An international orca expert has arrived in the country to check on a young orca found alone in a Bay of Plenty waterway.
The Department of Conservation and Orca Research Trust founder Dr Ingrid Visser have been working to help save the young orca, believed to be between six months and a year old, after it became separated from its pod.
Dr Visser arranged for international orca expert Jeff Foster to fly from America to provide assistance and advice.
This morning she said Mr Foster had touched down and she was urging him on "like Sea Biscuit" to get out to the scene and assess the calf.
"It's a very complex situation with lots of moving parts," Dr Visser said.