An orca was stranded on some rocks at low tide on the North Coast of British Columbia, according to the news outlet cbc.ca.
The beached orca was reportedly kept alive for eight hours by a dedicated team of whale researchers and volunteers that came to the rescue after people spotted the animal stuck on the rocks.
“We decided the best thing to do would be to keep her cool, that meant to put water on her body and we used blankets and sheets," said Hermann Meuter, a co-founder of Cetacean Lab.
"It was the only thing we could do."
The water began to rise around 4p.m. PT, freeing the whale from the rocks and allowing it to submerge under water once again, according to Buzzfeed. However, the struggle for the whale and the people helping her was very real before the tide rose again.
“She cried often, which tore at our hearts,” read a Facebook post about the rescue.
"At first she was stressed, you could see that her breathing was getting a little faster," said Meuter.
Stranded orca saved by volunteers who kept it cool for hours until high tide https://t.co/LcLiFGWK10 #DolphinProject pic.twitter.com/Cptzj7Pmpk
— Dolphin Project (@Dolphin_Project) July 24, 2015
The orca ultimately calmed down about 15 to 20 minutes into the rescue after realizing that the group of people were there to help her. Once the water rose, the orca was reportedly able to free herself from the rocks and reunite with her pod, which was nearby.
“It took her about 45 minutes to negotiate how best to get off the rocks. We all just kept our distance at that point,” explained Meuter.
Members of the World Wildlife Fund and the Git G’at Guardians from Hartely Bay were reportedly also on the scene to help the animal.
“We all cared about this whale and we were just very lucky to give that whale another chance,” stated Meuter.
