Toa

Toa *(pronounced to-AH)* was a juvenile male killer whale who was rescued on July 11th, 2021, after accidentally stranding himself and becoming separated from his pod. He passed away during the evening of July 23rd, 2021, after his health began to rapidly decline.

## Birth and Early Life

Toa was born sometime in late spring of 2021. Toa was sighted at least once with his mother at some point before his stranding.

## Rescue

On July 11th, 2021, Toa's pod was hunting for stingray near Hongoeka Marae in Plimmerton, New Zealand. Three teenagers, Flora Smith, Ben Norris and Sean Carter, were watching the pod when Toa was knocked onto his back by a wave. Toa became stuck on the rocks and started to cry out. The rocks cut him as he struggled to get back into the water. Smith and Carter left to get help while Norris stayed with the little whale. Although orca experts, the local fire brigade, Maritime Police, and members of Ngāti Toa arrived to refloat him, his pod had left by the time help had gotten there. Experts decided to move him to a safer location, and he was driven by truck to Plimmerton Boat Ramp where he could be cared for until his pod was found. Dr. Ingrid Visser, a well known orca researcher, arrived by plane later that evening.  Widespread searches for his pod began, and people all over Wellington and the surrounding areas covered the coasts to look for orcas. Planes  and helicopters were even used to find his family.  Experts from all over the world were consulted, including veterinarians from the Wellington Zoo,  SeaWorld  and Loro Parque.

On the evening of July 15th, 2021, due to dangerous weather and storm surges in the area, the decision was made to temporarily move Toa to an 8,500 gallon holding pool. Toa seemed to do well at first and was seen playing in the water flows and with bull kelp that caretakers put in his pool.  Although the weather cleared up a few days later, the storm caused contaminates to spill into the water in the area and it was deemed unsafe for swimming by the Greater Wellington Regional Council.  In addition, more bad weather was forecasted for the area in the coming days.  Toa would remain in the pool until the evening of July 22nd when he was moved back into the sea pen due to health concerns. He had become lethargic and quiet, was suffering from an inflamed eye, and had injuries on his pectoral fins and tail flukes.

## Death

Toa passed away on the evening of July 23rd, 2021, after a marked period of rapid decline in his health. Per this screenshot, eyewitness Tony Sutorius remarks that:

*“When Toa went quite suddenly downhill Ingrid did a beautiful thing. Everyone who had been closely involved in his care was quietly called down to the water's edge, and those dozen or so Toa knew best went into the water and held him upright and comforted him, very silently, for the last hour of his life, which ended very gently. It was a rarely still and beautiful cold evening, under a full moon. When he died several karakia were sung, and a few spoke briefly. It was a very sad, very lovely time of aroha and pure community. Everyone is looking after everyone else. Parents hugged whichever of the young people they found themselves next to, and later the young people supported each other too, and I'm sure they will continue to do so.”*

Due to the religious customs of the Māori, which were granted jurisdiction over all stranded cetaceans in New Zealand by the Treaty of Waitanagi under Section 4 of the Conservation Act, no necropsy was preformed on Toa before his burial. According to a source on Facebook, researchers were allowed a single skin sample, but nothing more.

## Appearance

Toa was very small, weighing about 660lbs. His white patches were a light-orange color, indicating that he was very young at the time of stranding. His teeth had not yet erupted.

## Trivia

* The name “Toa” was assigned through a ceremony conducted by local Māori Iwi. It is said to mean “brave” or “strong.”

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Toa
* **Videos** of Toa

## Transfer History

Toa's Transfer History
 Plimmerton Boat Ramp, New Zealand
 Plimmerton Boating Club, New Zealand (Temporary Holding Pool)

## References

1. ↑ "The life-changing experience of rescuing a baby orca"
2. ↑ "Wellington locals, particularly Kāpiti Coast(...)" Project Jonah on Facebook
3. ↑ "Despite many reports of Orca(...)" Whale-Rescue.org on Facebook
4. ↑ "Over the past couple of(...)" Wellington Zoo on Facebook
5. ↑ "There are many people and professionals(...)" SeaWorld on Twitter
6. ↑ "In such circumstances of a(…)" Loro Parque on Twitter
7. ↑ "Stranded orca's new pool 'biggest one we could find in Wellington'"
8. ↑ "Baby orca Toa could be returned to sea pen after weather assessment"
9. ↑ "Baby orca Toa: Stranded orca calf to stay in temporary pool for now"
10. ↑ "Baby orca back in sea pen following reported drop in energy levels"