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A pod of orcas that appeared to be trapped by drift sea ice off Japan’s main northern island of Hokkaido has seemingly escaped the icy enclosure, according to a local official.
Rausu city officials conducted a land-based search for whales for about two hours on Wednesday, but the more than 10 orcas were nowhere to be found, Ryoji Onuma told ABC News.
“It looks like they escaped, but we can’t be sure,” said Onuma, who is leading Rausu’s reaction. His team came within a kilometer of the killer whales’ last known location, Onuma said, as news helicopters hovered overhead and locals flew drones, capturing the scene.
Onuma told ABC News that with the ice melting and the situation improving, no additional rescue efforts are needed. “It’s over for us,” Onuma said.
“Although we can’t verify it for sure, I’m sure those whales have found their way out of the ice. We hope they did,” Onuma added.
Conservation organizations in the U. S. and Russia have stepped up to help, but Onuma said a large-scale direct intervention would have put people and animals at risk.
On Tuesday night, the scenario was difficult, Onuma said.
“We were down there before nightfall. They just didn’t have enough space. They couldn’t get out,” Onuma said of the whales.
Onuma described the animals’ coordinated struggle as the sun set, telling ABC News: “It seemed like they were taking turns breathing, like they had an order in which they were going in.”
The Japanese coast guard is also on board to help, Onuma said.
“We discussed icebreaker intervention to release the creatures. It was conceivable that icebreakers would propel the ice, hindering them even more,” Onuma said. This technique may have inadvertently harmed the killer whales, potentially covering their breathing hole, Onuma said.
“We really appreciate all the concepts that have been presented to us,” Onuma added, acknowledging widespread concern.
Onuma, while clarifying his non-expert status, told ABC News, “Each of these animals has distinct characteristics and identifiable natural markings. They have a long reach. It’s conceivable that someone somewhere on the road on a tour boat would do it. To locate and recognize one of these animals thanks to the photographs disseminated, evidence that they escaped with their lives. “
On Tuesday, Wildlife Pro LLC shared drone footage, filmed by Seiichiro Tsuchiya, of the then trapped orcas on Facebook, where the audience can see the orcas moving their heads in and out of the icy water. Tsuchiya said the orcas appeared to have trouble breathing and could not swim freely.
“I saw about thirteen orcas with their heads sticking out of a gap in the ice,” Tsuchiya told Japanese public broadcaster NHK. “They had trouble breathing and it looked like they included 3 or 4 pups. “
A similar incident happened in Rausu in 2005, according to NHK, where nine orcas reportedly died after being trapped in drift ice.
ABC News’ Anthony Trotter contributed to this report.
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