An orca of more than five meters long washed up on the beach at the Zeeland town of Cadzand on Saturday afternoon, nature organization reports. SOS Dolphin Foundation. A rescue to get the animal back into the sea is in full swing on Saturday evening.
Earlier in the day, rescuers managed to push the orca back into the sea, but then the animal washed ashore again further on. In addition to SOS Dolphin, the rescue action is being carried out by, among others, the Sea Animals Rescue Team Zeeland and the Royal Dutch Rescue Company (KNRM).
SOS Dolphin calls the marine mammal’s situation “worrying”. Rescuers suspect that the animal failed to make its way back to the deep sea because it is too weakened. The rescue operations attracted a lot of attention and the police had to keep those interested at a distance.
Orcas are the largest dolphins and have their habitat mainly in cold waters, including the North Sea. They live in groups of around fifty animals and can travel up to 150 kilometers a day in search of food.
It is rare for a live orca to wash ashore at the Dutch coast. That last happened in 2010. Then a strongly weakened orca washed ashore at Lauwersoog in Groningen. The animal, which was given the name Morgan, was transferred to the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk. He stayed there for a year and a half, after which he was eventually transferred to an amusement park on the Spanish island of Tenerife after court intervention.