HARTLEY BAY, B.C. — Rescuers worked for hours to protect a killer whale stranded on a tiny island off British Columbia's coast as they waited for the high tide to wash her off the rocks.
Hermann Meuter, who runs a whale research facility near Hartley Bay, says another researcher watched a pod of killer whales hunting seals Wednesday and noticed that a female orca was stranded on the rocks.
Within minutes, Meuter says he and 20 others covered the whale with blankets and started pouring water over her to keep her cool.
Meuter says the orca was distressed and breathing heavily, but seemed to calm down when she realized they were there to help.
About eight hours later, the tide started rising and she manoeuvred herself back into the water with only a few scratches.
Cam Hill, a Hartley Bay First Nation band councillor, says there was a "triumphant yahoo" from everyone when she slipped back into the water and rejoined her pod.
