Young orca caught in Wadden Sea

[Rik Meleet]

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010...n_wadden_se.php (http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/06/young_orca_caught_in_wadden_se.php)

Young orca caught in Wadden Sea

Thursday 24 June 2010

A 3.5 metre-long orca, said to be starving and weak, has been captured by sea mammal experts in the Wadden Sea.

Staff from the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk helped catch the animal, which was spotted swimming between the sea resort of Lauwersoog and the island of Ameland on Wednesday.

Because the animal, a young female, is too weak to be taken out into open sea, it has been taken to the Dolfinarium to recover and will then be released again.

Dolfinarium spokesman Bert van Plateringen told the paper the animal is fighting for her life. Dolphin trainers are constantly with her in the tanks to stop her bashing into the sides because the animal is not used to a confined space, he said.

The last time a live orca was spotted in the Wadden Sea was 1947. Orcas, also known as killer whales, are the largest member of the dolphin family.

http://content.nos.nl/data/image/xxl/2010/06/23/166956.jpg

[Rik Meleet]

Seems like we'll be visiting Harderwijk soon.

[Furiey]

Hope she pulls through, sounds far from certain though.

[ProPain]

Saw it on the news. Apparently this one drifted away from a pod that lives in the north sea near the northern parts of Great Britain. I never knew orca's lived that close, saw them in Canada years ago. Never knew I could have saved myself a long flight and see them here ;)

[BCLG100]

This thread seems familiar... [mischief]

[Lt. Killer M]

PP, actually this may be a different species - there is very good evidence that there is a communications break between different orca schools, which also happen to totally differ in their prey preference and hunting strategies, that they never interbreed. :)

I can't begin to imagine what capitivity - even with the best intent - means to an animal with that intellect and spatial awareness. An orca can poke its head into a bay (even the entire Gulf of Mexiko), release a few ultrasound clicks, and have a full 3D picture of the entire area. Running into a wall every few meters must be utter horror.

[Rik Meleet]

I see 3 possibilities; 2 of them bad for Morgan (as the Orca is now named) and 1 good.
* she dies ...
* she survives, gets healthy again and the Dolfinarium keeps it for commercial reasons.
* she survives, gets healthy and is released back into the wild.

[Furiey]

Agreed, unfortunately I see 1 as the most likely what with her state of health and the transition to captivity. I feel 3 is the least likely even though it is the most desireable. She needs all the luck she can get.

[Rik Meleet]

Latest news: Morgan heeft vandaag voor het eerst inktvis gegeten! Ze vond het erg lekker, ze zwemt nu rustig rond en geniet van het zonnetje.

English: Morgan ate squid today for the first time! She liked it very much, she swims quietly and enjoys the sun.

Seems like she's doing well.

source: http://twitter.com/dolfinarium