Rescued killer whale spotted reunited with family

Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers studying killer whales off the coast of B.C. have finally got the good news they've been waiting for two years Sam, ayoung transient killer whale rescued in August 2013, was spottedreunited with his family.

The young orca, T46C2, wastwo years old when he was strandedin a small cove nearremote Aristazabal Island on the North Coast of B.C. in the summer of2013 for several weeks.

Scientists kept a close eye on the juvenile, hoping hewould leave the bay himself. But after a few weeks, he remained in the bay and continued to call loudly and repeatedly for his pod and was not eating properly.

Researchers even made several attempts to entice Sam to leave the harbour byplaying transient orca calls with an underwater speaker, but the young orca appeared to be afraid of passing through the harbour's entrance.

Eventually he was rescued in August 2013and left the cove, and researchers hoped he would beat the odds and reunite with his T064Cgroup.

Two years later on July 2, DFO researchers spotted the young orca with its family. There was also another sighting of the whale with his mother the previous October by Oceans Initiative researchers.

"This is the best possible outcome," said Carla Crossman, Vancouver Aquarium research biologist.

"These sightings indicate that Sam has successfully reintegrated with its family and that like other maternally-related groups of killer whales, the T046Cs are maintaining social cohesion over long periods of time."

Transient killer whales, which are also called Biggs killer whales, are one of four distinct populations of killer whales that live off the west coast of North America.