In July this year, an orca calf became stranded and separated from his pod along the coast of Plimmerton in Wellington.

Three teenagers witnessed the tragic event unfolding. Young adult Ben rushed to the orca’s side whilst friends Flora and Sean alerted authorities and biked to nearby Hongoeka Marae for help.

The following two weeks saw several animal welfare groups including HUHA, Whale Rescue, Wellington Zoo, Department of Conservation, local community groups and many volunteers join to care for the orca calf with the hope of reuniting him with his pod.

He was named Toa, which means brave in Māori.

I was really honoured to be asked by the team at HUHA to photograph Toa’s supervision for an afternoon.

What I really wanted to show in my images was the amount of care and attention to detail I saw. Volunteers who entered the water where given a safety briefing, required to wear a mask and gloves, step on a mat to sanitize their foot coverings and asked to give Toa space. The afternoon I was there I saw wee Toa swim from volunteer to volunteer, seeking comfort and interaction. I even heard a volunteer sing to him which he seemed to respond to ( there were always people in the water with Toa to prevent him hurting himself and to monitor his condition)

It was completely fantastic to see all these different groups work together with the amazing Orca Expert Ingrid Visser at the helm and use their strengths in different areas to give Toa the best chance of being reunited with his pod.

During my visit it was a beautiful sunny day but even out of the water it was FREEZING. Bitterly cold. I can only imagine how cold it was for everyone in the water.

Unfortunately the weather turned a day later and a massive storm front came through Wellington halting the search for Toa’s pod until it was safe to send boats and planes out to confirm any sightings made by the public.

Incredibly sadly, despite the 24/7 expert care and incredible community spirit, Toa passed away on the 23rd of July.

I’d like to say thank you to everyone who gave their all to give Toa a fighting chance to be reunited with his pod. He died being comforted by people he had become familiar with and in a safe, calm environment.

If you would like to read more information about the rescue effort and HUHA’s daily work rescuing and caring for animals, you can check out https://www.facebook.com/HelpingYouHelpAnimals