Stranded baby orca Toa dies

Toa, the stranded baby orca calf, has died.

According to an online report, the stranded whale calf died last night.

Whale-rescue.org, an organisation which had been helping care for Toa, wrote on its Facebook page that the orca died.

‘‘We have to report that a little time ago Toa passed away, he rapidly deteriorated and vets on site rushed to his aid but were unable to save him,’’ the statement said.

‘‘We have no further details as to what happened, as you can all imagine we are devastated. No more updates will be posted at this time.’’

It comes just hours after a reported sighting of an orca pod on the Ka¯ piti Coast, which was being investigated by air and sea yesterday afternoon.

Toa was earlier reported as being ‘‘stable’’ at the Plimmerton Boating Club by the Department of Conservation.

The department’s marine species manager, Ian Angus, had said two aircraft a DOC boat were searching the water in response to the reported sighting, south of Raumati.

‘‘If the boat is able to find a pod, we will take photographs that can be used to identify whether it is the one that the orca calf came from, based on the unique markings on the orca,’’ he said.

‘‘However, if it is the right pod, we will not be able to reunite the orca calf today, given the limited amount of daylight left and the intricacies of the operation.’’