer whale to be stranded.