Rescue
In June 24th 2010 the Dutch coast guard spotted a young killer whale in distress in a shallow area of the Wadden Sea. Observation of this species in Dutch waters is considered rare, and the last stranding of an orca in Holland dated from 1963.
The coast guard requested the assistance of the Dolfinarium Harderwijk to organize a rescue operation of the animal, that resulted to be a young female subsequently christened “Morgan”. Morgan was found to be extremely underweight (at the time of the rescue weighted 430 Kg) but did not present major injuries or symptoms of a disease. Based on her length, which was compared with lengths and tooth growth layers of Norwegian killer whales from an International Whaling Commission report, she was estimated to be 1-2 years old. Once rescued, first priority was regaining weight, and in less than three months Morgan reached almost 700 Kg, which was more adequate for her length
