The Pascuala Report

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By Eduardo Rincón-Gallardo
There is good news for marine mammals lovers; on Tuesday I paid a visit to Pascuala (the baby orca, or killer whale that was stranded on April 10th in San Blas, Nayarit) at Vallarta Adventures in Nuevo Vallarta – and the news is that she has been transferred to a larger pool and she is swimming by herself with no help from trainers.

Pascuala (named after 'Semana Pascua,' or Easter when she wsa found) is still accompanied and watched most of the time by Vallarta Adventures' staff, sometimes sharing the pool with young bottlenose dolphins. There is mutual respect between them though I was told that the dolphins are somewhat wary of the 400 lb. Pascuala.

Last I saw of her she was in a much smaller pool where she could be aided to swim and come up to breathe, her skin showed bad bruises telling of her entanglement in fishing nets before she became stranded. Back then no one knew the extent of her injuries or if she would be able to swim again.

Although her future depends largely on the government's decisions, her health has improved and she appears as having better chances of survival. Will keep you posted.

Baby orca whale 'Pascuala' is now swimming unaided at Vallarta Adventures Dolphin center in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit.