Crew captures whale stranding

ORCA RESEARCH TRUST

CREW SEEKS SIGHTINGS: A group of orca swim by Ingrid Visser’s camera outside the entrance to Whangaroa Harbour.

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The hope, hard work and heartbreak experienced by the Far North community during the stranding of pilot whales at Karikari Beach last month has been captured by a BBC film crew.

Working with Tutukaka-based orca researcher Ingrid Visser, the three-member BBC team is in the region for seven weeks, producing an hour-long documentary about her research.

Director Mark Woodward, from Brighton, says the first two weeks spent with Ingrid were jam-packed with action, filming a right whale and her calf that have been visiting the Bay of Islands and Whangaroa areas and then the whale stranding, the logistical nightmare to rescue them and the impact it had on residents, particularly the Maori community.

"The stranding was traumatic for us to be honest – a mixture of devastation and encouragement that some were saved", he says.

This is the second trip to the Far North for Mark, a specialist in ocean filming, who came to the area about four years ago to film dolphins.

The orca documentary, co-commissioned by the BBC and Animal Planet, is expected to take a year to complete and edit.

The crew is now waiting for sightings of orca so they can get more footage.

Dr Visser, who is researching orca feeding patterns, is hoping to put the crew in the right place at the right time.

She has seen orca taking sharks – mako, hammerhead and school sharks – and several species of rays in the past.

"You never know what is going to happen with orcas. They are unpredictable. We are working with a broad pallette."

Dr Visser has been researching orca since 1992, producing a number of scientific papers.

She is considered New Zealand's foremost orca expert and is one of only 20 scientists, in the world, working fulltime in the field.

She uses donations to fund her research and works part time in eco-tourism to pay her own expenses.

"Although I personally lead a very simple lifestyle and I've had the same boat since 1997, people are very supportive. My truck was sponsored by a private individual who wanted to help my research."

Dr Visser relies on the public for sightings of orca. She'll travel anywhere on the Northland coastline to study them.

Call Dr Visser at 0800 SEE ORCA – 0800-733-6722.

- Bay Chronicle