DOC were advised to euthanise stranded orca Toa, stop human contact with him

September 22, 2021
Toa pictured in his sea pen.

Overseas experts advised the Department of Conservation to euthanise an orca calf that became stranded in Plimmerton just four days after it was rescued by the community when it became stuck on rocks, documents released on Wednesday show.

By Kate Nicol-Williams & Abbey Wakefield

The juvenile orca was managed by DOC for 12 days in a fenced off part of the sea and a pool at times, before it died naturally, ending efforts to locate its pod.

The orca was supervised around the clock by the agency and Whale Rescue volunteers, with support from the community and local iwi.

The total cost of DOC’s response to the stranding was $129,780.

This included $67,720 in operating costs such as accommodation, meals and equipment and $62,060 for staff pay.

Volunteers stayed in the water with the orca for the majority of the response period – often touching the mammal.

Four days after the orca became stranded, in a summary of advice reported to be from overseas experts they stated, ‘this calf appears to have about zero chances of survival in the wild’ and ‘you should humanely euthanise it sooner than later.’

The Department of Conservation has released damning documents into the management of baby Toa in Plimmerton, north of Wellington.

Documents show DOC also received advice a day earlier from domestic and overseas experts to ‘stop all of the human interactions’ with the baby orca.

"We recommend that people are entirely removed from the confinement area unless the calf needs direct support or medical procedures are being undertaken," one expert said in a message.

"Continued repetitive interactions with people increase the likelihood of bonding/habituation, which is not aligned with the goal of returning this calf to the wild," they stated.

The baby orca was named Toa, after the local iwi Ngāti Toa.

During the constant care for Toa, Weta Digital staff created a “super teat” for the stranded orca calf to drink milk from.

Despite efforts to reunite Toa with his mother, the baby orca died on July 23 and was buried early the next morning at the local marae.

At the time, DOC said Toa’s health started to deteriorate and there was a discussion about euthanasia. According to DOC, the orca calf died of natural causes.

In a statement to 1News, DOC said their goal remained to care for the calf and to find its pod.
 

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