Shifting ice frees trapped whales

MONTREAL – About a dozen killer whales trapped under sea ice appeared to be free after the ice shifted, village officials in Canada’s remote north said Thursday, while residents who feared they would get stuck elsewhere hired a plane to track them down.

The whales’ predicament in the frigid waters of Hudson Bay made international headlines. Locals had been planning a rescue operation with chain saws and drills before the mammals slipped away.

Tommy Palliser said two hunters from remote Inukjuak village reported that the waters had opened up around the area where the cornered whales had been bobbing frantically for air around a single, truck-size hole in the ice. Officials said shifting winds might have pushed the ice away.

“It’s certainly good news – that’s good news for the whales,” said Palliser, an adviser with the regional government.

But fears remained that the whales might have been trapped elsewhere by the ever-moving ice. Some villagers were skeptical the killer whales had escaped harm, so the community hired an airplane to scan the region Thursday.

Mark O’Connor, a wildlife official, said the aerial search did not locate the orcas, but he noted that large swaths of ice-free water were seen in the area.