Japan: Pod of killer whales stuck in sea ice off Hokkaido

Wildlife Pro LLC/Facebook

A group of at least 10 killer whales seems to be trapped by sea ice off the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan, as reported by public broadcaster NHK on Tuesday.

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The coastal town of Rausu’s officials stated that they are unable to rescue the orcas, which were initially spotted by a local fisherman, NHK reported.

“We have no choice but to wait for the ice to break up and for them to escape that way,” a Rausu official told NHK.

A local fisherman contacted the Rausu Coast Guard Station on Tuesday morning to report seeing a killer whale stuck by the ice drift not far from the shore, NHK reported citing the local coast guard.

Drone footage, shared on Tuesday by a local wildlife organization named Wildlife Pro LLC, displays the whales struggling in a small gap between ice flows. The organization encountered the whales while conducting marine research, as per a statement on Facebook.

“I saw about 13 killer whales with their heads sticking out of a hole in the ice,” a Wildlife Pro LLC employee, who filmed the video, told NHK. “They seemed to be struggling to breathe, and it looked like they included three or four calves.”

The lack of wind in the area has resulted in the ice trapping the orcas to remain unmoving.

Sea ice forms along the coast of Hokkaido every winter and is the lowest latitude sea ice in the world. However, in recent years, levels have been decreasing due to the acceleration of global warming.

In 2005, a group of killer whales was also trapped in drift ice off the coast of the town and eventually perished, according to NHK, citing Rausu town officials.