Young female orca stranded on sharp rocks.

Stranded Orca Saved By Humans In An 8-hour Rescue Operation

A young female orca was stranded and stuck on the rocks along the remote coast of British Columbia, Canada. The killer whale was exhibiting serious signs of stress: confused, terrified and apparently crying in pain as her body is roost on sharp rocks.

A pod of killer whales was on the hunt for seals.

George Fisher, one of the rescuer, called other volunteers for help to rescue the trapped orca. When the rescuers saw the stranded whale, they immediately went into action and tried to comfort her. The volunteers were heartbroken hearing the stranded whale's cry -- she was breathing fast, so much pain and terror.

Her skin was drying up more and more as the tide went out.

A whale researcher, Hermann Meuter, also responded to the call. They did rescue efforts and quickly began covering the body with wet blankets and pouring buckets of salt water to keep her wet as they knew the whale didn't have much time as her skin was dying up as the tide went out. Luckily, after their first aid, the whale started to calm down.

“I think she knew that we were there to help her,” Hermann recalls of the rescue.

They quickly began covering the whale with wet blankets and buckets of salt water.

Some of the rescuers thought of tying rope or harness around the young whale and drag her to the sea, but there is a problem -- she was stuck in sharp rocks and moving her could be fatal and bring further damage to her.

So they continued covering the whale with wet blankets and splash seawater using buckets. The only choice they have is to wait until the tide rises. The rescue team worked tirelessly for eight hours to make sure that the young mammal survives.

The killer whale was finally free to swim away.

When the tide was high enough to cover the sharp rocks, the young orca was able to swim freely. Her pod was waiting for her out in the distance, and the team could tell that they were communicating.

It was absolutely an amazing event -- seeing how rescuers work hand in hand to help save the poor whale. Please share this inspiring story with your family and friends. Hats off to all the volunteers!

“Whales feel cohesion, a sense of community, of loyalty. The distress call of a lone whale is enough to prompt its entire pod to rush to its side- a gesture that lands them nose to nose in the same sand. It's a fatal symphony of echolocation, a siren call to the sympathetic.”

- Marina Keegan