For the second day, a rescue operation is underway for four orcas stranded due to low tide in the Sea of Okhotsk. Two adult orcas and two calves became stuck near the village of Ustyovoe in the Sobolevsky District.
Rescuers were unable to pull the trapped whales to deeper waters due to the muddy bottom of the estuary, and it was not possible to use machinery for the same reason. Since a pump could not be used due to the loud noise it would generate, the 30 rescuers and volunteers who arrived at the scene spent several hours pouring water on the orcas from buckets while waiting for the tide to rise.
When the water level increased to a safe height, the orcas were successfully freed from the sandbank and swam toward the open sea. However, they did not manage to find a narrow exit from the estuary. During low tide, the animals became trapped again, approximately two kilometers from where they had been rescued the previous day.
People are staying with them, continually pouring water over them to prevent their skin from drying out. Local residents reported that seagulls are attacking one of the orcas. Rescuers and volunteers are anxiously awaiting the next high tide, as any delay could threaten the lives of the animals.
As explained by the Kronotsky Reserve, carnivorous orcas often hunt in shallow waters, unlike fish-eating orcas that avoid such areas. According to specialists, they likely became stranded by miscalculating the speed of the tide; such incidents occur occasionally, and sometimes the animals manage to free themselves by waiting for the tide to come in.
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