This is the heroic moment a stranded killer whale is rescued with the help of an excavator after it beached itself and became stuck in sand and snow in Russia.

Footage shows the excavator digging around the whale, reportedly a young female, before rescuers fit her with a harness on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka Peninsula, on November 14.

The whale is then lifted by the excavator and returned safely to the ocean.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said: 'On the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) personnel are rescuing an orca stranded in shallow water.

'A young female orca became trapped in an estuary in the Sea of Okhotsk. This occurred near the village of Ustyevo. Due to the ebb tide and shallow water, she was unable to breathe, and cracks appeared on her skin.

'Using heavy equipment, the animal was moved so she could swim away with the incoming tide. EMERCOM inspectors and volunteers were manually dousing her with water to prevent her skin from drying out.'

Despite being called 'killer whales,' orcas are not whales but the largest species of oceanic dolphins. They are highly intelligent and social animals, often living in groups called pods, which can consist of up to 40 individuals.

They hunt cooperatively, and swimming in pods at high speed allows them to work together to herd, chase, and overwhelm prey, such as schools of fish, seals, or even large marine mammals like whales.