A killer whale which got stranded in the shallow Wadden Sea, off the north coast of the Netherlands, is doing reasonably well, say carers who took the exhausted animal to the Dolfinarium marine zoo in Harderwijk. "She is in a worrying condition, but we are optimistic," a spokesperson for the zoo said on Thursday.

The young whale, which measures 3.5 metres, was visibly emaciated when she was caught in the Wadden Sea. "She obviously hadn't eaten anything for days," according to the spokesperson. The whale is in a separate basin under around-the-clock supervision to prevent her from injuring herself.

The zoo workers are planning to return the animal to sea when she has recovered. The last time a killer whale, or orca, ventured close to the Dutch coast was in 1943.

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