There was no sign of them yet, but he d had offers from two aero club members to head up, one in their own plane, and one in a plane hired from the club. While they were in the air, they’d had a call from a nearby air force plane, which was up for another reason, asking if they could help – they told them to keep their eyes peeled.
Virginia Fallon/Stuff
Porirua man Ezra Jennings-Tedro keeps Toa, the orca calf, company. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” he says. The little orca has been the cause of much excitement in the community with hundreds of people heading to the Plimmerton waterfront to see it. Department of Conservation marine species team manager Ian Angus said if people did want to see Toa, they should leave their dogs at home because barking could cause it stress.
The rescue teams were forced to relocate the mammal into a makeshift enclosure on Sunday night when attempts to find its pod failed. It has since returned to a fenced off section in the ocean.
Local Māori have named the killer whale calf Toa, meaning ‘brave’ or ‘strong’. Photograph: Ben Mckay/AAP
The local iwi (tribe), Ngāti Toa, named the roughly six-month old calf Toa, meaning “strong” or “brave”, at a ceremony on Tuesday morning.
Dr Ingrid Visser, the founder of the Orca Research Trust, told Australian Associated Press she had not lost hope of finding Toa’s family.
Baby orca in NZ in race against time to find his lost pod dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wellington reporters21:09, Jul 13 2021
Wayne Rix
About 100 people have been involved in the operation to care for the orca and the search for its family.
That’s everything from us tonight, we will be back tomorrow morning. Have a good night Wellington.
9.07 pm Mt Vic tunnel is closing for maintenance tonight Mt Victoria tunnel will be shut tonight from 9pm to 5:30am for monthly maintenance. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises you to follow the signposted detours and plan ahead.
4.30pm: EV charging sites to more than triple The number of electric vehicle fast chargers in Wellington will more than triple, thanks to almost $500,000 worth of Government funding.
Baby orca to be given milk-replacement formula as search for pod continues stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.