A mother orca has died after getting stuck on a beach on Vancouver Island.

According to the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), in a social media post, the animal drowned Saturday near the village of Zeballos.

The incident was reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s incident reporting line (DFO), and crews responded immediately.

Videos of the incident have been circulating on various social media accounts.

Despite the effort to rescue her, the mother drowned, MERS said.

“The incoming tide and inability to refloat her so she was not on her side, led to her death,” a social media post reads.

Posts on social media show locals putting wet towels on the mother as her calf swam nearby.

Crews believe she was a Bigg’s Killer Whale.

It’s unclear how she became beached, but MERS believes she may have been hunting during high tide.

“The incoming tide and inability to refloat her so she was not on her side, led to her death,” its social media post read.

“There may have been something wrong with the mother’s health/condition whereby she was more subject to stranding on the lower tide. A necropsy could possibly provide insight.”

-With files from David Nadalini