News Clip (2010): Successful Rescue of Stranded New Zealand Orca

In May 2010, male orca Putita stranded for the second time (the first being in 2003) at Ruakaka in Northland, New Zealand. He was stranded for approximately 2 hours and was successfully refloated by Ingrid Visser and a team of rescuers. Steve Hathaway captured some fantastic footage of the rescue, which you can view as part of this news clip, along with an interview of Ingrid. Putita's mum Yin (NZ27) and brother can be seen waiting just offshore for Putita during the rescue. 

It is likely that Putita stranded whilst hunting stingrays in shallow waters. "It's a very high risk type of prey that they're hunting for, they're in very shallow waters..." Ingrid explains. No where else in the world do orca come so close into shore to hunt for stingrays - they are often seen in less than 1m of water, inside surf zones, estuaries and harbours (www.orcaresearch.org). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_mkthGcqg