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25 January
2003
Saturday, Jan 25, 2003
- 1:00 - 5:00pm
- very rainy but calm
- 15 visitors
Soon after arriving at the dock today, I began talking to a former
beachcomber who saw Luna leave at 10:00 a.m. following a Coast Guard
boat out. This man has kept close watch over Luna since Luna's arrival
at the dock area this fall and had some interesting observations
to report. One such observation is that Luna stays out of the bay
for days at a time when the Gold River is high and is churning silty
water well out into the bay. He also described an incident he witnessed
not long ago while he watched from the parking area Luna interacting
with some people on the dock. He saw a small group of orcas come
into view between the dock and the opposite shore. Immediately,
Luna left his admirers, bolted for the log boom, then disappeared.
Luna wasn't seen back at the dock for several days though the transients
didn't remain in the area, only going as far as Guaquina Point and
then heading back out. That goes along with the report of Luna taking
refuge deep in Mooyah Bay this summer when transients entered the
area.
Luna arrived with the Uchuck at about 2:10 p.m. He came right to
the pier to check out the few whale watchers that had braved the
rain. He swam back and forth in front of us for awhile then took
to rubbing one of the moored boats. Donna from the Uchuck came down
to see him and he went right to her, again rolling around getting
a look at everyone from every angle he could. With few people there
and none of them making any contact with him, Luna soon turned his
focus back to the boat and proceeded to give himself a good rub-down.
Wet and chilled and denied a good performance, the few onlookers
there were eventually left so I returned to the parking area to
watch Luna from there. When another couple arrived, Luna did not
approach right away but continued rubbing that boat. After about
five miMr.es he did come have a look, but by then it was raining
so heavily that the couple decided to leave. He hung around with
me for a few miMr.es then had three more visitors that he watched
with interest. They left pretty quickly too and I finally dragged
myself away from him to resume my watch from the parking area. I
spoke with a man there for some time, then, wet and cold went home.
Luna was still molesting that same boat when I left at 5:00.
As for Luna's physical condition:
-There is a large, deep cut across his right eye patch which I photographed.
-The round spot behind his left eye patch that I originally thought
looked like a puncture now looks more like the 'cyst' on his upper
lip. The area around this round Mr. is slightly raised.
-The abrasion on his chin that I noticed last Sunday is healing
very well.
-The shallow indentation behind his blowhole is really plumping
up and has almost totally lost its wrinkly appearance.
-No eye mucus when he arrived at the pier, but it began to develop
as he spent time at the dock. By the time I left it was noticeably
there. (My guess is that the discharge is his body's defense to
the pollutants in the bay that may irritate his eyes).
Mary-Lou
January
18-19 2003
Saturday,
Jan.18 - spent an hour with No sign of whale
Sunday, Jan.19:
-12:30 - 3:30 pm
-cloudy and cold but very calm
-52 visitors (whale watchers) including boat passengers
At 12:40pm a small pleasure craft, the Windbreaker Nootka BC, left
the boat launch and motored out of the inner bay then stopped at
Jacklah Bay. Watching with the telephoto lens I could see that L98
was interacting with the boat and with the passengers who were reaching
out to him. The craft remained from 12:50 until 1:30 when it slowly
came back into dock, L98 playing alongside. As the boat approached,
L98 pushed at it bumping it back away from the dock. It appeared
that the pilot had some difficulty manouvering against Luna's persistent
nudging. The passengers continued to handle the orca despite a warning
from a man on the dock to stop. Once the boat had finally made it
into shallow water, quite a labourious process with a whale underneath,
Luna approached the dock.
All
visitors were treated to an extreme close-up show and everyone was
very amicable about not touching him or even putting their hands
in the water. Luna desperately tried to get some loving, pushing
his belly high out of the water and bringing his nose up level to
the dock edge. His interest was directed for a time at a large dog
on the dock. Eventually, Luna left the dock to engage an approaching
small craft and then the Air Nootka float plane as it taxiied in.
The crowd then dispersed.
L98
did not return to the dock until an older man banged the dock with
a pole. Immediately the orca returned and relished in being rubbed
by the rubber-tipped pole. The man then began to pet Luna. He finally
did stop contact when I insisted upon it and told him who I was.
I spent the next 45 miMr.es speaking with this man and his younger
companion and answering their questions about orcas in general and
Luna in particular. Being ignored, Luna left and headed back toward
Jacklah Bay.
As
for L98's visible condition, he seemed more energetic than he appeared
earlier in the week. He has a red sore on his chin now that looks
like an abrasion and there are a few new scars on his back as well.
The indentation in his back behind his blowhole looks shallower
now and his belly looks plump. I didn't get many photos as I didn't
want to perturb anyone by being in the way. As it is, my mere presence
was enough nuisance to these people, but I did answer quite a few
questions.
Until next time, adieu.
Mary-Lou
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