On Sept. 10, the orca calf, also known as a killer whale, was discovered stranded at Carmel River State Beach between Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Rescue crews from the Marine Mammal Center and California Marine Mammal Stranding Network, along with California State Parks staff, worked for nine hours to keep the calf comfortable as they evaluated rescue options. The agencies searched for the killer whale's pod since the likelihood of the whale surviving without its mother was slim.
Rescuers determined the best course of action was to transport the orca to the Long Marine Lab Rescue Center in Santa Cruz, but the calf died in transport. The young male whale was generally in healthy condition but most likely died of cardiac failure on the way to a facility where it could be placed into a designated tank for evaluation, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told SFGATE in a statement.
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