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Pascuala: The Orphaned Orca
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Despite all the hard work of all the staff and volunteers at Dolphin Adventures, Pascuala unfortunately passed away on June 10th 2007.
A baby Orca (killer whale) was rescued off the Pacific Coast of Mexico on Thursday, April 12th in the fishing town of San Blas, Nayarit. The baby girl, who marine mammal experts from Puerto Vallarta's Dolphin Adventure Center confirm is only 2 weeks old, had appeared to be tangled in fishng nets and had been badly scratched and cut by the rocks on which she was washed up.
The animal was immediately flown by Vallarta Adventure's private plane to their facilities in Nuevo Vallarta, approximately 1 hour south of San Blas. There, the dolphin center's staff and vets are keeping a watchful eye on “Pascualina” and nurturing her back to health. The baby Orca has been named after the Spanish word "Pascua" which means “Easter” because she was saved during this holy week.
For over 12 years, Vallarta Adventure's dedicated team has rehabilitated many stranded dolphins and rescued several humpback whales caught in fishing nets, but this is their first experience with an Orca, which are rarely seen in Banderas Bay.
The modern facilities and highly trained marine mammal experts at Dolphin Adventures ensure that Puerto Vallarta has the resources to help in any situation, but just to be on the safe side, they placed a call to Sea World in San Diego.
Last weekend, Dr. Jim McBaine from Sea World visited the dolphin center in Nuevo Vallarta to lend a helping hand. Relocating the baby Orca to the larger, whale sized pools at the Sea World facilities in San Diego was discussed.
However, Mexican wildlife conservation laws do not allow marine mammals to be exported abroad, so for the time being, Pascualina will be staying in one of the larger dolphin pools at Dolphin Adventures. This pool has been prepared especially for the baby Orca and is separated from the other dolphin pools by a series of gates.
Today, "Pascualina," is resting comfortably at the Dolphin Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta, where Vallarta Adventures' dedicated team of vets and marine mammal experts are nurturing her back to health.
We'll keep you posted as the story progresses, so keep checking back for more video footage of Pascualina's stay with Vallarta Adventures. For more information about the dolphin center, or to contact Dolphin Adventures, click HERE.
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