Australian Survivor: Brains v Brawn winner Hayley Leake has revealed what she plans to spend her $500,000 prize money on after winning the show over the weekend.
âVery saddenedâ: Toa, the orphaned baby orca that enthralled New Zealand, is buried
Orca cared for by hundreds of volunteers and experts in bitter cold after becoming separated from its pod two weeks ago
Rescuers in New Zealand take care of baby orca Toa which became separate from its pod. Photograph: Eva Corlett/The Guardian
Rescuers in New Zealand take care of baby orca Toa which became separate from its pod. Photograph: Eva Corlett/The Guardian
Guardianstaff
Sat 24 Jul 2021 21.12 EDT
Last modified on Sat 24 Jul 2021 21.14 EDT
An orphaned baby orca that captured the hearts of people across New Zealand has been farewelled at a special ceremony and taken away for burial, ending a desperate mission to reunite it with its pod.
‘Very saddened’: Toa, the orphaned baby orca that enthralled New Zealand, is buried Guardian staff
An orphaned baby orca that captured the hearts of people across New Zealand has been farewelled at a special ceremony and taken away for burial, ending a desperate mission to reunite it with its pod.
The young calf, named Toa – which means brave or strong in Māori – was thought to be between two and six months old, and became stranded on rocks north of Wellington two weeks ago with minor injuries.
Since then, countless volunteers braved winter storms and cold water to keep it alive – bottle feeding it a special formula in a hastily built pool – while others searched for its family group.
A new teat was designed to feed baby orca Toa. “It was moving, incredibly emotional but also really uplifting in a way as well that this gathering of people got around Toa in his last times, and he brought us all together. I think that s a really incredible thing.” Norris said on Friday night there were “lots of hugs and lots of tears” among the volunteers and members of Team Toa’ who worked really hard to look after the orca calf. Speaking about the dawn ceremony on Saturday, Norris called it “a really lovely moment” as the community gathered together, said their farewells and had a karakia.