Happy ending for the group of orcas that had been trapped in drifting ice off the coast of the Shiretoko peninsula, in Hokkaido (northern Japan), according to local media NHK. After being stranded for hours, officials in the Japanese city of Rausu said they hoped the cetaceans had been able to free themselves, as the icebergs had given way on Wednesday morning.
The Asian authorities maintain that the animals have been able to escape, after observing that small thaw and searching for them for about ninety minutes since 8:30 a.m. this Wednesday. However, they have not found a trace.
The orcas were seen for the first time on Tuesday. The warning was given by a local fisherman, who observed how this group of animals was struggling to get out of between ice floes approximately one kilometer off the coast of the town of Rausu.
Confirmation that these cetaceans had been trapped came from the NGO Wild Pro LLC. “A video captured by a drone confirms that there are 13 of them,” he published on his X account (formerly Twitter).
In statements to the Efe agency, the NGO estimated this group at 15 animals. “It looked like they were having difficulty breathing and there were three or four chicks,” explained Seiichiro Tsuchiya, a member of Wild Pro LLC.
The organization recalls that, in these cases, it is almost impossible to help the cetaceans, because the thickness of the ice prevents coast guard boats from being able to get close enough.
For her part, professor of marine mammals at the Tokyo University of Agriculture Mari Kobayashi detailed, in statements to the national news agency Kyodo, that, in some cases, this behavior responds to the protection of the young. And they may even end up slowly dying of exhaustion. However, this group seems to have had a happy ending.
