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Trapped baby orca nicknamed “Brave Little Hunter” dodges rescue attempts, swims to freedom on her own in Canada
An orphaned killer whale calf that had been trapped for weeks in a tidal lagoon on Vancouver island, dodging multiple rescue attempts, on Friday swam out on her own, a local Indigenous tribe said.
The Ehattesaht First Nation had watched over the orca calf they named “Brave Little Hunter” after her pregnant mother died on a rocky beach in late March.
They, along with fisheries officials, made several unsuccessful attempts to catch and release her in open waters.
An attempt in mid-April to free the whale involved using a net to corral her into a large fabric sling in shallow waters. The whale managed to dodge a 50-person rescue team that was using boats, divers and sophisticated underwater detection equipment. In another effort, a woman tried to coax the whale out of the lagoon by playing her violin during high tide.
Then suddenly at 2:30 am local time Friday, during high tide on a starry night, she “swam past the sand bar her mother passed away on, under the bridge, down Little Espinosa Inlet and onto Esperanza (Inlet) all on her own,” the Ehattesaht First Nation said in a statement.
Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP
A small group watched her go, it said, after being treated to “a long night of (her) breaching and playing.”
The team later caught up with the orca calf in Esperanza Inlet, hoping to “encourage her out toward the open ocean where it is hoped that the Brave Little Hunter’s calls will be heard by her family.”
In a statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said its marine mammal rescue team “monitored the animal to ensure it did not become stranded during an upcoming low tide.” The agency also posted drone video of the killer whale.
“The team will also be monitoring the location of the calf while she seeks out her family,” the agency said.
Although there has been tremendous public interest in the little whale’s plight and efforts to save her, authorities asked everyone now to stay clear of the area and the whale itself in order to facilitate her reunion with kin.
Chief Simon John said officials and nation members were putting protective measures in place to ensure the whale has no contact with people or boats.
“Every opportunity needs to be afforded to have her back with her family with as little human interaction as possible,” he said.
The orca’s swim to freedom comes more than two months after a pod of killer whales that were seen trapped by sea ice off the coast of Japan we apparently able to escape.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed conceded the mayoral race to Daniel Lurie Thursday afternoon with a social media post that congratulated her competitor.
The mayor also thanked the city and its residents for “the opportunity to serve the City that raised me” in the post on X just after 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
There had been rumblings that Breed might concede the race earlier Thursday having come in behind Lurie in the last vote count released Wednesday morning.
“Today, I called Daniel Lurie and congratulated him on his victory in this election,” the post read. “Over the coming weeks, my staff and I will work to ensure a smooth transition as he takes on the honor of serving as Mayor of San Francisco. I know we are both committed to improving this City we love.”
Breed spoke at a press conference less than an hour after the social media post to answer questions from reporters about her decision, reiterating some of what she said in her social media post.
“The city is on the rise. The office is bigger than just one person, and I called Daniel Lurie earlier today to congratulate him,” the mayor said. “And made it very clear my team and I stand ready to support him during his transition. We will always do everything we can to ensure the success of the city and that there is a smooth transition, so that the important work that has been done and needs to continue in San Francisco moves forward.”
When asked if this was the hardest speech she’d ever given, Breed quickly dismissed that idea.
“No, it’s not. There’s been other harder speeches. I mean I had to make a hard decision to close the city down during a global pandemic. I had to deal with…the racial reckoning that happened after the tragic death of George Floyd. I had to go out in the middle of the night and tell people that Mayor Ed Lee had passed away. There are numerous occasions.”
Six years ago, incumbent London Breed became the first Black woman to serve as mayor of San Francisco after the death of Mayor Ed Lee in late 2017. The then president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was automatically appointed as the city’s acting mayor early the morning after Lee’s death.
In June of 2018, Breed won the special election that was held to fill the office, defeating her main opponent, former state senator Mark Leno.
Breed faced a number of major challenges during her first term in office, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s ongoing issues with drug abuse and homelessness, rising housing costs and a spike in retail crime that some chains cited as the reason behind closing stores in San Francisco.
While Breed has touted progress in reducing the number of homeless encampments and pushed programs to fill vacant business spaces downtown, the mayor’s struggles have led to 11 other candidates entering the race to challenge her for the job.
“Over the coming weeks, I plan to reflect on all the progress we’ve made. But today, I am proud that we have truly accomplished so much and my heart is filled with gratitude,” Breed’s message said in closing. “During my final two months as your Mayor, I will continue to lead this City as I have from Day One – as San Francisco’s biggest champion.”
Daniel Lurie has announced that he will speak to the media about the latest developments Friday morning.
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San Francisco Mayor London Breed concedes race, congratulates Daniel Lurie on victory
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