Whale rescuers are searching for the family of a baby orca stranded in Wellington.
Department of Conservation (DoC) marine species manager Ian Angus told Newshub the juvenile orca was found washed up on Plimmerton Beach on Sunday.
DoC, Project Jonah, and Whale-Rescue.org were all on-site to find the orca's pod and return it to its family.
"Unfortunately, we were not successful in locating the pod," said Angus.
The whale was loaded onto a trailer overnight and kept moist and cool by whale-rescue.org, which is "common practice" for baby orcas separated from their pods.
The search for its family has continued on Monday, with DoC monitoring the baby.
Anyone in the Wellington region who sees orcas is asked to report the sighting directly to DoC on 0800 DOC HOT.
