Ben Norris, a 16-year-old from Plimmerton is spending his school holidays looking after a baby orca whale after he originally found it stranded and struggling on the coast.
“He just caught on a wave on his side and as he was facing inland, he just kept kicking further and further up until he was eventually stuck,” Ben said.
He didn’t know what to do, so he called the Department of Conservation.
“We tried to refloat him twice, but it wasn’t working.”
After helping to relocate the stranded orca whale to the Plimmerton boating club, Ben said he’s been coming down every day to help.
the male calf got stuck in a rock pool north of Plimmerton on Sunday. (Source: Other)
“I haven’t really left to be honest, I live just up the hill, so I’ve just been pretty much zooming up and down,” he said.
The Department of Conservation told 1 NEWS that search crews will be looking for the orca’s pod on boats and helicopters today.
“The prime objective here remains to try and relocate the calf back into the pod,” DOC’s Ian Angus said.
DOC says there has been a reported sighting of a pod of orca in the Marlborough Sounds, "but we're still encouraging the public to report any orca pod sightings to us via the 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468). The range is from the Marlborough Sounds to Whanganui."
Veterinarians fed the baby orca another dose of fluids this morning to keep it hydrated.
“We’re still hopeful,” Angus said.
Meanwhile, Ben is urging locals to keep a look out for the orca pod.
“We need to find that pod, we need to find its family,” he said.
Some of the volunteers, including Ben had been giving the baby orca nicknames.
“Plimmy, from Plimmerton or there’s Donut because it keeps swimming around in donuts,” Ben said.
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