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Off the coast of Canada swim pods of Killer Whales. These cetaceans, also known as Orcas, hunt primarily on seals and shrimp. They are almost never seen out of water.

On this day, however, beach-goers came upon a shocking sight: a black fish out of water. The young Orca had got stuck on some rocks near the shore and was unable to swim away.

The approximately 6 ton whale cried for hours after it became stuck on the rocks during low-tide at Hartley Bay, British Columbia.

Rescue teams labored for hours with hoses and buckets of water to help prevent the whale from dehydrating. They had no option other than to wait with the large mammal and hope they could keep the cetacean alive long enough for the tide to come back in.

The whale was unable to free itself until several hours later when high-tide came in.