JAPAN (TND) — A pod of orcas appears to have escaped after being trapped by sea ice in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, according to multiple reports.
Officials said they believe the killer whales were able to free themselves from the drift ice as gaps between them grew.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Tuesday that officials from the town of Rausu had no way to rescue the orcas that a local fisherman first spotted.
Rescuers told NHK they had no choice but to wait for the ice floes to break apart so they could escape.
Drone footage by local wildlife organization, Wildlife Pro LLC, shows the whales struggling in the ice as they bob up and down out of the water.
After analyzing the footage filmed by a conservationist group, officials counted 13 killer whales.
A similar incident happened in 2005, according to NHK, where a group of killer whales were trapped in ice off the coast of Rausu.
The Dolphin Project put out an urgent call to action Tuesday asking authorities in Japan to let Russia send icebreakers to help the orcas.
The nonprofit organization included sample letters to send to the Prime Minister, Ministry of Environment and Rausu Town Hall.
"On February 6, 2024, Japanese media reported that around 15-17 killers whales got trapped in the ice in the strait between the Hokkaido and Kunashir island, near city of Rausu," part of a letter reads. "These killer whales could possibly belong to an endangered population listed in endangered list of Russian Federation."
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Wednesday that killer whales are not designated as an endangered species in Japan and that officials were monitoring the situation while Japan and Russia communicated over the issue.
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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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