Takapuna whale rescue

[Grant]

The latte-drinking cafe set along Takapuna Rd had probably never seen anything like it.
Moving along the road at a gentle pace towards Takapuna Beach was a 3.4-metre Orca whale on the back of a trailer.
And no less than the son and grandson of the late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau were among onlookers who got a close-up view of the dramatic whale rescue at the North Shore Beach today.
The whale first became stranded yesterday at Huia beach, west of Auckland.
In an unusual move, the whale was transported today by road to be released off the North Shore beach.
The whale was described as a 3.4 metre juvenile female of about three years old and had seen beached since 3pm yesterday.
It was looked after overnight by Project Jonah and Department of Conservation staff.
Department spokesman Bill Trusewich said the whale was small enough to be handled and a decision was made this morning to move it by trailer to Takapuna, on Auckland's North Shore

Whale rescue mission at Takapuna beach (+photos) - 05 Jul 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

[Grant]

A young orca is back at sea after more than a dozen volunteers completed an extraordinary overnight rescue mission yesterday.

The whale was driven 43km to Takapuna Beach on the back of a flat-top trailer after being stranded on the other side of the Auckland isthmus for more than 24 hours.

Among the crowd was the son of late, legendary ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Jean-Michel Cousteau, a renowned explorer, environmentalist and film producer in his own right, and his son Fabien are in New Zealand as guests of orca expert Ingrid Visser to shoot a documentary.

They had spent four days scouting for orca in Northland when Visser received a call on Friday afternoon about a possible sighting at Whatipu, near the treacherous mouth of the Manukau Harbour.

Cheers as young orca swims away - 06 Jul 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

[TokWW]

Another happy ending!

[Grant]

Aucklanders can help to save a healthy but confused killer whale today by keeping an eye out for the lost orca.

Washed up on the city's west coast on Friday and relaunched on the east coast's Takapuna Beach on Saturday, the orca was spotted high up the inner Waitemata Harbour's Henderson Creek yesterday by a pair of kayakers.

Orca Research staff responded, with police, coastguard and boaties, to try to shepherd the juvenile 4-year-old female to the Hauraki Gulf.

But boat traffic, especially from ferries, further confused the whale, Orca Research Trust founder Dr Ingrid Visser told the Herald.

Time and again people lining Tank Farm's Wynyard Pt watched the orca head out towards the Hauraki Gulf, shepherded by the small flotilla, only to double back towards the Harbour Bridge when a ferry came near.

Lost orca needs public's help - 07 Jul 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

[Grant]

Shifting a young orca from one side of Auckland to the other on a trailer was risking its life, an expert on marine mammals says.

Associate Professor Liz Slooten, an Otago University marine mammal biologist, said last night that although orca had a large home range - they had been known to move between Auckland and Kaikoura - the 4-year-old female rescued on Friday would be in danger if it remained on its own.

While she was unwilling to criticise the animal's relocation by trailer from Auckland's west coast to Takapuna Beach on the east, she questioned whether there were alternatives.

"It would have been a really tough call to know what to do. It might have been better to hold on to it in the Manukau Harbour [by keeping a boat with it] and see if the family came back or the weather improved so you could put it back out to sea on that side."

Rescue risked orca's life: expert - 08 Jul 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

[windy]

i agree that putting it in the manukau might have been better....less big boat traffic for starters