They release a killer whale that had been stranded for hours on a rocky coast of Alaska

(CNN) – A killer whale that was washed up on a rocky beach on Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island was released Thursday morning with the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and sailors who they were close.

The beached killer whale was first discovered on the rocks by a nearby ship, the Steadfast, according to NOAA, which “authorized them to use a seawater pump to keep the killer whale hydrated and keep any birds away,” said the NOAA spokeswoman Julie Fair to CNN.

The boat’s crew kept an eye on the killer whale until an official from NOAA and the Alaska Wildlife Police arrived.

“At some points during the grounding, the killer whale was vocalizing and other killer whales were seen in the vicinity,” Fair said.

The orca finally floated at high tide on Thursday afternoon, according to NOAA. Bay Cetology, a Canadian conservation group, was able to determine that it was a 13 year old juvenile killer whale which they had previously monitored and identified as T146D.

Fair said NOAA is examining photos and videos of the orca to determine if it was injured. The animal was stranded less than a day after an earthquake in 8.2 degrees of magnitude shook the coast of Alaska, but NOAA does not believe that was the cause of its grounding.

A TikTok user who goes by the name Aroon Melane shared a video showing people helping to keep the killer whale wet until NOAA arrived and said the killer whale was able to swim free once the tide returned.

“We found out there was a stranded killer whale, so we went looking for it. NOAA gave permission to keep the killer whale wet and protected from animals until they could get there,” Melane says in the video. “We were working to run a hose and a pump. In the meantime, we used the buckets to keep the killer whale wet. The killer whale started to perk up more when we poured water on it.”

People helping the killer whale with buckets of water.

The orca was stuck for about six hours, he added.

It’s not the first time that Bigg’s killer whale has gotten stuck in rocks, according to Bay Cetology.

“Our research on this particular topic, published last year, shows that all live killer whales stranded along the west coast of North America in the last two decades have been of the Bigg ecotype and all of them have survived, sometimes with a little help “, said the conservation group.

Passing killer whales hunt sea lions, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. They can often be found stranded alive “in search of prey”, according to a Bay Cetology study, which adds that while human help is not always necessary, it can often save killer whales’ lives, as well as their family ties.

It is unclear how the orca was stranded or if it was hunting seals when it was trapped.