Date Time
5pm update on stranded juvenile orca in Porirua
The orca calf – believed to be between four and six months old – stranded on rocks at Plimmerton on Sunday afternoon. It is in a temporary enclosure near a wharf at Hongoeka, with volunteers from Whale Rescue/Orca Rescue Trust working alongside Department of Conservation (DOC) and local iwi Ngati Toa Rangatira.
Ian Angus, DOC Marine Species Manager, says the two reported sightings of a pod off the Kapiti Coast – including a sighting this morning near Kapiti Island – have not been verified despite searching.
The latest sighting, reported today, occurred off the coast of Taranaki. It is not known if the orca pod is the same one the stranded calf has come from, so DOC, Whale Rescue/Orca Rescue and local iwi Ngati Toa are seeking to confirm the sighting before further decisions are made.