Group Of Alaskans Save Beached Orca Whale Until Tide Washes It Back Out To Sea

A fish on a rock
Captain Chance Strickland

Good people up there in Alaska.

When you live on the Last Frontier, you have to be the kind of tough and rugged people that work together to get things done.

Last week, teamwork made the dream work as a group of Alaskans worked together to keep an Orca Whale alive after it got wedged on some rocks along the coast as the tide went out.

According to Business Insider, the killer whale was stranded for roughly 6 hours while people sprayed it with water and kept it cool until the tide could rise again.

The U.S. Coast Guard was alerted to a 20-foot Orca that was alive, but stuck on the rocks along the coast of Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. The boat that reported the Orca noted that it was sitting about 4-5 feet above sea level at the time, and appeared unable to propel itself back into the water.

Orcas are able to ascend themselves to incredible heights when launching themselves out of the water, especially considering they can grow up to 11,000 pounds, but there was little orca could do once it was stuck like a fish out of water.

At the guidance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ships crew pumped salt water on the whale and kept birds from bothering it until state wildlife officials could arrive on the scene to take over.

Soon word of the stranded Orca started circulating amongst local communities, and residents decided to go help. A group of folks arrived with buckets and started pouring them over the whale to help keep its temperature down.

A video was posted to TikTok by Aroon Melane, one of the fine folks who helped the whale. She noted that the Orca became more lively and energetic the more they splashed water on it.

“The craziest experience!”

Witnesses said that the whale could be heard making vocalizations at times, and that other Orca whales were seen hanging around the area seemingly waiting for the stranded friend.

Finally, six hours after the whale was first reported stuck the tide finally rose enough for the whale to float off the rocks and swim back out to sea.

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