Alaskan Heroes Saved A Beached Orca Whale By Keeping It Alive For Six Hours Until The Tide Rolled In

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• A group of locals helped to save an orca whale by keeping it cool with water until the tide arrived.
• The entire effort took six hours and it was a success!
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An orca whale beached on rugged rocks in Alaska was saved last week after a group of people kept it alive until the tide allowed it to return to the ocean. Orca whales are incredibly athletic animals that can grow up to 11,000 pounds, but there was little that the whale could do to propel itself back into the water.

The U.S. Coast Guard was alerted to a 13-year-old, 20-foot orca along the coast of Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. It was reported that the whale was sitting about 4-5 feet above sea level.

Witnesses of the rescue said that other orca whales were swimming around the area, seemingly waiting for their friend to return.

At the guidance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ship that first reported the whale pumped sea water to keep the whale wet. It also helped keep other animals away.

A group of locals got word of the stranded orca and decided to get involved in the rescue effort. They arrived with buckets and started pouring them over the whale to help keep its body temperature down.

One of the women who helped the whale posted a video to TikTok and noted that the orca became more lively and energetic once they splashed water on it.

Officials eventually arrived and relieved the locals from their duties.  Finally, six hours after the whale was first reported as stuck, the tide rose enough for it to float off of the rocks and swim back to sea.