Rescuers plan helicopter airlift of orca calf stranded in B.C. lagoon

By Dirk Meissner THE CANADIAN PRESS ZEBALLOS, B.C.- Plans are now underway to airlift a stranded killer whale calf out of a remote tidal lagoon off northern Vancouver Island in an effort to reunite the young orca with its extended family. Fisheries Department and First Nations officials say the plans involve placing the two-year-old calf into a sling, lifting it out of the lagoon by helicopter and putting it in a holding net pen in the ocean while they wait until its family pod is nearby before the young orca is released. The plan was agreed on Wednesday during a meeting between members of the Ehattesaht First Nation council, Fisheries Department officials and marine technical experts. Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John said his people have deep cultural and spiritual…

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