November 5, 2003

Luna News

Orca Network Sightings Report

October 31, 2003

DFO accused of harbouring 'rabid environmentalists'

Jon Ferry, The Province

October 31, 2003

Ottawa pitches in to move Luna -- in spring

Bill Cleverley, Times Colonist

The federal government has found $135,000 to relocate Luna the killer whale from Nootka Sound, but says the attempt won't be made until spring.

The delay has angered some whale-interest groups who worry for the solo whale's emotional well-being and want the four-year-old moved now.

But a spring move will provide enough time for preparations and give the best chance of reuniting the young male with his pod, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Robert Thibault said Thursday.

"It's a little bit of good news, but the bad news -- from my perspective -- is that we're going to wait another six months and that seems to be fraught with risk," said Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society.

DFO earlier maintained it had no funds available for the project. But Thibault announced his department will put up the $135,000 -- matching $100,000 U.S. agencies have offered to try to reunite the orca with its pod in Juan de Fuca Strait.

"I'd think we'd all like to see it happen as soon as we can, but ... it's a very complex undertaking," said John Ford, senior marine mammal scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.

In theory, the whale could be moved at this time of year but it's probably not a good idea, Ford said.

"Our goal is to give him ample opportunity to interact with his pod. The pod leaves the region entirely at some point in the winter. It could be as early as a month from now, or in some years the pod stays longer.

"But we felt we had to work conservatively so that the whale wouldn't be moved and then released, only to have the pod leave the area. Then he would wander around in an unfamiliar area where he may not be able to make a living in the winter."

Luna, who also is called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, has been making Nootka Sound home for two years. He has become a bit of a celebrity in the inlet on Vancouver Island's west coast and is known for playing in the harbour and nuzzling up to boats.

Ford said Luna has been doing well in Gold River for two years and there's no reason to suspect another few months will make any difference.

"He's already been out of the pod for a couple of winters. I don't think a few more months is going to make any difference one way or another.

"In the balance, it's probably better to take our time, to make sure he continues to do well for the winter and hopefully move him as soon as the pod comes back into the area."

But Veins of Life Watershed Society said Luna's future is jeopardized by the delay.

"This whale will now have spent most of his life as a solitary whale. I think those things really do compromise his future."

Much of the $135,000 could be spent by spring on monitoring, he said.

"I'm pleased that we've found some funding but it may be academic by the time Veins of Life Watershed Societyh comes around and we've got a whale whose mental health is compromised beyond repair," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

Luna's pod has been seen in American waters as late as February the past few years, but also has left as early as October, which has raised concerns about a winter move.

No one knows where the whales spend the winters, though they have been seen off the Canadian and California coasts.

October 30, 2003

Canadian Press

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans will add $135,000 Cdn to the $100,000 US already pledged by U.S. officials for relocating Luna, who lives in Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island's west coast.

The orca is notoriously social, bumping noses with boats and getting too close to tourists for scientists' comfort.

It was expected the whale would be moved this year, but a DFO biologist said Thursday he was glad the relocation was delayed.

The window of opportunity to move Luna is closing, scientist John Ford told reporters at a press conference.

"To undertake a ... move, this late in the fall may not give him enough opportunity to bond socially with his pod," said Ford.

The move must be done very carefully and slowly in order to give the whale the best possible chance to reunite with its pod near U.S. waters, he said.

More funding for the move is still required.

"Private funding from the public will still be necessary," said DFO official Marilyn Joyce. She did not say how much more cash was needed.

Right now Luna, all called L-98, is healthy and thriving.

Low boat traffic in Nootka Sound means both Luna and the public will be safe for the winter, said Ford.

"When we first found him up there two years ago, we were quite concerned he wouldn't be able to make it through the winter," said Ford.

But the whale demonstrated the necessary survival skills and scientists aren't worried now.

"There are very few boats up there," he said. "He's looking fine. He's spending very little time interacting with boats."

Scientists had considered simply moving the whale to a remote location away from boat traffic. But the orca is fixated on boats and experts predicted he would find his way back to people.

"The group felt if you took him to even the most remote inlet or bay on the coast, it wouldn't be long before he'd hear a boat and seek it out and follow that boat to more boats," said Ford.

How Luna ended up alone in Nootka Sound near the community of Gold River remains a mystery.

The four-year-old, who arrived in 2001, has attempted to rub up against some boats and his need for human attention has been worsening as some people have reportedly tried pouring beer down his blow hole and brushing his teeth.

Scientists have said captivity is an extreme option if reunion efforts fail.

October 30, 2003

Thibault Announces Contribution to Luna Relocation Project

DFO News Release NR-PR-03-061e

VANCOUVER – The Honourable Robert G. Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced that his department will contribute $135,000 (Cdn) for the Luna relocation project.  This amount will match the $100,000 (US) recently announced by the United States.

The Minister also confirmed that after consulting with a variety of experts, he was advised that the chances of L98 (Luna) successfully reuniting with his pod will be greater in the spring.  Extensive preparations are necessary in this type of operation to maximize the chances of success. A relocation is best done in the spring when weather and the proximity of the pod are optimal.

As a result, no attempt will be made to remove the whale from the Nootka Sound area, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, throughout the winter. 

“I recognize the tremendous Canadian and international interest in the well-being of this animal,” said Minister Thibault.  “My preference is to give Luna the opportunity to reunite with his pod.  It will be a complex process, and leaving the whale in Nootka Sound over the winter gives us time to work with other interested partners to come up with the right solution with the best chance of success.”

DFO will collaborate with the National Marine Fisheries Service in the United States and other partners to explore ways to successfully reunite L98 with his pod.  All planning efforts will be undertaken in consultation with independent scientific advice and will take into account the well-being of the animal, the likelihood of a successful relocation and the safety of the public.  A plan to monitor and protect the whale and the public during the winter months will also be implemented.

“Given that the opportunities for L98 to connect with his pod diminish rapidly as winter approaches, our best chance for a successful reintroduction will be to wait until the spring when L98’s pod returns to these transboundary waters,” explained Dr. John Ford, head marine mammal scientist with DFO’s Pacific Region.  “Our goal is to undertake the relocation in a manner that will maximize the likelihood of a successful reintroduction. Rushing relocation at this time presents a very uncertain outcome.”

If reintroduction fails, the Minister said other alternatives, such as captivity, will need to be explored.

L98 is a solitary killer whale that has been frequenting the waters of Nootka Sound at the mouth of Gold River since the spring of 2001.  The four-year-old whale is a member of the Southern Resident L-pod.

October 29, 2003

Moving whale over seas relatively cheap

The Province, Commentary

It's only half the cost to send a government official over seas.

They say they don't have the money for this relocation operation or that "It's not in the budget." They are just being greedy.

Jonathan Ladret,

Victoria
----------------------------------

I feel sorry for Luna the orca and feel it's imperative to reunite this obviously lonely and social animal with its family as soon as possible. The U.S. government has put up $100,000. Canada would need to contribute about $300,000. I can't believe the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is waffling on this relatively small amount of money. Perhaps we should divert some money from Rideau Hall.

Rose Meyer,

Delta

October 28, 2003

Luna now logistical problem

Sandra McCulloch, Times Colonist

October 27, 2003

Associated Press, Vancouver Sun

October 27, 2003

For Luna, cash spells reunion

Cindy E. Harnett, Times Colonist

"I think it's going to happen within three weeks," said Michael Harris, of the Seattle-based Orca Conservancy. "I'm so excited."

The objective is to move the one-tonne killer whale, which has been living in Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island for more than two years, back to its pod in American waters.

The money from the National Marine Fisheries Service should allow the move -- stalled in Canada by a lack of funds -- to go forward, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell told a news conference Sunday. She was joined by the Fisheries Service's regional director, Bob Lohn, and state Fish and Wildlife director Jeff Koenings

The money comes from a larger fund for research and conservation of the southern resident orca population, whose numbers are down to about 83 -- 84 including Luna.

They're listed as endangered in Canada and depleted in the U.S. "This is not just a fuzzy whale story, it's a direct measure to help recover a population in big trouble," said Harris. "We're a hair's breath away from making this happen," said Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society. "We're a decision away."

That final decision must come from Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"At this point, there needs to be an urgent response from DFO to issue the authorization," said Veins of Life Watershed Society. "We certainly can't wait a week for DFO to make a decision. It needs to be made in a matter of days."

Four-year-old Luna is also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod. The pod has been seen in Seattle-area waters as late as February the past few years, but has left as early as October, which raised concerns about a winter move. No one knows where the whales spend the winters, though they have been seen off the Canadian and California coasts.

Marilyn Joyce, DFO marine mammal co-ordinator, was unable to return calls Sunday night.

Canada is already working with the U.S. agency and third parties on funding, said spokeswoman Lara Sloan with DFO's Vancouver office. She noted that the cost of the move had been estimated at about $350,000.

Once the plan is fully authorized, however, Veins of Life Watershed Society, also manager of the Luna Stewardship Project said: "I think we'll find the other pieces of funding we need."

And once the Canadian government has given the go-ahead, the U.S. navy has committed its resources to transport Luna, possibly to Pedder Bay near Race Rocks.

"It's historic when you think of it," said Harris. "It's momentous. They should be applauded."

"No one will stop the U.S. navy from taking Luna across the border, not even Homeland Security," quipped Veins of Life Watershed Society.

The problem is not so much that Luna is on his own, said Lohn. There are previous incidents, dating back 100 years, of juvenile orcas living on their own for up to a year.

But Luna's attempts to cozy up to boats pose threats to both sides. Recently, "just for fun, Luna was bouncing a sea plane," he said.

Such playful behaviour could have had disastrous results for the plane's occupants -- and the whale has suffered deep gashes from encounters with boats.

Safety concerns prompted Canada's decision to try to move Luna -- with the work and expense farmed out to private groups. But those with viable proposals couldn't come up with the money, Canadian officials announced last week.

Before being returned to his 18-year-old mom and two-year-old brother or several other relatives, scientists may fit Luna with a tracking device. Suggestions include bolting a satellite tag through the cartilage tissue of his dorsal fin or using a VHF transmitter for short- and long-term tracking.

"This is a critical project to the survival of the orca population," said Harris. For more than 30 years, scientists have scratched their collective heads over where the whales go in the winter -- that answer's worth $100,000 alone, said Harris.

Luna turned up in Nootka Sound in July 2001 -- either he followed his uncle who died, leaving Luna stranded and alone, or he simple got lost. Either way, he has learned to take care of himself.

"This little guy is a survivor," said Harris.

-- with files from The Associated Press

October 26, 2003

U.S. comes through on aid for Luna

Richard Watts, Times Colonist

A press conference is scheduled for today at the Port of Seattle where it is expected an announcement will be made that money and assistance is available to bring the four-year-old orca back to U.S. waters.

Michael Harris, president of Orca Conservancy, said Saturday that a broad coalition of people and groups, including the navy, a Washington state senator, state fish and wildlife officials and non-government agencies have agreed to help in moving the whale.

Harris said they may be supporting the effort with money. They may be supporting it with people, time and resources. The key is they are all on side.

He said a dollar estimate is difficult but he didn't believe the cost would exceed $150,000 U.S.

Normally, four-year-old Luna's pod can be found around Puget Sound and the southern end of the Strait of Georgia.

Luna showed up in Nootka Sound in July of 2001. It's believed he was orphaned shortly after birth and later nursed by two females in his pod.

One theory is that he was swimming along with his uncle who died, leaving Luna stranded and alone. Over the next two years he followed food sources to Nootka Sound. Another theory is that he couldn't keep up with the big whales and lost his way.

Harris said that while Luna is apparently surviving well, the animal is becoming socially unhealthy.

Instead of other whales, Luna is making up to boats. So it's imperative to get him back to his own kind as quickly as possible, said Harris.

Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans speculated last week the whale might have to be left where he is because of lack of money.

But DFO has also shown some interest in a removal/reunite proposal submitted by the Vancouver Aquarium and a U.S. group.

Harris said the best thing DFO can do now is give permission for the effort to move forward.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans and both groups that propose to move Luna have concluded spring could be a better time to make the move.

"We're looking at a new approach where Luna can be left in Nootka Sound over the winter with monitoring to give the groups time to raise funds," said department spokeswoman Lara Sloan.

The department likes the proposals of two groups - the Vancouver Aquarium and a Seattle-based organization - to undertake the move. But while both have the expertise for the job, neither has the money.

"I'd rather have more time to make sure all the ducks are in a row before we undertake this thing," said Bob McLaughlin, president of Global Research and Rescue.

"This is not going to be a simple process."

Luna, a four-year-old, one-tonne killer whale, has spent most of his life on his own off the coast of Vancouver Island at Gold River.

But the orca has become increasingly sociable. He has attempted to rub up against some boats and his need for human attention has been worsening as some people have reportedly tried pouring beer down his blow hole and brushing his teeth.

A scientific panel concluded the whale must be moved because like a bear that has gotten used to human garbage, Luna has become a nuisance animal. There are concerns he might overturn a boat.

Scientists have said if the whale cannot be relocated, extreme options for his future include captivity or euthanasia.

The plan was to move Luna down the island coast to a spot near Victoria by December. Luna's pod often swims in U.S. waters near there.

McLaughlin said it could cost up to $1 million to do the move now, whereas it would probably be only a quarter or half that to wait until the spring.

Much of the money will likely have to come from public donations.

Sloan said waiting until spring won't be a problem for Luna.

Boating traffic in Nootka Sound is much lower in the winter.

"There will be much fewer interactions (with Luna) over the winter so its more manageable, that's for sure," said Sloan.

"Public safety is always a concern . . . but we're confident that leaving him there over the winter won't pose a problem."

McLaughlin said his organization and the Vancouver Aquarium also need some time to have their concerns about liability answered.

They want some assurances from the Canadian government, the U.S. government or both that they won't be sued if Luna damages property or hurts someone, he said.

"If Luna decides to go into his old habits...and rubs against float planes and damages them and damages boats and maybe knocks people in the water - all not because he's malicious but because that's what he does for fun - then someone could come at us and say, 'Geez, you should have known that this would have happened and therefore you're to blame.'"

Clint Wright, vice-president of operations and animal management at the Vancouver Aquarium, said looking at the liability issues is just good business practice.

Last year, the aquarium conducted the successful mission to reunite another lonely orca, Springer, with her pod.

But there are several differences between Springer and Luna. Springer was sick and hadn't developed an affection for human contact. Luna is healthy and appears happy where he is now.

October 23, 2003

Luna Needs Funding to be Relocated - DFO Updates

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

DFO has reviewed the proposals to relocate L98 to Juan de Fuca Strait to give him the opportunity to reunite with other L-pod killer whales. Two groups have outlined a viable approach, but neither has the funding to implement a plan to relocate Luna. The department is working collaboratively with the US (National Marine Fisheries Service) and third parties to discuss options regarding funding for the operation.

If funds cannot be secured shortly, DFO will consider delaying relocation until the spring with a plan to monitor and protect the whale and the public during the winter months. DFO wants to do everything possible to maximize the likelihood of a successful reintroduction of L98 to L-pod, and will work in collaboration with the proponents, the scientific panel and other experts to manage the situation in Gold River over the winter.

October 16, 2003

Ottawa eyes three Luna reunion plans

Sandra McCulloch, Times Colonists

The government announced Wednesday that three proposals had been received late Tuesday, offering ways to move a young male orca out of Nootka Sound. The whale is posing a hazard to boaters near Gold River.

Details of the plans to move the four-year-old orca back to its family pod in Juan de Fuca Strait are sketchy and the federal government is giving no hints as to which, if any, of the proposals would get the nod.

The young male orca has become an attraction for some and a nuisance for others in Gold River, where he's settled since becoming separated from his pod two years ago.

Word spread Wednesday that the three groups submitting proposals to move Luna, also known as L98, are the Vancouver Aquarium, the Friday Harbor Whale Museum and a U.S.-based capture group.

Ideas are one thing, cash is quite another.

"Money is an issue for everyone -- we're quite challenged with the money thing," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Luna Stewardship Project, who has been working on an element of the Vancouver Aquarium proposal. Veins of Life Watershed Society hopes that any group awarded the scientific licence to move the whale from Nootka Sound will become eligible for government funds from Canada, the U.S. -- or both.

"It's hoped that once the plan is accepted, money will be there," said Veins of Life Watershed Society.

Fisheries and Oceans staff will go through the proposals and may, by next week, be ready to narrow the field, said spokeswoman Deborah Phelan.

While scientists from the Vancouver Aquarium were instrumental in the successful relocation of another young orca last year, the situation is much different here. A young female orca nicknamed Springer attracted a lot of media attention and public donations, said aquarium spokeswoman Angela Nielsen.

"There doesn't seem to be the same public interest in Luna," she said.

A fundraising drive by the aquarium "is going rather slowly," she said.

Only $4,400 has been collected in donations for a venture that's estimated to cost upwards of $600,000.

"We've offered what we can bring to the table but we don't feel we can afford it on our own," said Nielsen.

If the Vancouver Aquarium proposal is not accepted, the people there will lend a hand if asked.

"We just want what's best for Luna," she said.

"If we're not selected we will do whatever we can to assist whoever is."

Luna's plight has attracted attention of people across the country. News reports prompted former Victoria resident Larry Chickoski -- now a resident of Moose Jaw, Sask. -- to telephone the Times Colonist with a suggestion.

Chickoski suggests those wanting to fundraise open a bank account accessible to Canadians wanting to contribute.

"I'd toss in 10 bucks and there are an awful lot of people like me across Canada who would do the same."

The story of Luna touched Chickoski, he said.

"I feel for this animal. I'm an animal lover. Luna is missing his pod, he's missing his friends. He's adopting boats and somebody is going to get hurt.

"He's not dangerous -- he's a kid. To him the bottom of a 15-foot boat looks like a good looking girl."

October 16, 2003

Keep Luna away from boats and people

Travis Merriman, Times Colonist Opinion

This seems logical, but if we think about it for just a miMr.e, we learn that his pod is L-pod. L-pod lives here, off the south coast of Vancouver Island. L-pod sees more boats and people than any other pod of whales on the entire planet, I am sure.

In Gold River, there is only a handful of boats compared to that population in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is my opinion that if we reunite Luna with L-pod, we are simply placing him in greater danger. He will see more people and boats, thereby he will likely approach more people and boats. That could be a huge bonus to the whale-watching business in this area, but it would place Luna and his entire family in greater danger.

It is also my opinion that Luna may be best left in Nootka Sound, to do what he may. He is in less danger there and he does not endanger any other of his kind.

If it is not acceptable in the eyes of the officials and experts to leave Luna in Gold River, maybe we should ship him to another inlet somewhere north -- away from people.

Travis Merriman,

Victoria.

October 15, 2003

Ottawa closes call for Luna move
Orca's return to family inches closer as officials begin weighing proposals

Sandra McCulloch, Times Colonist

A proposal, if accepted by Fisheries and Oceans, is expected to Mr. the next step in reuniting Luna with his family pod. Ministry spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau Sloan wouldn't comment on how many proposals have been received. Consideration will be given "to any group who can demonstrate the expertise and the financial capacity to carry out the operation," Sloan said.

An army of government officials, scientists and interest groups agree the young orca must be moved away from populated areas. Every day people crowd on the dock at Gold River on the chance they'll see the whale -- even though they could be criminally charged if they touch him.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans wants to move Luna, known to scientists as L98, to Juan de Fuca Strait in the hope he will be reunited with its family, the L pod. But some fear moving the whale to a more populated area will only increase his chances of harming or being harmed by humans.

A public forum in Seattle Wednesday evening attracted about 100 people who had questions about plans for moving Luna out of Nootka Sound, said Lara Sloan, spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Opinions differ on whether he should be moved to Pedder Bay in Metchosin or to San Juan Island in the U.S. to await a reunion with his pod. The final route and destination will decided after a group is given permission to relocate Luna.

No funds will be available from the federal government for the operation that's estimated to cost $500,000. But there are hints the U.S. government might pitch in, using funds reserved for stranding emergencies.

Dealing with a frightened orca in tight quarters can be dangerous, making liability an issue. Bob Wood of the Seattle-based Global Research and Rescue group said the U.S. and Canada handle liability differently.

"In the U.S. if you have a permit to move an animal because it's a nuisance, you're seen as an employee of the federal government (and liability is covered).

"With Canada, it's all going to fall on the permit holder. We're all trying to get a handle on that. You have so many people involved and the last thing you want to happen is someone get hurt and put everybody in jeopardy."

Time is a factor, Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "We're past our due date. L pod's location in our southern waters becomes less well-known every day. ...We're not sure when they're going to leave."

But Fisheries and Oceans staff is calling for patience.

"In the last four years, (the L pod) has been around the inland waters, Juan de Fuca, the San Juans until January and as late as February," said Sloan. "While we do want to get this going as soon as possible, we're not running out of time."

October 15, 2003

Aquarium's plan to save orca orphan short funds

Damian Inwood , The Province

But aquarium spokeswoman Angela Nielsen said that so far, a "proactive" fundraising push has only raised $2,400 toward a rescue that could cost as much as $600,000.

"We're responding within the limits of our resources," she said. "We are non-profit and self-supporting, which means we can't afford to fund this entirely on our own."

The aquarium was putting the finishing touches to its plan yesterday afternoon before presenting it to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Nielsen said that when Springer, another orphaned orca, was rescued last year, the aquarium spent about $100,000 in the $600,000 operation.

She said Luna's rescue could cost about the same.

"It could be around that or a little bit less or a little bit more," she said. "Donations are coming in rather slowly. We're only at just over $2,400 so there's a long way to go."

In Springer's case, the female orca was taken from the waters around Seattle to northern Vancouver Island.

Luna has been living in the waters off Gold River for two years and has become too friendly with people.

People have poured beer down Luna's blowhole, and run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on the whale's head.

In May, a Gold River woman was fined $100 for petting Luna.

The DFO is looking to move Luna from Nootka Sound to Pedder Bay near Victoria where the whale can link up with its family.

"It's important to get going fairly soon because his family pod is there now and will be leaving the area in December," she said. "It's got to be soon."

Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Luna Stewardship Project said his group is looking at supporting the aquarium's proposal.

DFO spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau said more details should be announced today.

dinwood@png.canwest.com

October 14, 2003

Groups fail to show for orca in distress

Frank Luba, Canadian Press; Province

The clock runs out today for organizations with the expertise and deep pockets to move the four-year-old orca, but one group that's been watching Luna for more than a year says that's not enough time.

"I'm feeling less optimistic with each passing hour," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Luna Stewardship Project. "We know that the captivity option is one that has raised a lot of interest from the captive industry. I think the public would go wild over a captive future for this whale."

It costs an aquarium about $1 million to buy a whale, but a captive whale is worth about $50 million in gate receipts, said Veins of Life Watershed Society.

The Vancouver Aquarium no longer has orcas after the city's parks board passed a bylaw banning them.

The aquarium will discuss Luna's status today with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"I know we have staff looking at how much we can help Luna," said spokeswoman Angela Neilson.

Luna has been living in the waters off Gold River for the past two years. He was doing well away from his pod, but has lately become too friendly with people.

He's now become a nuisance and scientists are concerned he will injure or kill someone in his efforts to cozy up. If that happens, like garbage bears who eventually attack, he would have to be put down.

On Oct. 3, the federal fisheries department issued a request for proposals to move Luna, giving anyone wanting to try the tricky and costly operation just over a week to respond.

As of late last week, no one had.

"The detail . . . and the implications in that reunification plan are fairly extraordinary," said Veins of Life Watershed Society. "It's unrealistic to allow five working days to respond to such a comprehensive request for proposals."

The department is looking for an organization that would move the one-tonne whale some 250 kilometres down the coast from Nootka Sound to Pedder Bay, near Victoria. There, Luna would wait until his pod swims by and hopefully make a connection to his long-lost family, which includes his mother.

Luna's pod is due in the neighbourhood sometime around December.

"There's all sorts of different contingencies," said John Ford, a scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "It's really quite a complex operation -- the whole idea of coralling or capturing this whale, holding him for medical screening, transporting him to southern Vancouver Island, holding him for a bit longer to adjust for the transport and then hopefully releasing him when his pod is going by."

The cost of relocating Luna is estimated at about $270,000.

October 14, 2003

Time's running out for Luna the lonely whale
Captivity is an option if he can't rejoin his pod

Terri Theodore , Canadian Press

The clock runs out today for organizations with the expertise and deep pockets to move Luna, the four-year-old orca that has been living alone in the waters off Gold River on Vancouver Island for the past two years.

But one group that's been watching Luna for more than a year says that's not enough time.

"I'm feeling less optimistic with each passing hour," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, of the Luna Stewardship Project.

"We know that the captivity option is one that has raised a lot of interest from the captive industry. I think the public would go wild over a captive future for this whale."

It costs an aquarium about $1 million to buy a whale, but a captive whale is worth about $50 million in gate receipts, Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

The Vancouver Aquarium no longer has orcas after the city's park board passed a bylaw banning them.

Luna's problem is that while he has been doing well in his lonely environment away from his pod, he has lately become too friendly with people.

He's now become a nuisance animal and scientists are concerned he will injure or kill someone in his efforts to cosy up to humans. If that happens, Luna would have to be put down.

"If an incident ever did take place where human life was at risk, then there was discussion of lethal force as an option," said John Ford, a scientist with the department of fisheries and oceans.

"But it's such a remote contingency that we're not really spending any time on it," he added.

People have reportedly poured beer down Luna's blow hole and tried to brush his teeth. Run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

The fisheries department issued its request for proposals to move Luna Oct. 3, giving anyone wanting to try the tricky and costly operation just over a week to respond.

By last Friday, no one had, but Veins of Life Watershed Society said the time frame was unrealistic.

The department is looking for an organization that would move the one-tonne whale some 250 kilometres down the coast from Nootka Sound to Pedder Bay, near Victoria. There, Luna would wait until his pod swims by and hopefully, make a connection with his long-lost family, which includes his mother.

Luna's pod is due in the neighbourhood sometime around December.

The plan is similar to the successful effort last year to move Springer from the busy waters near Seattle to northern Vancouver Island. She reunited with her pod after the $600,000 effort.

Ford said the complex operation requires a complicated and detailed set of obligations from any organization wanting to attempt the move.

"It's really whether a group can come forward with the right personnel and resources to implement the plan," he said.

"There's all sorts of different contingencies. It's really quite a complex operation, the whole idea of corralling or capturing this whale, holding him for medical screening, transporting him to southern Vancouver Island, holding him for a bit longer to adjust for the transport and then hopefully releasing him when his pod is going by."

The hope is that Luna will find his own pod mates more fascinating than boats.

But Ford said it's hard to predict what's going to happen.

"I'm having a hard time putting odds on this. I'm optimistic, but at the same time realistic, in that there is such a different set of circumstances surrounding Luna as opposed to Springer."

Scientists and Luna watchers agree that, unlike Springer, Luna is happy and healthy in his current environment.

Brian Gorman, of the National Marine Fisheries Service in the United States, said Luna's loneliness may even be perfectly normal.

"His problem is not health, it's not even location, it's people," Gorman said.

October 14, 2003

Give Luna pals in Nootka Sound

John Earnshaw, Times Colonist Opinion

Two hundred years ago on the lake behind Friendly Cove, the Mowachaht people built an elaborate shrine that expressed their spiritual connection to the whales they hunted in Nootka Sound. This was an expression of a culture that hunted whales and salmon for survival. That cultural imperative is dead to the Mowachaht people, but it lives on in the culture of the orcas.

Mike Maquinna, chief of the Mowachaht, recently expressed the spiritual connection of the Mowachaht people to orcas, when he welcomed Luna to stay in Nootka Sound. I have been to Friendly Cove many times with my family and the Mowachaht welcomed me, and have welcomed visitors, including Captain Cook, for millennia. Today they have welcomed Luna.

I have a suggestion. Why not build a Nootka Sound pod of orcas? There are lots of healthy captives around. Luna could be the chief. He knows how to hunt and the lay of the land and the introduction of real orcas would distract him from his fixation on boats.

In my opinion Luna knows very well where his family is. He chooses not to go there. How many of us can understand that? The culture of orcas has many parallels to human aboriginal culture, which has almost passed from the planet in a most tragic manner, partly as the result of meddling "for their own good" by the dominant culture. Let's try a more creative approach.

John Earnshaw,

Victoria.

October 13, 2003

Groups plead for more time to arrange transfer of lonely orca Luna

TERRI THEODORE, Canadian Press

The clock runs out Tuesday for organizations with the expertise and deep pockets to move the four-year-old orca, but one group that's been watching Luna for more than a year says that's not enough time.

"I'm feeling less optimistic with each passing hour," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, of the Luna Stewardship Project.

"We know that the captivity option is one that has raised a lot of interest from the captive industry. I think the public would go wild over a captive future for this whale."

It costs an aquarium about $1 million to buy a whale, but a captive whale is worth about $50 million in gate receipts, said Veins of Life Watershed Society.

The Vancouver Aquarium no longer has orcas after the city's parks board passed a bylaw banning them.

Luna has been living in the waters off Gold River, on Vancouver Island, for the past two years. The whale was doing well in his lonely environment away from his pod, but has lately become too friendly with people.

He's now become a nuisance animal and scientists are concerned he will injure or kill someone in his efforts to cozy up to humans. If that happens, like garbage bears who eventually attack, Luna would have to be put down.

"If an incident ever did take place where human life was at risk, then there was discussion of lethal force as an option," said John Ford, a scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"But it's such a remote contingency that we're not really spending any time on it," he added.

People have reportedly poured beer down Luna's blow hole and tried to brush his teeth. Run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

The Fisheries Department issued its request for proposals to move Luna Oct. 3, giving anyone wanting to try the tricky and costly operation just over a week to respond.

By last Friday, no one had.

"The detail . . . and the implications in that reunification plan are fairly extraordinary," said Veins of Life Watershed Society.

"It's unrealistic to allow five working days to respond to such a comprehensive request for proposals."

The department is looking for an organization that would move the one-tonne whale some 250 kilometres down the coast from Nootka Sound to Pedder Bay, near Victoria. There, Luna would wait until his pod swims by and hopefully, make a connection to his long-lost family, which includes his mother.

Luna's pod is due in the neighbourhood sometime around December.

The plan is similar to the successful effort last year to move Springer from the busy waters near Seattle to northern Vancouver Island. She reunited with her pod after the $600,000 effort.

Ford said the complex operation requires a complicated and detailed set of obligations from any organization wanting to attempt the move.

"It's really whether a group can come forward with the right personnel and resources to implement the plan," he said.

"There's all sorts of different contingencies. It's really quite a complex operation, the whole idea of coralling or capturing this whale, holding him for medical screening, transporting him to southern Vancouver Island, holding him for a bit longer to adjust for the transport and then hopefully releasing him when his pod is going by."

The hope is Luna will find his own pod mates more fascinating than boats.

But Ford said it's hard to predict what's going to happen.

"I'm having a hard time putting odds on this. I'm optimistic, but at the same time, realistic in that there is such a different set of circumstances surrounding Luna as opposed to Springer."

Scientists and Luna watchers agree that unlike Springer, Luna is happy and healthy in his current environment.

Brian Gorman, of the National Marine Fisheries Service in the United States, said Luna's loneliness may even be perfectly normal.

"His problem is not health, it's not even location, it's people," Gorman said.

October 11, 2003

Luna to landlubbers: Leave me the heck alone

BILL RADKE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Hi, Luna the orca here. Ever since I broke away from my pod, I've been hanging out with the humans off Vancouver Island. That's my business, right? Well, apparently not, because I hear you want to lure me into to a pen and return me to the wild. I know you didn't bother to ask me, but I have news for you: The wild sucks.

Here is a list of all the different things an orca does in a typical day in the wild:

1: Hunt for food.

That's it. That's the entire rundown. Every miMr.e of every day it's the same thing. You know all that groaning and whistling we do? Here's what we're saying:

"Have you guys found any food yet?"

"Nothing. You?"

"Not yet."

"How about now? Have you found any food?"

"No, still no food."

"Me neither. I don't think there's any food. Hey, wait!"

"What? Did you find food?"

"No, I thought I'd found food, but I was wrong."

"Oh, OK. Well, let me know if you find food."

I finally got so sick of this that I peeled off and swam here to Nootka Sound. It's really nice, lots of kayakers and day-trippers and tourists. They get a big kick out of me. They're always trying to brush my teeth and pour beer into my mouth. Stupid but harmless, you know?

Don't get me wrong, I love my fellow orcas. But god, they're so gloomy. Plus, they're always griping about being cold. And to top it off, they're arrogant because they don't have any natural predators. It's like hanging out with Norwegians.

I prefer the company of humans. But one thing I don't get about you is the names you give us. You do know that "Luna" is a woman's name, right? Luna Pad is a brand of tampon. I'm not a female, I'm a male. I knew a female orca who split from her pod last year and for some reason you called her Springer.

Springer was a funny kid. We dated briefly, until she started having an affair with the Vashon car ferry. It was a blow to my ego but, hey, whatever made her happy was OK by me. But not you humans. You held international symposia about how lonely Springer must be to have this weird ferry fetish. Then you hauled her onto a barge and dumped her off British Columbia, and you toasted your success when she didn't return to Vashon. Would you have come back? She was humiliated.

Well, you're not gonna do it to me, baby. Who are you to say how I ought to live? You keep saying orcas aren't meant to socialize with people. So what? Humans aren't meant to breathe underwater, but that didn't stop Jacques Cousteau from annoying us down here for 60 years.

You humans are really something. You like us animals to be all wild and untainted by human contact. Ooh, that's so romantic. Except while we're out being wild, you're chasing us around in a motor boat, gawking. Do you know how annoying that is?

And by the way, guess what we're eating out there. Salmon. That's the same crime you wanted to kill Herschel the sea lion for down at the Ballard Locks, but you want to spend $300,000 to sic me on the chinook. Don't you people have budget deficits?

I'll tell you what. You want me to be wild? Then leave me alone and let me do what I want. And if my thing is entertaining the yokels, then that's my thing.

See, you assume we whales are just dumb animals. Well, we are, but we're not all dumb in the same way -- just like you humans. Some of you voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor of California, some of you voted for Larry Flynt. Some of you voted to recall Gray Davis, and then voted for Gray Davis. Dumb, yes. But should those voters be shipped to Canada? OK, yes, they should be shipped to Canada.

What I'm trying to say is ... well, I think it was the people who voted for former child TV actor Gary Coleman who said it best:

Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,

Thanking you in advance for letting me be diff'rent,

-- Luna

October 10, 2003

Luna could be lonesome L-pod kid

Andrew Nord, The Province Opinion

It would be risky and costly to re-unite Luna with the L-pod. We need to protect Luna and he seems happy and healthy where he is. How do we know that Luna is not a lonesome and unwanted kid in the L- pod?

Let's observe and learn from this magnificent mammal. He has provided us with a marvelous opportunity to learn from him.

Enforce the laws to protect Luna, the greatest killer whale on B.C.'s West Coast.

Andrew Nord,

Port Coquitlam

October 9, 2003

Luna Forum

Orca Network Sightings Report

Susan Berta & Howard Garrett
Orca Network

October 9, 2003

Vancouver Aquarium asked to lead Luna move

Charlie Anderson, The Province 

Fred Felleman of the U.S.-based Orca Conservancy said American groups believe the aquarium has the scientific expertise needed for the move.

An agency to move Luna will be selected by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Felleman said that as a Canadian organization, the aquarium could expect a sympathetic ear from the DFO.

The estimated cost of moving Luna from Nootka Sound to rejoin L-pod in the San Juans is about $270,000.

Groups on both sides of the border are raising money.

"We're actively going after the Prescott Stranding Grant," said Felleman, referring to a $4-million US fund available for marine- mammal rescues.

The fund helped pay the costs of reintroducing Springer, or A73, to her family in Johnstone Strait last year.

Aquarium spokeswoman Angela Neilson confirmed that the aquarium had been approached about moving Luna, but the board has yet to discuss it.

Luna, meanwhile, is hanging around the dock in Gold River, socializing with people and boats.

"He's been regularly around for the last few days," said Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Veins of Life Watershed Society, which monitors Luna.

"He knows there is more activity at the Gold River dock and that's one of his preferences at this time of the year."

canderson@png.canwest.com

October 9, 2003

Spiritual beliefs are for people, not orphaned whales

June Sewell, The Province Opinion

I don't think so.

Everyone is entitled to their spiritual beliefs, however, those beliefs should not be forced on others.

Spiritual beliefs should not be an issue here. The only issue is what is good for the whale.

Whales are social and need contact with their families.

If Chief Mike Maquinna of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht band was separated from family and friends would he not wish to be reunited with them?

If Luna should take its frustrations out on a small boat and people die, who is going to be responsible? The native band?

Stop playing silly political games. Get the whale swimming back to family.

Reunite Luna with its pod immediately.

June Sewell,

Kelowna

October 8, 2003

Luna could be a victim of too many human friends

Jody Paterson, Times Colonist

If I was counselling that little killer whale in Gold River, I'd be telling him to make a break for the high seas right about now. The orca's 27-month stay in Nootka Sound is clearly coming to an end one way or the other, what with plans underway to reunite him with his pod, and if he waits any longer he just might end up in an aquarium.

The whale's many fans -- some of whom have pushed very, very hard for Luna's relocation -- are trying not to think about that outcome. But the fact is, lifelong captivity and death are both possibilities for Luna if an attempt later this year to relocate the orca, formally known as L-98, goes badly.

"I know a lot of us are having mixed feelings about this," says Susan Berta, of Whidby Island-based Orca Network. "In these kind of situations, it's difficult to know if we're acting in the best interest of the whale and its family."

Are we? Orca advocacy groups have been making a high-profile case for months for the relocation of Luna, and that presumably helped convince the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to reverse its initial decision this spring to leave the wandering whale alone. But with that decision comes a few grim realities about what might happen to Luna if the plan fails.

Berta is particularly concerned with the tight timing. Luna's pod is currently in the San Juan Islands, but the whales typically leave the area sometime between October and January. Meanwhile, DFO has stipulated that Luna can't be held in a temporary pen beyond April.

If Luna's prospective captors -- who have until Monday to get their bids in -- miss that important window for reintroducing the four-year-old whale to his pod, the orca could end up either stranded in the busy Juan de Fuca Strait, killed, or recaptured and placed in permanent captivity.

In a Sept. 8 letter on Washington state's Whale Museum Web site, DFO official Marilyn Joyce acknowledged the gamble.

"One of the risks of intervening is that if it failed, then there may be no other option than to place [Luna] in captivity, as he can be a danger to himself and the public given his current behaviours," wrote Joyce. "As you can imagine, this is not an outcome DFO would like to see."

Michael Harris, of Seattle's Orca Conservancy, calls it the "elephant in the living room." Advocacy groups have been reluctant to jump on the relocation bandwagon for fear of being tainted if things don't go well.

"None of us wanted blood on our hands. I'm afraid that dogmatism slowed the process," says Harris. "But I think we should jump off that bridge when we get to it. We need to get moving on this and raise some money. We don't have time for bickering."

Luna spent his first year in Nootka Sound being adored by charmed passersby, but the bloom gradually came off the rose. The one-tonne whale's habit of nudging around boats and playing with float-plane rudders is more likely to be considered a nuisance in Gold River nowadays.

Relocation is in everyone's best interests, say proponents. Luna needs his family and his family need him, a healthy young male from a pod that doesn't have many.

In the short term, however, it's going to hurt. The whale's idyllic life is about to be disrupted by aggressive pursuit, invasive medical tests, a trip of several hundred kilometres south by boat or truck, and forced reunion with a family that the orca may have abandoned for a reason.

And that's if things go well. If they don't and Luna returns to his boat-nudging ways in even more populated waters, the whale will either have to be euthanized or taken into captivity.

Springer was quickly welcomed back by her pod, notes Harris, and he's confident that Luna's pod will do the same. But speed is of the essence.

"Enough with the if, if, if," says Harris. "Let's get that bloody animal down here, because I know he'll connect."

Not so fast, Mowachuht Chief Mike Maquinna said this week. He believes the whale is the spirit of his dead father, a grand chief who died around the time that Luna first appeared. Luna came to the sound for a reason and should be left there, he contends.

And Alberto Girotto, whose Uchuck III serves the sound and regularly brings him and his crew into contact with Luna, isn't sure the whale even knows it's a different species than the humans it has grown so attached to.

"What's the right thing? I don't know. I just hope we're not rushing it," says Girotto.

"Everybody is rooting for Luna, but the bottom line is I don't want to end up having to go to a California aquarium to see him."

jpaterson@tc.canwest.com

October 8, 2003

Whales bring out social worker in the scientist

Susan Martinuk, Special to The Province

1. Get the one-tonne whale into a pen in Nootka Sound and conduct medical testing.

2. If/when whale is healthy, move whale by boat/truck to a second pen in Pedder Bay.

3. Release whale when its family (the L-pod) swims by.

4. Hope for a successful family reunion with little bloodshed.

The plan was carefully crafted by no less than three levels of bureaucracy: federal fisheries, a Canada-U.S. scientific panel and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

The only thing missing is a wealthy benefactor to underwrite the costs of releasing Luna, carrying out a post-release stewardship program to track it and conducting an on-the-water monitoring program to keep it away from boats and boats away from it. The costs will easily total $1 million.

Last year's orphan killer whale rescue featured Springer, a sickly whale that had also become unnaturally attached to humans and their boats. Having been nursed back to health, it was released and united with family.

Perhaps buoyed by the success (or publicity?) of Springer's rescue, some scientists are determined to try it again.

Others say scientists are acting more like social workers by doing so. One scientist said, "tinkering in their lives when [ever] things go wrong" may be setting a dangerous precedent for whales and other wild animals. To what extent should we intervene?

Are we compelled, or wise, to fix every unhappy situation that has been created by the randomness of nature?

After all, Luna was not orphaned because of mistreatment or abuse by humans. In fact, we don't know why it was rejected by its pod or if it will be accepted back after a 21/2 year absence. Worse than rejection, the pod could kill Luna.

The idea may be well intentioned, but other attempts to return killer whales to their pristine homes haven't worked well.

Keiko, the infamous star of the Free Willy movie that seems to have started all this move-the-whales-here-and-there nonsense, currently thrives in Norway, where it rarely leaves its pen and remains dependent on humans for food and social relationships. Despite $20 million U.S. and five years of human intervention, Keiko remains a kept whale.

Despite different outcomes, the rescues of Keiko and Springer address a common need: They indulge our human desire to do something to preserve or protect nature. Whatever unnatural events we have subsequently caused by doing so don't seem to matter. But isn't this in, and of itself, exploitation? Are we exploiting a whale's well-being -- just so we can feel good?

If we really want to protect animals from the randomness of nature, why not spend millions to protect all wild animals from their natural predators and diseases?

Humans apply a selective emotionalism to killer whales. It's nice, but ironically this sentimentality seems to be fed more by human intervention in nature than by letting nature take its course.

Susan Martinuk is a Vancouver broadcaster and freelance writer.

October 8, 2003

Charlie Anderson, The Province

The Gold River band is angered that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans plans to capture the isolated L Pod orca from Nootka Sound and ship him to the San Juan Islands to be reunited with his family. Chief Mike Maquinna said officials have made little effort to consult with his band about Luna's future.

"[People are jumping] to conclusions, and also to feel or think that they know what's best for it," Maquinna said yesterday. He said Cuuxitt, as the natives call Luna, appeared in his band's territory at about the same time that his father, Chief Ambrose Maquinna, died more than two years ago.

Orcas and wolves are revered in coastal First Nation societies as carriers of the souls of individuals and chiefs.

"For us there is a spiritual significance to it all," said Maquinna. "Throughout our culture the whale and the wolf are very prominent mammals and animals in our teachings."

Marilyn Joyce of Fisheries and Oceans said the department recognizes the orca's significance to the band and has spoken to them.

"Our wish is that, in whatever is done for L98 [Luna's scientific name], that spiritual and cultural connection is respected," she said. "Our first priority has to be public safety and protection of these whales."

Government agencies from both sides of the border will meet tonight in Seattle to discuss how best to move Luna.

Initially, Fisheries and Oceans decided to leave the young male whale in Nootka Sound. But after his many close encounters with humans and boats, the department last week announced plans to reunite Luna with his pod. Last year, a young isolated female orca, A73 (also known as Springer), was taken from Puget Sound and successfully reunited with her relatives in Johnstone Strait.

Fisheries has laid out a general plan under which Luna would be captured, held for medical tests and then moved to Pedder Bay, south of Victoria and close to the territory in which his family swims.

The department has issued a proposal call to organizations to come up with a plan -- and funds -- for the reunion and said it must happen by April 30.

But Mike Harris, president of Seattle-based Orca Conservancy, said the delay has reduced the chances of reuniting Luna with his pod before it leaves the San Juans in late fall.

"Our backs are against the wall primarily because of the lack of leadership from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans," said Harris.

"They have completely tied our hands and precluded our list of options by waiting so long."

canderson@png.canwest.com

October 8, 2003

Natives don't want Luna moved

Charlie Anderson, CanWest News Service

The Mowachaht/Muchalaht band of Gold River is angered by a possible move by the department to capture the isolated orca from Nootka Sound, off Vancouver Island's west coast, and ship him to waters near Victoria to be reunited with his family. The whale arrived in Nootka Sound in mid-July 2001.

Chief Mike Maquinna said fisheries officials have made little effort to consult with his band about Luna's future. "[People are jumping] to conclusions, and also to feel or think that they know what's best for it," Maquinna said Tuesday.

Maquinna said Cuuxitt, as the natives call Luna, appeared in his band's territory about the same time as his father, Chief Ambrose Maquinna, died more than two years ago.

Orcas and wolves are revered in coastal First Nation societies as carriers of the souls of individuals and chiefs.

"For us there is a spiritual significance to it all," said Maquinna. "Throughout our culture the whale and the wolf are very prominent mammals and animals in our teachings."

Marilyn Joyce of Fisheries and Oceans said the department recognizes the orca's significance to the band and has spoken to them. "Our wish is that, in whatever is done for L98 (Luna's scientific name), that spiritual and cultural connection is respected," she said. "Our first priority has to be public safety and protection of these whales."

Government agencies from the United States and Canada will meet tonight in Seattle to discuss how best to move Luna.

Initially, Fisheries and Oceans decided to leave the young male whale in Nootka Sound. But after many close encounters with humans and boats, the decision was reversed.

Last year, a young isolated female orca, A73 (also known as Springer), was taken from Puget Sound and successfully reunited with her northern resident relatives in Johnstone Strait.

Fisheries and Oceans has laid out a general plan under which Luna would be captured, held for medical tests in Nootka Sound and then moved to another pen in Pedder Bay near Race Rocks west of Victoria, close to the territory in which his family swims.

The department has issued a proposal call to organizations with the necessary expertise to come up with a plan -- and funds -- for reuniting Luna.

Specifics would be left to the discretion of the group that carries out the plan.

Jody Paterson: Relocation risks, A3

October 8, 2003

Chief Maquinna is right -- let's leave Luna alone

Jon Ferry, The Province

Forget Iraq, forget Afghanistan, forget even the squatters in Vancouver parks, the Lower Mainland public's most pressing concern seems to revolve around the fate of Luna the lone whale.

Luna, in case you've just returned from Mars, is the orphan male orca who, by all accounts, has been having a whale of a time hanging around Nootka Sound.

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada official told me yesterday her department has been swamped with mail about four-year-old Luna, separated from his U.S.-based L-pod more than two years ago.

"It's been a big media issue. And we have had many, many letters from the public as well," said DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan, adding that tonight she'll be attending a Luna gabfest in Seattle with U.S. and Canadian whale experts.

Now, you'd have thought that a celebrity like Luna would do wonders for the battered economy of nearby Gold River. Certainly, he's been the source of much local merriment, with onlookers reportedly pouring beer down his blow-hole and even brushing his teeth. And it may be more than mere coincidence that, since ancient Roman times, Diana and Luna and the word "lunatic" have all been associated -- with the moon.

But the no-fun DFO decided recently the party had to end because Luna was attracting a bad crowd. And a highly orchestrated plan to move the orca to Victoria to reunite him with his pod is now being finalized.

No one, however, seems to have consulted properly with the local Gold River natives, whose message is clear: Leave Luna alone. Chief Mike Maquinna says people are jumping to conclusions "and also to feel or think that they know what's best for it."

As Vancouver Aquarium president John Nightingale noted yesterday: "The one thing nobody has done is ask Luna what he wants to do."

Nightingale says the DFO plan has one big flaw: "I wish it had been arrived at earlier, given that the timing is really late in the fall now." Luna's fellow L-pod members, he suggests, will not stick around the Victoria area much longer before they take off for the winter: "And so, assuming this can't get under way for another two or three weeks, there's some chance that the family won't swim by." And what will happen then?

Myself, I'd humbly suggest the whole West Coast whale-advocacy industry cease its preoccupation with Luna and other stray whales. Instead, it should spend its time and energy devising ways to employ B.C.'s unemployed and feed the starving children of the world.

Even Diana would have approved.

Letters: provletters@png.canwest.com

E-mail: (604) 605-2603

E-mail: jferry@png.canwest.com

October 8, 2003

Waterfront meeting addresses proposed move of stray whale

By PEGGY ANDERSEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Giving the stray orca a chance to rejoin his community means "we all have to work together," said Marilyn Joyce, marine-mammal coordinator for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

She detailed her agency's requirements - disclosed for the first time last Friday - for removing Luna from Nootka Sound, on the west side of British Columbia's Vancouver Island, where he has posed increasing risks to himself and boaters over the past two years.

"The outcomes aren't sure here. There are no guarantees," Joyce said. But "we've got to get going."

Canada is accepting bids through Tuesday from those willing to try reuniting Luna with his family. The orcas usually stay in waters between the two countries, near Washington's San Juan Islands, chasing salmon through December and sometimes later.

Bob Lohn, regional director for the National Marine Fisheries Service, hinted at U.S. government financial support, perhaps including resources from a fund designed to cover stranding emergencies.

He also addressed liability concerns from one prospective bidder, saying that whoever takes on the project would be considered a "cooperator" and possibly eligible for government backup. "We'll work with you to give you the best protection federal law allows," he said.

Several in the audience expressed concern that the move was being made too late in the year, but researcher Rich Osborne from The Whale Museum on San Juan Island said that for the past four years, the U.S.-based whales remained in the inland waters into February.

"We thought very hard about this," he said, and in many ways making the attempt now is much preferable to a summer relocation, when the area is packed with boats. Last year, he noted, "all three pods were in Puget Sound in February."

And, Lohn noted, "we are where we are. ... We need to act quickly. There's a general sense of 'the sooner, the better.'"

Canadian officials decided to move the whale due to public safety concerns. Reuniting him with his family is secondary, the agency has said - and life as a solitary wild whale would be acceptable as long as he stays away from boats.

The detailed Canadian proposal provides for oversight of the whale through April if for some reason he cannot be released while his family, or "pod," is in area waters. If he cannot be released, the agency will seek "long term/permanent options."

Some raised concerns about those options, but Joyce urged a focus on the task at hand.

It's "a challenging deadline," said Veins of Life Watershed Society of Victoria, who's been overseeing the Canadian government-financed Luna Stewardship Project, monitoring the animal from small boats, for over a year. He was encouraged that fund-raising efforts are under way by his organization, the Vancouver Aquarium and The Whale Museum. "It looks like we're well on our way to developing a strategy for cooperating with any funds that we raise."

Costs are expected to be about $350,000 ($500,000 Canadian) - roughly the tab for last year's relocation of Springer, an orphaned Canadian killer whale reunited with her family after she strayed into busy Puget Sound. That move was declared a resounding success when Springer - also called A-73 for her birth order in A-clan - returned to Canadian waters with her family this summer.

Luna - also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod - is to be captured and held in a net pen in Nootka Sound while he's tested for disease, and then moved by truck and/or boat to Pedder Bay near Victoria until he makes contact with his family.

A new complication arose this week when one of Canada's First Nations bands raised objections to removal of the whale and the possibility that it could wind up in captivity if reintroduction fails.

Killer whales are sacred to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht community, who believe wolves, the enforcers on land, and killer whales, the enforcers at sea, are sometimes the same, said Roger Dunlop, regional biologist for the 14-band Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council at Gold River, British Columbia, on Nootka Sound.

Chief Mike Maquinna's father, Ambrose Maquinna - who died just before Luna appeared in area waters - had said he believed he would return as a killer whale, Dunlop said.

Joyce said she was aware of the band's concerns.

"We do understand that this animal is significant culturally and spiritually," she said. "We hope we can resolve some of the concerns they have."

---

On the Net:

Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans at www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Vancouver Aquarium at http://www.vanaqua.org

National Marine Fisheries Service at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov

Orca Conservancy at http://www.orcaconservancy.org

October 8, 2003

Forum about Luna's return set for tonight

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

As Canadian officials await proposals for how to accomplish the task, the public is invited to a forum tonight in Seattle to discuss the planned reunification.

The forum, featuring speakers from the Canadian and U.S. governments as well as environmental groups and the whale-watching industry, is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. at the Seattle Aquarium, Pier 59 on the Seattle waterfront, 1483 Alaskan Way.

October 7, 2003

Plenty of reasons to take Luna home

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

The Canadian government wants bids from groups that can safely move Luna back toward his old neighborhood.

The Canadian decision came after considerable study. Authorities had become increasingly concerned about Luna's dangerous attraction to people and boats in Nootka Sound along the coast of Vancouver Island.

Luna will be safer if he can reintegrate into a normal social life with other orcas, rather than habitually seeking human companionship. His return would also augment the dangerously low numbers of orcas here.

The most immediate challenge is for groups interested in Luna to raise an estimated $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions needed to move him. Because of killer whales' importance to the region's ecology, it's a worthy cause. Cooperation among as many interested parties as possible would help. But assistance from the Canadian and U.S. governments could ease the fund-raising challenge.

The Canadian plans envision the possibility of putting Luna in captivity, if he starts hanging out in the middle of Puget Sound's heavy vessel traffic. That is one of the risks in a plan that has no guarantees.

But the successful return of Springer to her family in British Columbia offers plenty of reason to try to help Luna and his family.

October 6, 2003

Wrangler hopes to help with wayward whale
Canadian agency is looking into sending Luna to his family

By ROBERT McCLURE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Luna is the 4-year-old orca that strayed into the remote waterways of northwestern Vancouver Island two years ago, but that belongs to a group of whales that frequent the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound.

Canadian officials announced Friday that they are accepting proposals for how to capture and transport Luna so he can be released into the company of his family, or pod.

Keiko was the orca set free after a huge outcry and publicity campaign spurred by his appearance in the movie "Free Willy." Moved to Iceland and painstakingly trained to be set free, Keiko never took up with his own kind, frustrating many who supported the project.

Springer, the orphan baby orca that showed up in Puget Sound in early 2002, was successfully snatched up and returned to her pod in Canada.

Foster, 47, played a pivotal role in both the Springer and Keiko projects and expects to be called on to help with Luna.

The Auburn-area resident has been working with marine mammals and other creatures for most of his life. His father, a Woodland Park Zoo veterinarian, took over the work of Dian Fossey, caring for the gorillas of Rwanda after Fossey's murder.

Foster played a role in the last captures of orcas from Puget Sound in the 1970s and went on to a career that has seen him crisscross the globe.

He has recently begun to advise the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans about Luna.

  Foster said he thinks it will be a fairly simple matter to snare Luna. "He has become so habituated toward people that I think he shouldn't be any problem at all."

Environmentalists hope so.

They are concerned that the three pods of orcas that frequent the San Juans and Puget Sound number only 83, a drop of nearly one-fifth since the mid-1990s. Adding a whale to that tenuous population could help bolster its reproductive success, they say.

Foster is roundly praised for his skill in working with marine mammals and other wild animals.

"He's no cowboy," said Brian Gorman, spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, which oversaw the Springer operation. "He's very deliberate, very careful, very studied. I was impressed with his patience more than anything else."

Foster does lots of work to help animals.

Last week, for example, he was researching porpoises in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Several weeks ago, he was called in to oversee the release of five stranded pilot whales in the Florida Keys.

Foster said Keiko turned out to be not a very good candidate for reintroduction because he had been on display in aquariumlike facilities for nearly two decades.

Once freed, he eventually swam hundreds of miles to Norway, where he cavorts with people.

"This is a very naïve animal," Foster said. "We can't teach him the social skills. We can't teach him the navigation skills and the hunting skills he needs to survive."

The overriding problem: "This is an animal that just loves people."

Dogs, too, it turns out.

Both can be said for Luna, who at first avoided people but now is making a nuisance out of himself near Gold River, B.C. He has been constantly seeking attention, rubbing on boats, getting petted and making contact with dockside dogs. Locals have been known to stroke his tongue and, in one case, to pour beer down Luna's throat.

On the other hand, Foster said, Luna has been free his entire life. He knows how to hunt and navigate. And, importantly, scientists know exactly who his family is.

Keiko was simply released, and though he made many contacts with wild killer whales, he never took up with them. Luna knows how to talk to his family, while it was never clear that Keiko could communicate with the whales he encountered.

Although some have criticized the Keiko release because the whale never was reunited with his family, Foster said the project provided invaluable experience for him and his team. For example, they learned a great deal about attaching tracking devices to whales.

"It brought a tremendous amount of exposure," Foster said. That helped foster a public adoration of killer whales.

That sentiment was strongly in evidence last year when a young, sick and apparently lonely young orca showed up in the waters off Vashon Island. Later identified as Springer, the offspring of whales that reside in Canadian waters, the whale after several months began seeking the company of boaters and incessantly following the Evergreen State ferry.

Springer's case was distinguishable from Luna's, too.

While Luna is apparently healthy, Springer had an itchy skin condition and a case of worms that severely depressed her appetite. Springer was just 2, and had been separated from her pod no more than a year; Luna is 4 and has been on his own for more than two years.

On balance, Foster said, he thinks Luna is more likely to turn out like Springer than like Keiko. Luna "has been separated longer than Springer, but what he has going for him is he's a young and intelligent animal," Foster said. "We should give him a shot."

ORCA FORUM

A public forum to discuss the plan to move Luna will be held at the Seattle Aquarium, on Pier 59 on the Seattle waterfront (1483 Alaskan Way) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. For more information, call the Orca Network: 360-678-3451 or www.orcanetwork.org.

October 5, 2003

Aquarium to help reunite wayward orca with his pod

Stuart Hunter, The Province

"Our commitment to Luna still stands -- we want to help wherever we can," aquarium spokeswoman Angela Nielsen said. "We have to look at where we can help and how we can help but we know we want to help and to do what is best for Luna."

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced Friday it is accepting proposals from companies and groups with the financial clout and expertise to help move the four-year-old orca and reunite him with his birth mother in the resident L-pod.

"We are moving forward in the interest of public safety," said Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault. "L-98's increasing interactions with people and boats are putting the public and the whale at risk. Leaving him in Nootka Sound is no longer an option."

Scientists are still trying to determine how Luna became separated from the U.S.-based L-pod more than two years ago. Lately, the orca has hung out near Gold River but has had too much contact with humans, putting both people and himself at risk.

Onlookers have poured beer down his blow-hole and tried to brush his teeth. Run-ins with boats have left Luna with two gashes on his head, and he recently damaged a sailboat hull.

The DFO plan, which was finalized with the help of its U.S. counterpart, calls for Luna to be moved from Nootka Sound to Juan de Fuca Strait, where he will hopefully rejoin L-pod and his mother, who has a new calf.

With L-pod set to move to its winter feeding grounds, scientists are unsure if the plan will work but point to last year's successful reunification of Springer with her pod.

The Springer reunification cost about $600,000. About one-sixth was kicked in by the aquarium, which is collecting donations to help pay for Luna's reunion. If you'd like to donate, call the aquarium at 604-659-3473.

shunter@png.canwest.com

October 4, 2003

Canada invites bids on one whale of a job

By Peggy Andersen, The Associated Press, The Seattle Times

"The clock is ticking now," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, whose Canadian government-financed Luna Stewardship Program has been monitoring Luna for more than a year, watching his increasingly dangerous interactions with boats in Nootka Sound on the west side of British Columbia's Vancouver Island.

Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will accept applications "from groups that can demonstrate the financial capacity and expertise to carry out a reintroduction program," the agency said in a news release.

Activists were scrambling to pull together a coalition "to see what the real costs might be — and appeal to the public to support this, with a real sense of urgency," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. He hoped for an alliance including representatives of the Vancouver Aquarium and others involved in last summer's successful relocation of Springer, or A-73, an orphaned Canadian orca that strayed into busy Puget Sound.

"We're interested in getting the best team together that we can possibly have," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

He and others gave the proposal generally high Mr.s, though they bemoaned the lack of government financial support. Neither the Canadian nor the U.S. government appears interested in contributing, and time is too tight to belabor the point.

"They're looking for the save-the-whale community to save the whale," said veteran whale researcher Ken Balcomb from the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island.

The Vancouver Aquarium, which helped in Springer's release, has already started raising money for the move, spokeswoman Angela Neilsen said.

Relocation costs likely would be comparable to the $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions required for Springer's relocation, DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan said.

The proposal calls for capturing the 4-year-old whale in Nootka Sound and placing him in a net pen for tests to confirm his apparently robust health.

Then he'd be moved — via truck, boat or both — to Pedder Bay near Victoria on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Vancouver Island from Washington state's Olympic Peninsula.

There, Luna — also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod — would be held until he makes contact with members of the U.S.-based southern resident population, which spends summer and fall chasing salmon in area waters.

Recent underwater tape recordings confirm that "Luna still speaks southern-resident-community whale," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy in Seattle. "He's retained it even without anybody to talk to."

And his U.S.-based pod is in the area, Balcomb said.

"They'll be within earshot half a dozen times in October, a bit less in November, once or twice in December," he said.

Besides permitting a whale reunion, the relocation is intended to halt the risks posed by Luna's increasing interest in approaching and bumping boats.

October 4, 2003

Carla Wilson, Times Colonist

October 3, 2003

Finally, orca may be going home
But reuniting Luna the killer whale with his pod won't be easy

By ROBERT McCLURE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

But formidable obstacles remain.

The most pressing is money. Neither the Canadian nor the American government plans to sink any real cash into the venture.

They're leaving it to environmental groups or others to raise a yet-unknown amount that could total $250,000 or more to move and release the killer whale.

And there's no guarantee that the 4-yearold orca known as Luna will stay free after that. He's developed a nasty habit of rubbing and even bumping boats that, if it persists, could lead to him being recaptured and put in an aquarium, according to the Canadian government's draft plan.

The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans already is drawing fire from environmentalists, who have said since spring that they needed advance notice to raise money for the operation. Luna's pod generally heads out of the area sometime between November and Veins of Life Watershed Societyh.

"There's a real problem in that DFO has put this off until the very last miMr.e -- waited until a crisis developed," said Will Anderson of Earth Island Institute, one of several groups preparing to seek funding. "It's very difficult to raise money without a written proposal in front of you."

The draft capture plan, obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer through a Freedom of Information Act request, calls for Luna to be lured into a net-enclosed pen in Nootka Sound if possible or, if that doesn't work, to be snared with a soft rope around his tail.

He would be held on Nootka Sound while medical tests are completed to make sure he is healthy enough to join the pod to which he belongs. Then the orca would be moved about 200 miles to Pedder Bay, near Victoria.

  The Canadian government has left it up to whoever volunteers to transport the animal as to whether that would happen by boat or by truck, but it would have to be in an open-topped enclosure and it would have to be done quickly, the draft plan says.

At Pedder Bay, Luna would await the arrival of his pod. The whales forage for fish there from time to time.

Environmentalists say the plan would have a better chance of success if he were moved to the San Juans, where Luna is more likely to encounter his family before they take off for the winter.

When Luna first turned up alone in Nootka Sound in July 2001, DFO officials decided to leave him alone.

By early this year, it was clear he was becoming far too accustomed to people, seeking out the company of mariners, their dogs and any other stimulation he could find. Orcas are normally quite social animals.

Some locals around Gold River, B.C., where he hangs out by the docks, have tried to protect the animal. But others, and tourists, have aggravated the situation, trying to get close to him, rubbing his tongue and, in one incident, pouring beer down his throat.

By midsummer the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' on-scene officers were calling the situation "untenable" and environmentalists described the throngs of curious orca-seekers showing up daily as "a circus." Then in late August, Luna bumped into a boat so hard he gashed his head.

In September, the department reconvened a scientific panel that recommended reuniting the whale with his family -- a recommendation many on the panel had made months earlier.

Since then, Canadian officials have been making statements indicating they had decided to allow the whale's repatriation. But, curiously, agency officials refused to say directly they had made that decision until late Wednesday, when an e-mail sent to journalists arrived after the normal close of business.

It said, in part: "While DFO would like to see a reintroduction occur, there are important details that need to be finalized before moving forward."

Today, the agency intends to announce a plan that outlines those details, said agency spokeswoman Lara Sloan.

Asked about environmentalists' criticisms that the agency had waited too late in the year, Sloan replied: "Waiting is the wrong term to use. There is so much that goes into an endeavor like this. Nobody was waiting. There was constant consulting with whale experts."

U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service officials in Seattle reviewed the Canadian government's draft plan this week.

"They've put together a pretty thorough, carefully thought-out plan," said Brian Gorman, a fisheries service spokesman. "It remains to be seen what kind of response there will be. That's the belling-of-the-cat part of this; the difficult part."

Gorman cited his agency's experience last year moving Springer, another orphan killer whale from a Canadian pod that got lost in Puget Sound. He estimated that cost $280,000 to $300,000, although he said no precise accounting has been done.

Fisheries service scientists would be involved in helping relocate Luna, Gorman said, and the agency would spend some money on travel and phone calls -- a "niggling" amount -- but the agency has no budget for the project.

Environmentalists want the agency to use money from a $1.5 million appropriation for killer whale research secured recently by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

"That would be a violation of the conditions under which we got the money," Gorman said. "The money was determined to be spent for research. It was never intended that that money be intended for a purpose like this."

Environmentalists are trying to raise the money themselves but are still hoping for some government help.

"There are some big dot-commers we're going to be going after," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy. Yet, he and others question why some of the $1.5 million in research money can't be used for the operation, since Luna would carry a device that would allow scientists to track his movements for at least two weeks.

Their biggest fear is that an aquarium will get the job and, if Luna can't make it in the wild, become the orca's ultimate home. Orcas are extremely valuable in the museum trade.

"I think they will make an honest effort (at reintroduction) the first time, but they're waiting in the wings for failure," said Anderson of Earth Island.

Another obstacle to a happy ending:

What if Luna is rejected by his pod and again starts seeking attention from boaters?

The draft plan says that's why he would be housed at Pedder Bay -- it's farther removed from the heavy boat traffic of the San Juans.

"We don't want to have a Canadian nuisance animal become an American nuisance animal," said Gorman of the fisheries service.

And if it does?

"We'll deal with that when it happens, if it happens," Gorman said. "We don't think that will happen."

TO CONTRIBUTE

U.S. residents can send tax-deductible contributions to:

The Whale Museum/Luna Stewardship Project
P.O. Box 945
Friday Harbor, WA 98250

For more information, call: 1-800-946-7227, ext. 24 or ext. 28

October 3, 2003

Call for proposals issued to move Luna

Canadian Press

Fisheries is now accepting scientific licence applications from groups "that can demonstrate the financial capacity and expertise" to reunite the four-year-old whale, dubbed Luna, with his U.S.-based pod, the department said in a news release.

"We are moving forward in the interest of public safety," said Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault.

The whale, which often hangs out near the public docks around Gold River, B.C., has had too much contact with humans and scientists and environmentalists believe Luna and the people who try to connect with him are at risk.

People have reportedly poured beer down his blow hole and tried to brush his teeth. Run-ins with boats last month also left two deep gashes on his head.

"Leaving him in Nootka Sound is no longer an option," said Thibault. "Our goal is to do what is best for Luna and his pod while protecting the public."

Earlier this month, a scientific panel advising Canada on what to do with Luna recommended an attempt at reuniting him with his pod.

Last year, another whale, Springer, was successfully reunited from U.S. waters into her Canadian pod.

But though the department is optimistic Luna's move will also be a success, there are differences.

Luna is older than Springer was and while his mother is still alive, she has a new calf. Springer was also in the wrong location for months, while Luna has spent more than two years away from his home group.

It cost about $600,000 to reunite Springer, not including the donations of the boat and other equipment used to move her.

The Vancouver Aquarium, which played a major role in transferring Springer, is already collecting donations for Luna's intervention and a spokeswoman for the facility said the aquarium will consider submitting a proposal.

If Luna doesn't reintegrate with his pod, contingency plans for the capture and placement of Luna must also be developed, Fisheries said.

October 3, 2003

REINTRODUCTION plan finalized BY DFO for killer whale L98 (Luna)

DFO News Release NR-PR-03-057e

VANCOUVER – The Honourable Robert G. Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), announced today that the department is ready to move forward with the relocation of the young killer whale known as L98 or Luna.  To protect public safety, the one tonne mammal will be moved from Nootka Sound to Juan de Fuca Strait on the west coast of Vancouver Island with the hope of giving this whale the opportunity to re-unite with its pod. 

DFO will now accept scientific licence applications from groups that can demonstrate the financial capacity and expertise to carry out a reintroduction program.  A scientific licence will be issued to the group that submits a proposal that can satisfy all of the requirements outlined by DFO, based on advice from the scientific panel.  The role of the third party will include translocation, monitoring and stewardship, and implementation of the contingency plan if re-introduction fails. 

“We are pleased to announce that details of the reintroduction plan have been finalized and we are moving forward in the interest of public safety,” said Minister Thibault. “L98’s increasing interactions with people and boats are putting the public and the whale at risk. Leaving him in Nootka Sound is no longer an option.  Our goal is to do what is best for Luna and his pod, while protecting the public.” 

A panel of Canadian and US scientific experts have assessed various options to deal with this situation. It has advised DFO that L98 may cease his interactions with boats and people if given the opportunity to reunite with his pod.  The Panel has acknowledged that the probability of success is unknown. Contingency plans for the capture and captive placement, or other permanent means of dealing with L98, must be developed to protect the public if reunification fails and the whale becomes a threat to public safety in this new location.  

Because of last year’s successful reunification of Springer with her pod, DFO is optimistic that Luna will also reunite with his group, the Southern Resident L-pod. However, the department explained that L98’s situation is quite different from that of Springer, and pointed out he may not reunite successfully. 

DFO has had many letters and emails from organizations and the public indicating their willingness to support this endeavour.  That support will be essential in ensuring a plan is carried out. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will monitor this operation to ensure the best possible care for Luna, and that the Southern Resident killer whale population and the public are not put at risk.  DFO will provide support to this operation in terms of scientific expertise and enforcement where needed. 

L98 is a solitary killer whale that has been frequenting the waters of Nootka Sound, at the mouth of the Gold River, since the spring of 2001. The four-year-old whale is a member of the southern resident L-pod, and its mother is known to be alive.

A DFO website has been established to provide the public with updates on L98 and the planning process for relocation. 

For more information please visit:
http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pages/MarineMammals/l98_e.htm

October 3, 2003

BACKGROUNDER: BG-PR-03-016e

Killer Whale L98 (Luna)

The killer whale is admired as a symbol of Canada’s wild and rugged west coast.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to the conservation and protection of this, and other, marine species.

October 2, 2003

Reunion ahead for orphaned orca Luna

Cindy E. Harnett , Times Colonist

The juvenile killer whale has been alone in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island for two years.

The DFO has worked with an international scientific panel to develop a safe reunification plan. Once it finalizes agreements with U.S. partners it will seek science licence applications from organizations with the expertise and finances to undertake such a dangerous mission.

"There are many risks with this kind of operation," said DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan. "If it fails, DFO may need to consider other options, including captivity."

But the biggest risk is time and resources, said Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society. He oversees the Luna Stewardship Project, financed by DFO, which monitors the whale from small boats.

"The clock is ticking," he said. "We have to act quickly."

As the season slips away, Luna has less and less time to find and reconnect with L-98 pod.

"Luna is a good whale capable of recognizing his family," said Veins of Life Watershed Society.

Luna is a southern resident whale, considered an endangered species in Canada. There are 19 pods of resident killer whales in B.C.

"If we don't do something now captivity is a distinct option. There are no good options for Luna in Nootka Sound."

Veins of Life Watershed Society said representatives from all stakeholder groups -- including the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Orca Conservancy, Earth Island Institute, the Orca Network and Vancouver Aquarium -- will be brought together in a meeting in Victoria Saturday. The necessary arrangements and players could be in place in a week and Veins of Life Watershed Society expects if government approvals can be acquired in another week -- and at least $50,000 in fundraising is realized -- the family reunion could take place in a fortnight.

"All hands are on deck right now. We're going to do the best with this situation put before us," he said.

Luna has been hanging out near Gold River on the eastern shore of Nootka Sound. Worse than brushes with boats and subsequent head gashes, Luna has suffered indignities such as having beer poured down his blowhole.

"He hasn't harmed a soul," said Veins of Life Watershed Society. "He has provided entertainment and amusement. Unfortunately he has also encouraged bad behaviours in humans. He is a gentle resident, a fish eating orca that needs to be given a chance."

October 2, 2003

Luna soon to rejoin his orca pod

Cindy Harnett, CanWest News Service

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced Wednesday plans to attempt to reintroduce the four-year-old lonely orca of Nootka Sound, off Vancouver Island's west coast, with his U.S.-based pod in Juan de Fuca Strait.

Once the federal department finalizes agreements with U.S. partners it will seek applications from organizations with the expertise to undertake the initiative. The DFO has worked with an international scientific panel to develop a safe transfer plan for the whale.

"There are many risks with this kind of operation," said fisheries spokeswoman Lara Sloan.

But the biggest risk is time and resources, said Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Views of Life Watershed Society, which led the reunification project more than a year ago.

"The clock is ticking," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "The biggest obstacle is timeliness and giving Luna time to reconnect with L-98 pod."

Veins of Life Watershed Society said all of the concerned parties will be brought together in a meeting in Victoria on Saturday.

He maintains all the arrangements and players could be in place in a week and expects if the necessary bilateral government approvals take another week and at least $50,000 in fund-raising is realized, the family reunion could take place in two weeks.

The whale has been hanging out for more than two years near Gold River, on the eastern shore of Nootka Sound.

In addition to various indignities -- people have reportedly poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth -- run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

Victoria Times Colonist

© Copyright 2003 Vancouver Sun

October 2, 2003

If no takers for Canada's plan, Luna to be captive

By Peggy Andersen, The Associated Press

Canada will try to reunite a stray American killer whale with his family, but if no one volunteers to take on the reunion costs and complications, the orca could wind up in a tank.

Few details of the plan to reunite Luna and his family — now salmon-fishing in waters between Washington state and British Columbia — have been officially released.

But Canada's cover letter on the proposal — sent from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for input — made plain what could happen if Luna does not leave Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island.

"If no parties come forward with an acceptable proposal to relocate this animal, DFO may have no choice but to seek a captive placement," Paul Sprout, DFO's associate regional director general, wrote in his Tuesday letter to NMFS's regional director, Bob Lohn.

NMFS released the letter Wednesday, when DFO confirmed its conclusion that an attempted reunion is the best way to protect the public and the 4-year-old whale, which has been dangerously cozy with boats.

"They're putting the onus on us to pay for it, with the specter hanging over us that if we can't come up with the cash, an aquarium can," said activist Michael Harris with Orca Conservancy in Seattle.

The undertaking won't be cheap. After capture, Luna — also called L-98 for his birth order in U.S.-based L-pod — would be held a week or so in a net pen to ensure he has no communicable diseases that could threaten Washington state's struggling southern resident population of 82 orcas, DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan has confirmed.

After that, activists say the proposal calls for shipping Luna via truck and-or vessel to south Vancouver Island for placement in another net pen — in Canadian waters — until he makes contact with his family. There's talk of satellite tagging after release to monitor the whale — a pricey proposition.

"They're going to find the most exotically expensive plan possible and then tell us we have to raise the money to pay for it or he'll wind up in a cage," grumbled Fred Felleman, also of Orca Conservancy.

He and others fretted that NMFS may not contribute federal funds set aside to help the southern resident killer whales, declared a "depleted species" last year under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

At issue is whether Luna is considered part of that population.

"For purposes of making a determination about depleted species ... we did not count Luna," said NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman, contending that would not have made sense since the whale wasn't with the population last year.

"For biological purposes ... I would say he's an isolated member of the southern resident population and it remains to be seen if he'll become an integrated member."

Asked about federal funds for Luna's relatives and other resources for stranded animals, Gorman said, "I don't know if money's available."

"Free up some of the money," Harris urged. "We'll come up with the rest."

NMFS officials were considering the plan outlined by DFO "to see if we're comfortable with it, and then we'll see if anyone out there can implement it," Gorman said.

Telephone chats were planned Thursday between NMFS officials and Marilyn Joyce, DFO's marine mammal resource coordinator, Gorman said.

"Where the money will come from I don't know. It seems to be the responsibility of the respondent to the proposal," Gorman said.

Whale lovers everywhere were heartened by last year's successful U.S.-Canadian effort to reunite an orphaned killer whale, who had been struggling to survive in busy Puget Sound, with her relatives in Canadian waters.

That whale, Springer, returned with her pod this summer to fish for salmon east of Vancouver Island, making that experiment — which involved extensive private donations of vessels, fish and expertise — an unqualified success.

Scientists caution that the two situations are different. Luna is older and has been separated from his community almost two years.

"There's so much we don't know," Gorman said.

Harris figures humans are the only obstacle.

"No textbook has been written on the return of stray orcas, but we did write a few chapters last year, and what we did learn is there is deficient communication" between U.S. and Canadian officials, he said.

Since last summer, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has pressed the two governments to work together to help the trans-border orcas. On Wednesday, her office was trying to advance Luna's reunion.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

October 1, 2003

DFO CONFIRMS POSITION ON RELOCATING L-98

Fisheries and Oceans Statement

DFO hopes to relocate Luna to the Juan de Fuca Strait area with the hope that he will reunite with members of his pod and will cease his interactions with people and boats. While DFO would like to see a reintroduction occur, there are important details that need to be finalized before moving forward.

Because L-98’s pod swims in both Canadian and American waters, we are currently consulting with our US counterparts at the National Fisheries Service (NMFS). They are an important part of this plan and their input is essential to the success of a reintroduction operation. DFO has been working with an international scientific panel of experts to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure that risks to the whale and public are mitigated.

Upon finalizing arrangements with our US partners, DFO will accept scientific licence applications from individuals, groups, or organizations that can demonstrate the expertise and financial capacity to undertake this initiative. DFO will make an announcement once all details of the plan are finalized.

While it is hoped that Luna will reunite with his family group, known as the L-pod, the likelihood of re-unification is not assured. There are many risks associated with this kind of operation. If it fails, DFO may need to consider other options, including captivity or other permanent means, of dealing with Luna. DFO’s priority is the protection of the public and the whale.

For more information:

Lara Sloan
Communications Branch
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(604) 666-0903

October 1, 2003

Luna letters a mistake

Carla Wison, Times Colonist

Confusion was created when those letters were accidentally posted, announcing different decisions.

Some correspondence with concerned citizens said that Luna, L-98, will stay where he is in the waters off Gold River while others letters said the decision has been made to move him, said Lara Sloan, Fisheries and Oceans Canada communication officer.

Neither communication was correct, she said from Vancouver Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, negotiations were continuing with U.S. government representatives to finalize a plan to move the four-year-old orca from Vancouver Island's west coast to join up with his pod, which spends summer months in the waters off southern Vancouver Island and Washington state.

However, a decision could be reached this week, Sloan said.

The letters were sent out of the Fisheries Department's Ottawa office dated Sept. 18. Some reflected the department's earlier position that Luna would stay put. The letters stating that a decision had been made were mailed prematurely, she said.

No decision can be made on the killer whale's future until details of a possible move can be worked out with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, she said. The plan was sent to the U.S. recently.

"It is pretty key to make sure that the U.S. does not feel that we are going ahead without them."

Any details of a move are being kept under wraps, although medical tests would have to be carried out to ensure the whale is healthy, Sloan said. To do that, the whale would be confined, possibly in a net pen.

And once Canada and the U.S. have decided to move the whale and agree on a plan, then the fisheries department would put out a call for applications for a scientific licence for another organization to carry out the project. Canada would review applications to see if they are satisfactory.

A joint Canadian-U.S. scientific panel has recommended Luna be moved in the hopes of reuniting him with his family in L pod. His mother is alive and has a new calf.

These endangered southern resident killer whales, numbering about 80 in all, are social animals, normally spending their entire lives with their families.

Luna turned up in Nootka Sound two years ago, where he turned to boats for company. Worries over his well-being and the safety of boaters have escalated recently. A run-in with a boat saw a rudder ripped off and Luna has had gashes in his head.

On the Web: www.salishsea.ca/m3/luna/luna.html, www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca and

September 30, 2003

DFO to farm out costs, relocation work of stranded orca Luna

TERRI THEODORE, Canadian Press

The department hasn't decided yet whether to reunite Luna, also known as L-98, with his U.S.-based pod, spokewoman Lara Sloan said Tuesday. But if DFO does go ahead, it will ask outside groups to move the orca, she said.

"DFO will be accepting applications for a scientific licence to make the move," said Sloan.

A U.S. official said he's heard from the department that the process would essentially put the whale's intervention in someone else's hands.

"I think DFO is at the stage where it's about to either release a request for proposals from outside organizations or maybe just before that to run this idea past us to make sure we're comfortable with it," said Brian Gorman of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

"We haven't seen anything formal from DFO yet, but I think that will be forthcoming," said Gorman.

It will take plenty of expertise and money to connect the four-year-old whale back with his American pod, said Gorman, adding there is no guarantee that organizations will be eager to respond.

The Vancouver Aquarium is already collecting donations for Luna's intervention and the facility will consider submitting a proposal, said spokeswoman Angela Nielsen.

The aquarium played a major role in transferring Springer, an orphaned orca, from U.S. waters to her Canadian pod last year.

Luna, a four-year-old whale, is considered a nuisance animal, bothering boaters and socializing with people near Gold River, a town on the eastern shore of Nootka Sound, for almost two years.

Environmentalists have repeatedly voiced concerns over Luna's too-friendly interaction.

People have reportedly poured beer down his blow hole and tried to brush his teeth. Run-ins with boats last month also left two deep gashes on his head.

A scientific panel recommended earlier this month that Luna be reunited with his pod, which makes their summer home near Washington's San Juan Islands.

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press

L98 (Luna) Updates from Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

September 23, 2003

September 19, 2003

September 17, 2003

The scientific panel met today to determine a possible approach for intervention and reintroduction of L98 to L-pod. This intervention is extremely complex. All potential outcomes and risks must be thoroughly evaluated and panel members will finalize the details of an approach in the next two days. DFO, in collaboration with the US National Marine Fisheries Service, will consider the recommended approach put forward by the panel and announce a decision next week.

September 19, 2003

Happy Birthday Luna

Orca Network Sightings Report

September 19
Happy Birthday Luna!!!! 
Today is L98's, or Luna's, 4th birthday, and our wish for Luna is that he be given the chance to come home and rejoin his family, after spending the past two years alone in Nootka Sound.

It appears DFO is nearing a final decision on intervening and beginning a relocation and reintroduction process. Time is of the essence, and we all need to stand by, ready to act at a moment's notice. Full funding for this is not available from DFO or NOAA Fisheries, and they will be calling on our help.
 
If you would like to make a "Birthday" donation to the
Luna Stewardship Fund, go to: http://www.salishsea.ca/m3/luna/luna.html
(or send your donation to the LSP or via the Whale Museum in the US - addresses below).

If you would like to help bring Luna home - with financial pledges or fundraising efforts, material/equipment donations, volunteer time/talent, etc. please let us know and we will connect you to the appropriate people as plans move forward for Luna's return.
And for some Luna Birthday Fun, Photos and more, visit www.reuniteluna.org and share your wishes for Luna's future, and read about our first encounter with L98 the day he was born (or see story below).

Donate to the Luna Stewardship Project:
In Canada:
Veins of Life Watershed Society/

Tax deductible donations in the U.S.:
The Whale Museum/Luna Stewardship Project
PO Box 945
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
www.whalemuseum.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's our story and our Birthday Wish for Luna~
Luna, or L98, has always been a very special orca for us.
In September 1999, Howard and I were at the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island for a few days - this was Howard's first visit back to San Juan and the Center after working two years in Miami on the Free Lolita Project. It was our last day there, September 19th, and we had yet to see any whales. Then, just hours before we had to leave to catch the ferry, a call came in about a lone female orca headed north toward the Center, most likely a Transient (the Residents rarely travel alone). The report said the orca was doing a lot of breaching. We were all out on the deck, watching for this lone whale, and here she comes......but as she approaches, Ken and Dave realize this isn't a Transient - it's L67. Then Ken says, "and what is that behind her?!" and to all our amazement we see the tiny fin of a newborn calf trailing along after L67! This was L98's first sighting, and these were the first wild orcas Howard had seen in two years. It seemed like L67 was showing off her new baby to us - such a gift, especially for Howard who had been working on bringing Lolita, our missing L pod whale, back from Miami (little did we know then that L98 would also become a missing L pod whale).

When Luna turned up missing and presumed dead in 2001, we were deeply saddened by the news of losing this special little whale....but again amazingly surprised when the discovery of L98 in Nootka Sound was announced by DFO in January 2002. We were so happy to hear he was still alive and well, and hopeful that he would be given the chance to return to his pod again, especially after the efforts to return the orca calf Springer to her Northern Resident pod were so successful.

We remain hopeful that this courageous, spunky orca will be given the chance to come home, to be back with his mom, to meet his new brother, and swim with his extended family. For Luna's fourth birthday, we wish for immediate action to bring him back to L pod so he may live like a normal, wild whale again -
Susan Berta and Howard Garrett
Orca Network

Peggy Andersen, Vancouver Sun

Details of the proposal were not released. A contingency plan, in case the young whale does not rejoin his pod before the orcas leave their summer salmon-fishing grounds near Washington's San Juan Islands, is still being fine-tuned, said spokeswoman Lara Sloan of Canada's department of fisheries and oceans.

"The plan has to be complete to be approved, and the contingency plan is an important part of that," Sloan said Thursday, noting that "the U.S. government has to be in line with this as well."

She said a decision is expected early next week by the department and its U.S. counterpart, which has responsibility for marine mammals in American waters.

U.S. representative Brian Gorman said from Seattle that his agency will have no comment until officials see the completed proposal.

It was not disclosed how the panel proposed to move Luna, also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, from Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island. The move could involve vessels and possibly a truck because of rough coastal waters at this time of year.

The four-year-old whale has been hanging out for more than two years near Gold River, on the eastern shore of Nootka Sound, about 40 kilometres inland from the Pacific.

In addition to various indignities -- people have reportedly poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth -- run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

A collision with Luna ripped the rudder off a small sailboat Monday, disabling the craft, said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the Canadian fisheries department-financed Luna Stewardship Program.

Such accidents worry Veins of Life Watershed Society.

"While he's an attraction, that's fine. But he's ... cost people some money lately, so the attitude changes, you know," he said Wednesday.

"We've been waiting a long time for something substantive to happen," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "And if it's a move for reunification, we're certainly going to be there helping as best we can. It's a good whale and needs to be given a chance."

Gorman said he was impressed by the scientists who advised American officials on last year's relocation of another stray orca -- A-73, also called Springer -- from busy Puget Sound to Canadian waters. She was reunited with her family last summer after being separated from them for several months.

But Gorman said he worries that last year's "fabulous success" may raise unrealistic expectations, noting that Luna is older and has been separated from his pod for several years.

"I would caution people not to read too much into the Springer episode and ... think somehow they're identical, because they're not," he said.

September 19, 2003

Put Luna back in his pod, scientists urge
It's not clear how orca will be transported from Nootka Sound

Associated Press

People have poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth.

Run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

Early this week a collision with Luna ripped the rudder off a small sailboat, disabling the craft.

The four-year-old orphan from a U.S.-based pod has been hanging out for more than two years near Gold River, about 40 kilometres inland from the Pacific.

He seems to be happy where he is -- cavorting with fishboats and hanging around the docks -- even if boat operators trying to tie up at Gold River find him a persistent nuisance.

Now a scientific panel advising Canada on what to do with Luna is recommending an attempt at reuniting him with his family in U.S. waters.

A joint decision is expected early next week by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and its U.S. counterpart, the National Marine Fisheries Service, said DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan.

It was not disclosed how the panel proposed to move Luna, also called

L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, from Nootka Sound. The move could involve vessels and possibly a truck because of rough waters at this time of year.

"This intervention is extremely complex," said a notice posted this week on the DFO website. "All potential outcomes and risks must be thoroughly evaluated."

Officials in both Canada and the U.S. had hoped Luna would rejoin his family without help if the related whales passed the mouth of Nootka Sound.

But for the past three years, L-pod has headed south in the fall. And, inland at Gold River, Luna would not have heard them.

L-pod is still at its summer salmon-fishing grounds near Washington's San Juan Islands, but is expected to start moving south in October.

"We've been waiting a long time for something substantive to happen," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the DFO-financed Luna Stewardship Program, which monitors the whale from small boats.

"And if it's a move for reunification, we're certainly going to be there helping as best we can," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "It's a good whale and needs to be given a chance."

How Luna became separated from his pod remains a mystery. The separation problem is new to scientists. Some wonder if pollution, perhaps affecting early development, could be a factor.

September 19, 2003

Canada Mulls Family Reunion for Killer Whale

By Allan Dowd, Reuters

Scientists are worried about the safety of the whale, officially named L98 but nicknamed Luna, amid reports that it has been injured by the boats and float planes it has been looking to for companionship.

An international scientific panel is working on final details of a plan for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), which must approve any relocation attempt in co-ordination with U.S. officials.

DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan said on Friday the department expects to decide by the end of next week whether to allow a forced family reunion, which would allow groups interested in organizing the move to work out logistics and funding.

The young male orca was discovered in July 2001, swimming alone in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island near the community of Gold River, British Columbia.

Whale experts do not know if L98 was accidentally separated from, or was forced to leave, his family group, called L pod, which spends the summer and fall in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington state and British Columbia.

The orcas that summer off the Pacific Coast normally swim in cohesive family groups, hunting salmon. Each pod is identified by the distinctive dialect of peeps and squawks the members use to communicate.

The panel of Canadian and U.S. scientists working on the relocation plan had recommended in May against forcing a family reunion. It was hoped at the time that Luna would swim back to the pod on his own.

Canada asked the panel to take another look at the situation after receiving reports the whale had been injured by collisions with float planes and by boaters upset by his interfering with watercraft.

Killer whales are social animals and experts have speculated L98 is seeking attention from humans because it is lonely.

If Luna is moved it will have to be done before the end of December when L pod normally leaves the area to spend the winter in deeper waters of the Pacific.

Scientists staged the first successful family reunion of wild orcas last year when an orphaned killer whale, found sick near Seattle, was nursed back to health and returned to her pod that summer in Canada, north of Vancouver Island.

Sloan said that, since officials are not sure if L pod will accept Luna, any relocation plan will have to consider what to do with the whale if it is left alone again, especially in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which has heavy marine traffic and would be more dangerous than Nootka Sound.

Details of the proposal were not released. A contingency plan, in case the young whale does not rejoin his pod before the orcas leave their summer salmon-fishing grounds near Washington's San Juan Islands, is still being fine-tuned, said spokeswoman Lara Sloan of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"The plan has to be complete to be approved, and the contingency plan is an important part of that," Sloan said Thursday, noting that "the U.S. government has to be in line with this as well."

She said a decision is expected early next week by DFO and its U.S. counterpart, the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has responsibility for marine mammals in American waters.

NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle said his agency would have no comment until officials had seen the completed proposal.

It was not disclosed how the panel proposed to move Luna, also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, from Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island. The move could involve vessels and possibly a truck because of rough coastal waters at this time of year.

"This intervention is extremely complex," said a notice posted late Wednesday on the DFO website. "All potential outcomes and risks must be thoroughly evaluated and panel members will finalize the details of an approach in the next two days."

The four-year-old whale has been hanging out for more than two years near Gold River, B.C., a town on the eastern shore of Nootka Sound, about 40 kilometres inland from the Pacific.

In addition to various indignities - people have reportedly poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth - run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

A collision with Luna ripped the rudder off a small sailboat Monday, disabling the craft, said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the Canadian fisheries department-financed Luna Stewardship Program, which monitors the whale from small boats.

Such accidents worry Veins of Life Watershed Society.

"While he's an attraction, that's fine. But he's . . . cost people some money lately, so the attitude changes, you know," he said Wednesday.

"We've been waiting a long time for something substantive to happen," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "And if it's a move for reunification, we're certainly going to be there helping as best we can. . . . It's a good whale and needs to be given a chance."

Gorman said he was impressed by the scientists who advised NMFS on last year's relocation of another stray orca - A-73, also called Springer - from busy Puget Sound to Canadian waters. She was reunited with her family last summer and returned with them in July to the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

Some of the same experts are chiming in on Luna, Gorman said. But he worried last year's "fabulous success" may raise unrealistic expectations.

Springer was just two years old when her mother died and she became separated from her family. When she showed up near the Vashon Island ferry dock west of Seattle in January 2002, she was losing her struggle with parasites and an inadequate food supply. She rebounded quickly with veterinary care once NMFS decided to intervene.

"That animal was slowing dying," Gorman said. "The main problem the Canadians have is with a nuisance animal, and those two are dealt with very differently."

Luna is older. And while his mother is still alive, she has a new calf.

"Springer had been in the wrong location for months. This animal has been in the wrong location for years," Gorman said. "I would caution people not to read too much into the Springer episode and . . . think somehow they're identical, because they're not."

Activists recall similar doubts about Springer, who resumed life as a wild whale despite "a lot of strikes against her," said Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy. Aunts and cousins helped Springer catch up and keep up, he noted.

L-pod usually stays in area waters through October, but the weather is getting rougher, so any move should be made soon, activists said.

The separation problem is new to area scientists. Some wonder if pollution, perhaps affecting early development, could be a factor.

Officials in both countries had hoped Luna would rejoin his family without help if the related whales passed the mouth of Nootka Sound. But for the past three years, L-pod has headed south in the fall. And, inland at Gold River, Luna would not have heard them anyway.

Costs also are a concern, although donations and volunteers helped keep last year's transfer affordable.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D - Wash.) wrote to Canada's ambassador to the United States, pressing for co-operation on the region's killer whales in general and Luna in particular.

Her letter to Canadian Ambassador Michael Kergin cited the "alarming drop" in the so-called southern resident killer whale population, including Luna's family, that summers near the San Juan Islands.

The southern residents, which number just 82, struggle with pollution, declining salmon populations and human encroachment. There are more than 200 northern resident killer whales in Canada, including Springer and her family.

September 18, 2003

Decision on orca's homecoming soon
Luna has been going it alone in B.C. waters

By PEGGY ANDERSEN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A decision on what to do with Luna the killer whale -- a juvenile from a U.S.-based pod who has been making it alone in remote Canadian waters -- could come as early as next week.

In Canada, the L-98 Scientific Panel conferred by phone yesterday on possible options, said Marilyn Joyce, marine mammal resource coordinator in the Vancouver, B.C., office of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

A decision will follow soon, fisheries spokeswoman Lara Sloan said.

How would U.S. officials respond to a decision to try to reunite the whale with his family in U.S. waters?

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said spokesman Brian Gorman with the regional National Marine Fisheries Service office in Seattle. "This is still a Canadian decision but when it involves us, I feel confident Canada will consult with us in a more formal way."

The 4-year-old whale -- dubbed L-98 for his birth order in L-pod and also known as Luna -- has been hanging out for more than two years near Gold River, B.C., a town on Nootka Sound, on the west side of Vancouver Island.

In addition to various indignities -- people have reportedly poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth -- run-ins with boats last month left two deep gashes on his head.

A collision with Luna ripped the rudder off a small sailboat Monday, disabling the craft, said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the Canadian fisheries department-financed Luna Stewardship Program, which monitors the whale from small boats.

Such accidents worry Veins of Life Watershed Society.

"While he's an attraction, that's fine. But he's ... cost people some money lately, so the attitude changes, you know," he said.

"We've been waiting a long time for something substantive to happen," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "And if it's a move for reunification we're certainly going to be there helping as best we can. ... It's a good whale and needs to be given a chance."

Gorman said he was impressed by the scientists who advised NMFS on last year's relocation of another stray orca -- A-73, also called Springer -- from busy Puget Sound to Canadian waters. She was reunited with her family last summer.

Some of the same experts are chiming in on Luna, Gorman said. But he worried last year's "fabulous success" may raise unrealistic expectations.

September 18, 2003

Luna's fate may be known next week

Canadian Press

The juvenile killer whale from a U.S.-based pod has been going it alone for more than two years in a remote Vancouver Island inlet near Gold River.

The Fisheries Department says the L-98 scientific panel conferred yesterday by phone.

One possible option is to reunite Luna with his family in U.S. waters, similar to the successful reunification of Springer the killer whale with his pod.

The four-year-old whale has suffered various indignities while hanging out in Nootka Sound.

People have reportedly poured beer down his blowhole and tried to brush his teeth.

Luna has also had run-ins with boats, leaving two deep gashes on his head.

A collision on Monday ripped the rudder off a small sailboat, disabling the craft.

September 12, 2003

Luna may be shipped to San Juans

Ian Austin, The Province

The curious killer whale has become so enamoured of boats and boaters in Gold River that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is now thinking of shipping Luna to the U.S. San Juan Islands to rejoin his family.

"That's the hope, but we have to re-evaluate," DFO communications officer Lara Sloan said yesterday.

"It's starting to interfere with everyday life in Gold River."

The department's advisory scientific panel will reconvene next week to devise a reunion plan, but hasn't decided yet whether to proceed.

"Our previous decision was to leave things as they were, and leave Luna as a wild orca," said Sloan.

Luna, who apparently is attracted by the sound of boat motors, was recently injured by a boat propeller, the latest in a string of incidents that are far from ordinary for the large predators, made famous in the movie Free Willy.

Sloan said time is an issue, since the L pod is relatively easy to find now in its island feeding grounds, but will soon depart for the open ocean.

"It all depends on where the pod is," she said. "If we are going to do it, we'd like to do it as soon as possible."

Luna, known to the DFO as L98, is a lone juvenile orca whale that has been living in Nootka Sound, a remote inlet off the west coast of Vancouver Island, since July 2001.

Initially shy of boats and humans, the whale has increasingly sought contact with boats and dock users over the past year. He is part of the southern resident pod, which summers in the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands to the delight of thousands of whale watchers.

iaustin@png.canwest.com

September 12, 2003

Decision on Luna urgent as floatplanes endangered

Nicholas Read, Times Colonist

The urgency comes as a result of news that Luna is interfering with floatplanes in Gold River harbour, and came close to causing a collision between two planes Wednesday.

"Certainly his behaviour has changed, so there is a more urgent need to intervene," DFO marine mammal coordinator Marilyn Joyce said Thursday. "We may need to make a decision before the end of this month."

Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Society, the organization spearheading a move to relocate the orca to his home pod, says a Veins crew observed Luna interacting with a floatplane that landed in Gold River harbour Wednesday.

"He interfered with the plane's ability to manoeuvre" by pushing on the controls, Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

However, he added that the crew was able to intercede and prevent a collision between the moving plane and one that was already docked.

Veins of Life Watershed Society said Luna's new interest in aircraft could explain how he came to suffer a head cut two weeks ago.

"He's been interacting with aircraft ... and that may explain where his wounds came from," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

Veins of Life Watershed Society calls Wednesday's episode "worrying" and says it underlines the need to relocate Luna as soon as possible.

Luna's home pod frequents the waters off southern Vancouver Island until December, so if an intervention is to take place, it would have to be by early or mid-November, Joyce said.

A DFO scientific panel has been convened to consider intervention options and present them to the DFO next Wednesday.

When that happens, Joyce said, "We will take the advice of the panel, review that and make a decision."

September 12, 2003

Boat-loving killer whale causes problems for town

Ian Austin, Ottawa Citizen

The curious killer whale has become so enamoured of boats and boaters in B.C.'s Gold River that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is now thinking of repatriating Luna to the U.S. San Juan Islands.

"That's the hope, but we have to re-evaluate," Fisheries communications officer Lara Sloan said yesterday.

"It's starting to interfere with everyday life in Gold River."

The department's advisory scientific panel will reconvene next week to devise a reunion plan, but hasn't decided yet whether to proceed.

"Our previous decision was to leave things as they were, and leave Luna as a wild orca," said Ms. Sloan.

Luna, who apparently is attracted by the sound of boat motors, was recently injured by a boat propeller, the latest in a string of incidents that are far from ordinary for the large predators, made famous in the movie Free Willy.

Ms. Sloan said time is an issue, since the L pod is relatively easy to find now in its island feeding grounds, but will soon depart for the open ocean.

"It all depends on where the pod is," she said.

"If we are going to do it, we'd like to do it as soon as possible."

Luna, known to the DFO as L98, is a lone juvenile orca whale that has been living in Nootka Sound, a remote inlet off the west coast of Vancouver Island, since July 2001.

Initially shy of boats and humans, the whale has increasingly sought contact with boats and dock users over the past year.

It is part of the southern resident pod, which summers in the Canadian Gulf Islands and U.S. San Juan Islands to the delight of thousands of whale watchers.

September 11, 2003

Next leg of orca's journey in hands of scientists at Canadian ocean agency

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced yesterday that it has reconvened its scientific advisory panel to ask members quickly to come up with a plan on whether and how to reintroduce the whale to his pod mates now wandering near the San Juan Islands.

The agency said that if its advisory panel could devise an acceptable plan, it is prepared to move Luna.

Such a move would reverse the agency's decision in June to leave the whale alone.

"Luna's behaviour has deteriorated," agency officials wrote in a news release yesterday.

"We need to ensure that all possible risks and obstacles are accounted for so the whale and the public would not be put at risk should an intervention be attempted," they said.

Luna, perhaps in an attempt to assuage loneliness, has caused growing concern among boaters and fishermen as he has increasingly been following near them.

According to agency spokeswoman Lara Sloan, members of the 17-member advisory panel should respond to the agency by the middle of next week.

It could take a couple of additional weeks for the agency to make its final decision, she said.

September 11, 2003

ORCA NETWORK RESPONSE TO DFO's NEWS RELEASE of September 10:

Orca Network

September 10, 2003

L98 (Luna) Updates - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

September 8, 2003

Luna (L-98) Updates

Orca Network Sightings Report

September 4, 2003

Luna suffers another injury

Times Colonist

September 3, 2003

Luna injured again

Canadian Press

Luna the orca had a cut above its right eye to match a gash reported last week above its left eye, said Louise Murgatroyd, a spokeswoman for the Luna Stewardship Project.

The new cut is about a hand-span long and doesn't appear infected, said Murgatroyd.

"It's a little deeper than the first cut and a bit cleaner," she said.

Environmental groups have called for the four-year-old whale to be returned to its pod in U.S. waters after gashing itself on a boat propeller last week.

The whale has been alone in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island for two years.

Murgatroyd said they don't believe this gash was caused by a propesller.

She said her group has been warning boaters to stay away from the whale because Luna likes to play near boats and people have been known to panic when the whale is around.

"It certainly raises the alarm bells," she said. "What we're concentrating on is just monitoring the behaviours that might lead to this kind of injury."

The latest injury reinforces the problem they've been having keeping humans away from the whale, said Marilyn Joyce with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Wednesday.

She said a decision will be made soon on whether an effort should be mounted to try to reunite Luna with his pod.

There's still time because the southern whale population has been known to hang around that area of Vancouver Island until November or December, she said.

August 29, 2003

Luna's mystery injury has DFO worried

Times Colonist, CanWest News Service

"This injury highlights the serious nature of Luna's circumstances right now," said Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society, the group spearheading efforts to get Luna moved. "Interactions with boats will continue and the risk of injury will continue."

"It's a red flag," said Paul Spong of the orca research facility, OrcaLab. "It tells us things are not well with Luna. I suppose the way things are going, the prospects for him will only get worse as time goes on."

Marilyn Joyce, marine mammal co-ordinator for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said Luna did suffer a cut several days ago, but DFO officials don't know what caused it. It could have been a boat, she said, or it could have been a log with a sharp point.

She also said the cut appears to be superficial and not life-threatening.

However, Joyce says the DFO is concerned about the number of people who have attempted to see and touch Luna this summer, and a DFO scientific panel is meeting to decide what, if anything, should be done for him.

August 29, 2003

Lone orca's injury in B.C. revives calls to return it to pod

Eric Sorensen, Seattle Times

August 29, 2003

Reported injury steps up concerns for stray orca
Young male involved in collision with a boat propeller in Canada

By PEGGY ANDERSON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Seattlepi.com

Luna was apparently struck in the head last week, suffering a gash believed to be about 6 inches long and as much as 2 inches deep. Authorities were trying yesterday to confirm the extent of the injury.

The impact disabled the fishing boat's small trolling motor, said Ed Thorburn, an officer with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans based in the town of Gold River on Nootka Sound, on the west side of Vancouver Island.

The injury is not life-threatening, Thorburn said. "Luna has had cuts like this before."

But it has increased concern about the fate of the 4-year-old male, whose family, U.S.-based L-pod, spends summers chasing salmon around the San Juan Islands and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Killer whales, or orcas, are social animals, and lonely Luna's attempts to cozy up to boats have posed risks for both the whale and boaters.

The injury "is disturbing news," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the Luna Stewardship Program financed by Fisheries and Oceans, monitoring the whale with volunteers in small boats. "It's a fear we've been living with all along, that he'll be severely injured."

Activists are pressing the U.S. and Canadian governments to try to reunite Luna, also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, with his family.

And this year's window of opportunity is here, Veins of Life Watershed Society and other activists say. This weekend Mr.s the end of peak summer boating season, and Luna's family will be in area waters for another couple of months.

  "The longer we wait, the more inevitable the conclusion to this drama -- in a very bad way," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "The whale is either going to be killed or recommended for captivity."

The injury "should be a wake-up call that we're done waiting," said Fred Felleman of Orca Conservancy in Seattle.

Activists cite the successful relocation last summer of an orphaned Canadian killer whale -- Springer or A-73, named for her birth order in Canada's A-pod -- from busy Puget Sound, where she was losing weight and falling prey to worms and other opportunistic diseases.

Government officials on both sides of the border had hoped Luna would rejoin his family naturally as the pod heads up the Pacific Coast after summer salmon season.

But Luna spends most of his time near the Gold River dock, about 25 miles from the mouth of Nootka Sound. He has at times been within nine or 10 miles of the sound's opening -- within hearing distance for these vocal creatures. But the odds of his hearing his family pass by were always slim.

And Thorburn says that for the past three years, L-pod has headed south for the winter. The only killer whales near the mouth of Nootka Sound are so-called transients -- coastal orcas that feed primarily on marine mammals.

"That's what Luna has to look out for," Thorburn said. A young, isolated orca like Luna "would be fair game" for these distant relatives.

Marilyn Joyce, Fisheries and Oceans' marine mammal resource coordinator in Vancouver, has said that Canada is reconsidering its earlier stance, which was to monitor the situation and hope it resolved itself.

"There is tremendous public pressure to look at some sort of reintroduction strategy," she said.

U.S. officials say the first move must come from Canada.

The injury "complicates Luna's life and the lives of a number of Canadian officials," said spokesman Brian Gorman with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle.

But "really it's not our business at this stage," he added.

August 28, 2003

Reported injury steps up concern about stray orca

Peggy Andersen, The Associated Press
Seattle Times

August 28, 2003

Report from Marilyn Joyce, DFO Marine Mammal Coordinator
on the status of Luna's health

Courtesey Orca Network Sighting Report

August 28, 2003

Reported Injury Steps Up Concern About Luna, The Stray Orca

By KOMO Staff & News Services

Luna was apparently struck in the head last week, sustaining a gash believed to be about 6 inches long and as much as 2 inches deep. Authorities were trying Thursday to confirm the extent of the injury.

The impact disabled the fishing boat's small trolling motor, said Ed Thorburn, an officer with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans based in the town of Gold River on Nootka Sound, on the west side of British Columbia's Vancouver Island.

The injury is not life-threatening, Thorburn said. "Luna has had cuts like this before."

But it has increased concern about the fate of the 4-year-old male, whose family - U.S.-based L-pod - spends summers chasing salmon around the San Juan Islands of Washington state and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates the state from Vancouver Island.

Killer whales, or orcas, are social animals, and lonely Luna's attempts to cozy up to boats have posed risks for both the whale and boaters.

The injury "is disturbing news," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society, who oversees the Luna Stewardship Program financed by DFO, monitoring the whale with volunteers in small boats. "It's a fear we've been living with all along, that he'll be severely injured."

Activists are pressing the U.S. and Canadian governments to try to reunite Luna - also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod - with his family.

And this year's window of opportunity is here, Veins of Life Watershed Society and other activists say. This weekend Mr.s the end of peak summer boating season, and Luna's family will be in area waters for another couple months.

"The longer we wait, the more inevitable the conclusion to this drama - in a very bad way," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. "The whale is either going to be killed or recommended for capitivity."

The injury "should be a wakeup call that we're done waiting," said Fred Felleman of Orca Conservancy in Seattle.

Activists cite the successful relocation last summer of an orphaned Canadian killer whale - Springer or A-73, named for her birth order in Canada's A-pod - from busy Puget Sound, where she was losing weight and falling prey to worms and other opportunistic dieases.

Government officials on both sides of the border had hoped Luna would rejoin his family naturally as the pod heads up the Pacific Coast after summer salmon season.

But Luna spends most of his time near the Gold River dock - about 25 miles from the mouth of Nootka Sound. He has at times been within 9 or 10 miles of the sound's opening - within hearing distance for these vocal creatures. But the odds of his hearing his family pass by were always slim.

And Thorburn says that for the past three years, L-pod has headed south for the winter. The only killer whales near the mouth of Nootka Sound are so-called transients - coastal orcas that feed primarly on marine mammals.

"That's what Luna has to look out for," Thorburn said. A young, isolated orca like Luna "would be fair game" for these distant relatives.

Marilyn Joyce, DFO's marine mammal resource coordinator in Vancouver, has said Canada is reconsidering its earlier stance, which was to monitor the situation and hope it resolved itself.

"There is tremendous public pressure to look at some sort of reintroduction strategy," she said Thursday.

U.S. officials say the first move must come from Canada.

The injury "complicates Luna's life and the lives of a number of Canadian officials," said spokesman Brian Gorman with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle.

But "really it's not our business at this stage," he added.

It's not clear how Luna would be moved. Waters are rougher on the coastal side of the island, so the catamaran ferry used to move Springer - a speedy, smooth trip through inland waters - may not work. Veins of Life Watershed Society suggested Luna could be trucked to the strait and then moved by boat to a sea pen near his family, perhaps in the San Juans.

There is concern that Luna may not rejoin his family as smoothly as Springer did. He's been gone more than two years and may have lost language skills. And it's still not clear why he became separated. Also, unlike Springer, his mother is still alive, though she has another calf now.

Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans.

Aug 21, 2003

Luna move under consideration

CBC News British Columbia

The orca has been loitering near a dock at Gold River for some time, and has been interacting too much with humans.

Luna rubs up against boats, and many people reciprocate.

Authorities are still investigating another case in which a worker contracted to the Department of Fisheries hit Luna with a piece of wood.

DFO spokesperson Ed Thorburn says there's another charge pending, and several other cases are being investigated.

"We still have a problem with people stopping their boats and interacting with the whale," he says.

August 21, 2003

Fisherman fined $250 for petting orca

Vancouver Sun

This is the second time a B.C. judge has convicted a person for petting the whale. The same judged fined a Gold River woman $100 for a similar offence in May and promised to increase the amount of future fines as a deterrent.

Luna has been living in the remote inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island since July 2001 and, although initially shy of boaters and humans, the whale has increasingly sought contact with them.

The fisheries department has posted a large sign at Gold River wharf warning the public not to touch or feed whales. DFO officials are concerned that if the whale becomes too used to social interactions, its chance of surviving in its natural habitat will decrease.

August 21, 2003

Captivity is one option for Luna: DFO

Jack Keating, The Province

"I think it would be a public-relations nightmare for the DFO and everybody involved if [Luna] was placed into captivity," said Annelise Sorg of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity. "It's a ridiculous idea."

Sorg was reacting to news the DFO will soon decide the fate of Luna, which could include placing the three-year-old male orca in captivity.

"There are three options being reviewed," said Christiane Cote, spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Region.

"One is to leave the animal where it is, keeping an eye on it. The other is to move it to a facility like an aquarium. And the other one is to try to reunite it with its family."

Luna has been living alone in Nootka Sound, a remote inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island, since becoming separated from his pod in July 2001.

The whale was initially shy of boats and humans, but in the past year has increasingly sought contact with boats and dock-users at Gold River.

Sorg said she and other environmental groups would fight any bid to place Luna in captivity.

"His mother is down in the States off the San Juan Islands right now and this is a lost kid," said Sorg. "And if you found a lost kid somewhere you'd want to return him to his mother. He's got to go home to his family."

Meanwhile, DFO said a second person has been fined $250 for petting Luna at the Gold River dock.

Travis Foreman, a Vancouver commercial fisherman, pleaded guilty to disturbing a marine mammal.

A Gold River woman was fined $100 for touching Luna in May.

"DFO has repeatedly warned boaters, kayakers, whale watchers and the public to stay away from this whale," said Cote.

Cote said increasing numbers of "social interactions" between Luna and humans "decreases the chances of the whale surviving in its natural habitat."

"[Luna] swims in and out of the bay and comes to the dock," said Cote. "So people have been going to the dock hoping to touch the animal and feed it. And that's what's causing a bit of a headache."

jkeating@png.canwest.com

Immediately after his September 1999 birth, Luna, also called L-98 for his pod and birth order, split from his mother and spent a week with a female in another pod before returning to his mother.

This was "unprecedented" in what has been seen before among these whales, says Ken Balcomb of the Centre for Whale Research at Friday Harbor, Washington state.

Luna's mother may have had trouble lactating at first and another female may have nursed the calf, he said. "We don't really know what was going on."

For the next several months, everything appeared normal. But as Luna approached his first birthday, he was often more independent from his mother than is usual with calves.

Balcomb speculates this trait may have its roots in Luna's early days. "I guess you can have the parallel in human development where social changes or traumas in certain stages of life can affect the rest of your behavioural repertoire."

This independence might have led to Luna's isolation but it is only a hypothesis.

It's possible that Luna, who travelled a lot with an older uncle, became lost when that uncle died and did not know how to reconnect with his pod, Balcomb said.

The uncle disappeared and is believed to have died. It is common for young male killer whales to travel with older males.

Whatever led Luna to pick Nootka Sound in 2001 for his exile has resulted in a cross-border debate about what should be done with him.

Luna is a precious commodity -- he is one of only 83 members of the endangered southern resident population of killer whales living off B.C. and Washington state.

A joint Canada-U.S. scientific panel reviewed the situation and reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which decided earlier this year to let nature take its course and leave the whale alone.

But Luna didn't buy into that.

The lonely whale is fascinated by boats and humans, frequenting the Gold River dock and chasing vessels. Transport Canada has now restricted access to the dock where people flocked for a glimpse of Luna.

Also, an investigation into an incident in which a fisheries department contractor is alleged to have smacked Luna with a board or other object is complete. A report has been forwarded to the federal Department of Justice to determine if there is cause to recommend charges, a fisheries department spokesman said.

Earlier this year, a Gold River woman was fined $100 for petting the whale.

Washington state whale advocacy organizations are cranking up the pressure to relocate Luna with his pod, citing the successful move of Springer, also known as A-73, and offering to foot the bill.

Springer, a sickly orphan orca, was captured last summer in Puget Sound, nursed back to health and moved via catamaran to Johnstone Strait where she rejoined her pod.

Canada's fisheries department, which has jurisdiction over Luna while in our waters, is again looking at Luna but no announcement has been made yet.

While some proponents of a move want to carry out a similar kind of operation to Springer's, Balcomb is advocating a different approach also aimed at reuniting Luna with his pod. He had a pledge of $30,000 US earlier this year to try to train Luna away from boats and to study the animal to learn more about wild whales.

Because Luna seems to enjoy playing under the water outflow of a large vessel often in the area, Balcomb suggests using water from a 7.6-centimetre hose on another private vessel as a reward for exhibiting desired behaviour. "He is certainly still in a developmental stage where you could modify his behaviour."

Eventually, it might be possible to lure Luna out of Nootka Sound at the same time as the L pod passes by. "I think he could easily come back into this situation." Balcomb believes that Luna would drop his interest in boats if he was with other whales.

But Colin Baird, director of the Ocean Futures Keiko project in Norway, said he does not see the need to intervene in Luna's case, given that the whale is healthy and eating on his own. "It's certainly very different from the Springer situation," he said Monday.

Baird is watching over Keiko, the whale that starred in the Free Willy movies, and is now the focus of efforts to reintroduce him to the wild. Originally from Victoria, Baird is home for a visit.

August 20, 2003

SECOND CONVICTION BY BC COURT FOR DISTURBING KILLER WHALE

DFO NEWS RELEASE NR-PR-03-051e

Marine mammal experts at Fisheries and Oceans Canada are reviewing the situation regarding L98’s current behaviour and the increasing interactions with people both at the dock and on the water.  This is a complex situation involving potential risks that need to be re-evaluated for both intervening and maintaining the status quo. In the meantime, fishery officers are continuing to patrol the area and will charge citizens who disturb the animal.

August 11, 2003

Luna Trapped Under Fishing Net

August 8, 2003

Let's not repeat mistakes of the past...

Orca Network Sightings Report

Thirty three years ago today, a young orca about Luna's age, was frolicking with her extended family in a Superpod gathering. Suddenly, life changed for that young whale and her whole family, as they were herded into Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, with boats, planes and explosions.

Once in the cove, nets were placed around them, and they began to be separated from each other as the young whales were taken from their mothers. The cries of the whales filled the air for days, and the whales that were set free stayed in the cove near the nets containing their young, until the last captive was lifted from the water and hauled off on a truck. Four or five whales were killed during that capture, seven were delivered to marine parks around the world.

Of all the Southern Resident whales captured during the '60's & '70's, only Lolita, or Tokitae, survives. But she is not living the life of an orca, she is merely surviving, maybe living on her memories of her family and the ocean. Lolita's days are not filled with swimming 75 - 100 miles a day, chasing salmon, playing with her pod-mates, rubbing against her orca family, chattering away during Superpods. Lolita does still use her family's calls (calls unique to the L25 sub-pod, of which she is still a member), but she has no one to talk to. She can still echolocate, but there is nothing to bounce the clicks off of but the walls of her small concrete tank. She has no kelp to play in, no currents or waves to ride. She lives in a world deprived of all sensory experiences so important to orcas in their natural ocean habitat, the most important being the closeness of her family.

Today there is another lonely, isolated whale - though still swimming free, he is deprived of his family and the normal life of an orca. Luna, the stray L pod calf who has been alone in Nootka Sound for over two years now, is the other missing L pod whale who is separated from his family.

Luna's fate could soon change - either for the better or for the worse. Do we want Luna to end up in a tank like Lolita? To grow up without the pleasures and experiences of living a free life, swimming with his family? Or should Luna be given the opportunity to rejoin his mother and pod, to be given as many chances as it takes for a reuniting of this young whale with his own kind?

The Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is nearing a decision on this young whale's fate - we ask them to please consider Luna's future - his place in his family and community, his need to swim freely and with his own kind. Do not take away this young whale's freedom, like Lolita's was taken from her 33 years ago. Let's not move backwards in time and allow the first capture of a Southern Resident in decades. It's time to think of our orca neighbors as the communities of intelligent, sentient, cultural, social beings they are. They were here long before us, it is not our right to remove them from their home.

This time, let's do the right thing - bring Luna back home, and then next will be Lolita's turn, and L pod will finally be together again...
Susan Berta & Howard Garrett
Orca Network
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For a photo of Luna with his mom, shortly after he was born on Sept. 19, 1999,
and more info. on Luna, go to:
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can write to express your thoughts on Luna to the
Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at:

Marilyn Joyce
Marine Mammal Coordinator
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 - 401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5G3
Canada
Telephone: (604) 666-9965
Facsimile: (604) 666-3341
JoyceM@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Honourable Robert Thibault
House of Commons
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Canada
Tel: (613) 996-2358
Fax: (613) 952-1458
E-Mail: Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susan Berta and Howard Garrett
Orca Network
2403 S. North Bluff Rd
Greenbank,WA 98253
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.orcanetwork.org
info@orcanetwork.org

July 24, 2003

U.S. activists call for shipping Luna home

CanWest News Service

Fred Felleman, of the Seattle-based Orca Conservancy, said Luna is important to the biological future of the endangered southern resident population, which has shrunk to 83 animals.

"The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has an obligation to the recovery of the southern resident (orca) community," said Felleman.

Three-year-old Luna has been swimming in Nootka Sound for more than a year, isolated from his family.

The whale spends an increasing time interacting with boats and people. The DFO initially decided to leave him where he is, in the hope he might make contact with his pod or swim out of of the sound on his own.

While Marilyn Joyce, the department's co-ordinator for marine mammals, admits Luna's behaviour is worrying, she warns that if DFO allows "intervention" and a reunification fails, then Luna's options narrow considerably and he may even end in captivity.

Felleman says Luna is so used to boats that he'd be easy to catch, and he is healthy enough to be set free in waters close to his family.

"He's an animal in physical health that just needs a transportation ticket rather than an intensive-care situation."

Felleman says Canadian authorities should also remember the efforts made by U.S. authorities last summer to reunite the orca Springer with her relatives among the northern residents.

"I think in the spirit of bilateralism we are trying to come up with some kind of exchange program."

A number of Canadians share Felleman's view. Ellen Hartlmeier of Victoria and Rene Halliburton of Campbell River have begun an Internet petition calling for the reunification of Luna with his family.

July 23, 2003

Debate Over Luna's Future:
Responses to July 21st article, Sometimes nature needs a whack

Times Colonist

July 21, 2003

Sometimes nature needs a whack
Nobody should be petting Luna the orca whale, but what if he's being a pest?

Times Colonist

It's easy for us in this part of the world to get too close to nature for comfort -- ours or the wild species who share our ecosystems.

The thrill of whale-watching is greater the closer we get to them, but we know -- or should know -- that they need space, and a minimum of noise, since even the sounds of our motors can make them confused if not terrified.

How much space whale watchers should give the whales is the subject of a trial in Duncan. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a 100-metre "guideline" for vessels approaching whales.

But some experienced whale-watchers like Kenneth Balcomb, executive director of the Centre for Whale Research at Friday Harbor, call the 100 metres a "courtesy" that isn't based on any consistent response of whales to boats in close proximity.

Scientists, one day, may learn how to tell when an orca is angry or a beluga's in a funk, and it's best to err on the side of caution.

But the beasts don't blush, raise hackles, stand up on their tails, growl menacingly or flutter off pretending to have a broken flipper -- they seem completely unmoved by human presence.

Some, though, like Luna, that lonely orca haunting Nootka Sound, haven't read Fisheries and Oceans Canada's manuals.

He likes boats; he seems to like people.

Last month he kept four boaters out in deep water all night and wouldn't let them come in to tie up. In May he swam happily up to a Gold River woman to be patted, and cost her a $100 fine.

Last week, Luna is reported to have harassed a Fisheries and Oceans contract worker who was trying to tie up a boat.

The worker is alleged to have whacked him with a board to get him out of the way.

But what was the guy supposed to do, throw a ball for Luna to chase? If he did, in fact, hit the little hooligan, he wasn't trying to hurt him.

Volunteers are trying to keep Luna away from people, and for his own protection, someone's got to teach him some manners until -- we hope -- he can be reunited with his family, as Springer was.

In the meantime, whale-whacking should not be encouraged, but gentle persuasion, when required, shouldn't result in heavy fines.

July 19, 2003

The time has come to help Luna

Orca Network Sighting Report

Nicholas Read; with files from Matthew Ramsey
Vancouver Sun

"He's a nice pet," says Lorraine Howatt, who, with her husband Grant, owns Air Nootka, a float plane company, in Gold River. "Totally a pet. People have made him a pet."

The problem, as the Howatts readily admit, is that Luna, a three-year-old, four-metre-long, one-tonne killer whale, is also a wild animal. And a potentially dangerous wild animal at that.

But try telling that to the woman who dangled her four-year-old daughter over Luna's head so the little girl could pat him.

Or the people who play fetch with him using boat fenders. Or the boaters who engage in tug o' war contests using their oars.

Try telling that to anyone who has fed him beer and chips.

"You can't," adds Howatt. "I tell people, 'What's the difference between petting a bear and petting Luna?' But they don't listen.

"He's a wild animal two inches away from their feet, and that's pretty darn unique. It's what makes him so appealing. But it's not doing him any good."

This week, the federal department of fisheries of oceans (DFO), the agency ultimately responsible for deciding what to do with Luna, began investigating allegations that one of its contract employees, a patrolman hired to monitor sport fishermen in the area, struck Luna with a stick.

The story goes that the man was trying to get his boat and a dinghy into port. But Luna, who is fond of rubbing up against boats and interacting with the people inside them, kept interfering with him, and, in frustration, the man struck out at him.

If convicted, he could face a $100,000 fine or six months in jail.

Grant Howatt said he spoke to the man who admitted hitting Luna with a board.

"Then he said: 'You know what they do with problem bears? They shoot them.' "

That's what Paul Spong, a lifelong whale scientist who monitors orcas at the north end of Vancouver Island, is worried will happen to Luna.

"I'm afraid someone is going to get so outraged with him that they're going to pick up a gun and blast away," Spong said. "It's a very common solution."

It's also why Spong's is one of a growing number of voices demanding that Luna, who has been living on his own in Nootka Sound on the western side of Vancouver Island for more than two years, be rescued and relocated to his home pod on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the same way that Springer, an orphaned female orca, was reunited with her home pod last year.

Scientists, including Spong, were delighted 10 days ago when Springer returned to Johnstone Strait with the same pod of whales she was travelling with when she was last seen in October 2002.

It was a far cry from a year-and-a-half ago, when she was languishing sick and alone in Puget Sound outside Seattle. Concern about her was so great that last summer, she was moved by boat and a throng of volunteers to Telegraph Cove on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island and let go in the company of whales like her.

Because no one had ever attempted such a reunification before, no one knew if it would work. But it did, says Spong, and in doing so it set a precedent. A precedent, he believes, that could save Luna.

Orcas customarily spend their whole lives with their mothers, except when they break away to mate, says Spong. Luna's mother is a member of the southern resident population of orcas that frequents southern Georgia Strait, Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound in the summer.

So his thinking is that if Luna can be reunited with his home pod, his mother and other relatives might look after him, and his days of living as a wild "pet" in Nootka Sound would be over.

Veins of Life Watershed Society, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society, an environmental group in Victoria, agrees. On Friday he met with a group of scientists, fellow non-government organizations, whale-watching businesses and officials from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, to discuss Luna's fate. Veins of Life Watershed Society hopes to be able to mount a rescue operation for him this September.

He believes time is running out for Luna, and that unless something is done soon for him, he could be killed, badly injured or simply left to deteriorate.

Luna is already showing signs of it, Veins of Life Watershed Society says. "This is not a scientific way to put it, but I have a sense that he is dispirited. His behaviour is not as lively as it was last year."

After Friday's meeting, Veins of Life Watershed Society said he was heartened by the international cooperation. The orphaned orca fund, established to reunite Springer with her pod, will be put into play with Luna (who is normally a member of "L Pod"), as will the many crucial partnerships that made Springer's journey to her family pod possible.

"This fund made it possible to get governments onside and make [Springer's reunion] happen," Veins of Life Watershed Society said. The group is now seeking cooperation from DFO and the National Marine Fisheries Service in the U.S.

Veins of Life Watershed Society said the group now has a 50-day window to get organized for the Luna move, which he says must take place in September. Luna's L Pod swims in local waters until late winter, early spring, before it moves offshore.

"He needs at least a couple of months to let him get re-socialized [with the pod before it leaves]," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

Veins of Life Watershed Society already has a number of donors prepared to contribute boats, trucks, time and whatever else is necessary, and he reckons the whole operation could be done for about $200,000.

Marilyn Joyce, the DFO's marine-mammal coordinator, agrees Luna's situation is getting worse. In May, the DFO decided against taking any immediate action on Luna's behalf, saying that because he appeared to be fit and healthy, there was no need.

But in saying that, the agency hoped visitors to Gold River would behave themselves and not bother Luna. The problem is they haven't.

"What we see now is that there's a significant change in the number of people and boaters in the area, and Luna's now much more interested in making contact with them," Joyce says.

Consequently, the DFO is re-examining its position, and wondering if leaving Luna alone is the best thing to do.

"What we're doing is looking at this new information, re-evaluating the risks, and trying to figure out what's best for this whale," says Joyce.

John Ford, a marine mammal scientist at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, is also wondering what to do for Luna. Initially, he also believed that leaving him alone was the right course. In fact, he hoped at one time that Luna might simply swim out of the sound and rejoin his pod on his own.

But that didn't happen, and now Ford is scratching his head, too. He admits the success of the Springer relocation has given scientists like him a confidence in the process they didn't have before, but even so, there's no guarantee, he adds, that reintroducing Luna to his home pod would work.

"And if it doesn't work, it would mean we'd be taking him out of a place where he's physically fine and placing him in greater jeopardy."

That's because Juan de Fuca strait has appreciably more boat traffic than Nootka Sound, Ford says, so if Luna isn't accepted by his pod following a relocation, the danger of him being injured by a boat would be that much greater.

"Then the only solution would be long-term captivity, and I think most people wouldn't want to see that fate for him."

No one, including Ford, knows how Luna got to Nootka Sound in the first place. The best theory, Veins of Life Watershed Society says, is that for reasons no one understands, he was separated from his mother and started travelling with his uncle, a whale named Orcan.

Then during the winter of 2000/2001, it's possible Orcan became ill and died, leaving Luna to fend for himself.

Right now, the only action DFO is prepared to take on Luna's behalf is to step up monitoring of him and the hundreds of tourists, fishermen and residents who turn up every day in Gold River harbour to gawk at him. Despite earlier funding concerns, it now has engaged Veins of Life Watershed Society, a former DFO official, and his Veins of Life to do that, and Veins of Life Watershed Society says he will oblige.

But that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

"This whole situation is really untenable," he says. "For us to be put in a position of managing this kind of crowd with no real authority, except moral authority, is asking a lot."

July 18, 2003

Activists mobilize to transport killer whale back to U.S.

Globe & Mail (Associated Press)

The problem is that Luna - also known as L-98 for his birth order in L-pod - is drawing growing crowds of tourists to the town of Gold River on remote Nootka Sound, on the west side of Vancouver Island.

"The situation is quite desperate right now," said Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society of Victoria, who heads a group working with Canadian officials to monitor the animal - and the humans.

"We had a report (Thursday) that there were more than 100 people on the dock, all trying to touch Luna," Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society said after the meeting.

"That combines with hundreds of vessels in the area - generally for sports fishing, but a lot of those boaters are attempting to get close to Luna."

Canadian fisheries officials decided last spring to leave the four-year-old whale alone and hope he rejoins his family members as they pass nearby. L-pod spends much of the year chasing salmon around Washington's San Juan Islands.

But officials are reviewing that decision due to the worsening situation, said Marilyn Joyce, marine mammal resource co-ordinator for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"We're aware that interactions between Luna and people in Gold River are increasing," she said, and this week enlisted Veins of Life Watershed Society's group, fisheries enforcement officers and the RCMP "to get this situation under control."

Interfering with marine mammals violates Canadian law, with penalties up to $100,000. So far the only person convicted of harassing Luna was fined just $100, but Ms. Joyce said the judge made clear the next penalty would be harsher.

Such contact is "reducing his chances to be a wild whale," she said, and small vessels could be endangered by the five-metre whale.

One Gold River man has compared the whale to "a troublesome bear" that has lost its fear of humans, Mr. Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

L-98's pod usually stays in the region until December to February. Activists feel the orca should be moved within 60 days, to give the young animal time to reconnect with the other whales before they head for the open sea.

"This is Canada's call," said spokesman Brian Gorman at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle.

U.S. officials worked with Canada last year to move an orphaned Canadian orca, A-73 or Springer, about 600 kilometres from busy Puget Sound in the Seattle area to rejoin her family on the east side of Vancouver Island.

That intervention was declared a success when Springer returned to those waters last week with her family.

But the two situations are very different.

"With Springer we had a sick animal in a ferry lane who had no chance whatsoever of ever naturally reuniting with her family pod," Mr. Gorman said. "With Luna, we have a relatively healthy animal . . . that could re-establish contact with his family pod."

But Luna may not be welcomed by his family group, Ms. Joyce said.

His mother has a new calf now, and he's missed two years of important bonding and learning experiences. There's more vessel traffic around the San Juans, and he could wind up in worse trouble.

"We don't know why he's apart from his population in the first place . . . if he was kicked out or got lost," she said. "We don't know his odds of rejoining successfully."

Still, Ms. Joyce added: "Certainly, Springer does give us some hope."

July 18, 2003

Time Running Out For Luna The Orca?

Tracy Vedder
KOMO 4

This time of year, Nootka Sound is a busy sport fishing harbor with lots of boats. Luna, who in orca years is still a toddler, treats them as toys. He swims next to and beneath the boats, whether their running or not. But they're dangerous playthings.

"I was trying to get out of this harbor and I thought I hit a log," says a fisherman from Nootka Sound. "I put it in neutral right away to see what I had hit and it was the whale!"

Luna loves to rub on propellers and he has the scars to show for it. Then there's the people factor.

"We've had people swimming, we've had people holding their infants in his open mouth for a photo, we've had people pouring beer down his throat, boat brushes on his tongue," says Veins of Life Watershed Society with the Luna Stewardship Program.

All together, it's a dangerous mix for a young orca who doesn't have his family to teach him orca right from wrong. So far, Luna has defied the odds, surviving on his own for nearly two years. But Luna advocates believe he has become so used to humans, he won't survive much longer.

"I suggest that anything's possible," says Veins of Life Watershed Society. "From a gunshot, to a stick, to a propeller. I think that suggests there's a grave threat to this whale right now; we're very concerned."

A coalition of orca advocates is meeting in Seattle to put together their game plan to rescue Luna. It would be similar to last year's rescue of Springer in Puget Sound, using many of the same killer whale experts.

The group figures it has until September to get the rescue under way.

"The clock is ticking," says Veins of Life Watershed Society, "and we have to get it going, we have to move now."

The plan is to reunite Luna with his orca family, "L" pod, in Puget Sound. The coalition figures if they can get Luna here by September, that will give the whales a couple of months to get used to each other before the killer whales return to open ocean for winter.

July 18, 2003

Scientists meet to consider fate of Luna

CH TV

The orphaned orca is getting more familiar with people and boaters in Nootka Sound. CH TV video shows how the wild animal is acting more like a family pet at Gold River.

The 4-year old orca is nuzzling up to the children who gather on the government dock in Gold River. As the children put their hands down the wild mammal swims to the dockside and touches them.

Fines are doled out for petting the whale but some argue it's Luna that's touching them.

The orca who's been separated from his pod since 2001, has been growing more attach to boaters and residents in Gold River.

Luna also seems to follow a local coastal freighter that takes tourists to Friendly Cove.

The fear of scientists is that Luna has become too domesticated and among other actions is getting very close to outboard motors.

That's why a group of scientists is meeting in Seattle beginning this afternoon to try and come up with a decision on whether to capture and relocate the orca.

The action will likely be swift following the recent allegation that Luna was struck by a contractor working for the Department of fisheries on July 11. CH TV says there are also reports in Gold River of teenagers hanging out at the dock feeding Luna alcohol.

July 17, 2003

Luna hit with stick, according to witnesses

Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun

Ron Kehl, DFO's acting area chief of conservation and protection for the island's southern region, said two witnesses reported seeing the employee, a patrolman, strike or push the orca. The witnesses and employee will be interviewed today, Kehl said. Then it will be up to the DFO and local RCMP to decide whether to press charges.

Anyone convicted under the federal Fisheries Act of disturbing a marine mammal could face a fine of up to $100,000.

Paul Spong, one of the scientists involved in moving Springer, an orphaned female orca, from Puget Sound to Johnstone Strait last year, says the allegation highlights the need for a similar rescue operation to be developed for Luna, whose family is part of a resident population of orcas living in the southern half of Georgia Strait.

Spong is concerned that given Luna's attraction to boats, he could interfere with commercial or other marine traffic.

"I'm afraid somebody's going to get so outraged [with Luna] that they're going to pick up a gun and blast away," Spong said.

Earlier this year, the DFO disregarded recommendations of its own scientific panel and decided not to do anything about Luna. Spong says that is a mistake.

"I feel the whale's in jeopardy. I would say the DFO is not behaving responsibly at this point."

July 17, 2003

Alleged beating of lone orca under investigation

John Colebourn
The Province

Fisheries spokesman Ron Kehl said yesterday an investigator was sent to Gold River after witnesses told RCMP that Luna was beaten with a board because he was playing with a fisheries officer's boat at the local dock.

"Luna came alongside the boat and was rubbing up and pushing the boat away from the dock," said Kehl. "What was alleged was that a stick struck or pushed the whale away."

Gold River residents say it's only a matter of time before Luna gets hurt, or the overly friendly whale hurts someone else.

"That's the problem with Luna up here -- boats stop and he plays with them," said Air Nootka owner Grant Howatt.

"He's very friendly. I can see nothing but a bad ending for Luna up here. He could get hurt, most likely from a boat, or end up unwittingly hitting somebody. He's getting bigger."

Luna, now three, has been on his own since he became separated from his pod at an early age.

Veins of Life Watershed Society of Veins of Life Watershed Society said Luna should be relocated to the San Juan Islands to be with his pod. However, a scientific advisory panel has said there is no urgent need.

July 17, 2003

Whale-whacking accusation sparks probe

Jeff Bell
Times Colonist

July 16, 2003

Luna - Time to bring him home NOW!

Orca Network Sighting Report

Luna update -

There have been some disturbing reports on Luna/L98's situation up in Nootka Sound off the west coast of Vancouver. Luna remains healthy, but his loneliness is beginning to cause problems. Veins of Life Watershed Society, of the Veins of Life Watershed Society which has been providing a boat and volunteers on the dock to monitor Luna and educate humans about his situation, reports that Luna is exhibiting signs of depression, boredom, and repetitive behavior. And with the busy recreational boating season in full swing in Nootka Sound, dangerous interactions with boats and humans are increasing, including an alleged attack on Luna by a contract government worker (see news story below and DFO's response).

Sadly, the funding for the Luna Stewardship Project has been cut by DFO due to budget problems, and Veins of Life Watershed Society has been busy trying to find volunteers and donations to keep the program going. It seems to us that Luna should be given the same opportunity Springer was given - to rejoin his family and live a normal life again (his mother is still alive, and the Southern Residents are listed as Endangered and Depleted and every whale makes a difference). Springer has shown that given the choice between human and orca company, an orca will choose its orca family. There is massive support for bringing Luna home to his family - he won't need a net pen or medical care, he just needs to be brought closer to his family so they can be together again. Non-profit organizations, businesses, and individuals have pledged the needed money, supplies and volunteer help to make it happen - all we need is for DFO to give the green light.

Below you will find some of the recent news articles and an excellent editorial on Luna by Paul Spong of Orcalab.

Also, if you can contribute to the Luna Stewardship Project, your help is needed. Visit their website at: http://www.salishsea.ca/m3/luna/luna.html for additional information about Luna and how you can donate to the project. . And if you'd like to express your thoughts about Luna and his future to DFO, there is contact info. below for Marilyn Joyce, Marine Mammal Coordinator.

We will keep you updated on the situation - Luna's family (L pod) is historically around this area through September or October, and for the past four years has been sighted in Puget Sound and the Straits through January and sometimes into February. We need to act fast to get Luna home and reintegrated with his pod before they leave for the winter...
Susan Berta & Howard Garrett
Orca Network

Canadian Official Accused Of Beating An Orca Whale

By Tracy Vedder, KOMO 4

KOMO 4 News has learned that Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans is launching an investigation. The incident in Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island increases pressure to move Luna back home to Puget Sound.

Videotape shot last summer shows Luna, an orphaned killer whale, cavorting in Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island. The juvenile orca is clearly comfortable around boats and humans.

But that comfort level has become dangerous for the young orca. Now, as many as 200 people a day show up to pet and play and sometimes abuse the killer whale.

"Luna's being fed chocolate chip cookies, having beer poured down its throat," says Michael Harris with Orca Conservancy. "They're out there teaching him tricks and hand signals like Shamu."

In the most recent incident, a contract worker for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans -- the same agency that's supposed to protect marine mammals -- allegedly beat Luna. Grant Howatt of Nootka Aviation talked to the worker, who allegedly admitted he'd hit Luna.

"When Luna got up close he was smacking it with a board to get it away from his boat," says Howatt.

Canada's DFO is bringing in an investigator from Victoria. That person will determine if charges should be filed against the worker.

But it's this type of incident that spotlights the growing problem: Orphaned orcas and humans aren't a healthy mix.

"Anytime you have a wild animal," adds Harris, "particularly a wild killer whale interacting with human beings, you're asking for trouble."

Last year it was Springer, the orphaned orca in Puget Sound, so starved for attention she adopted a ferry and wouldn't leave boats alone. Springer successfully reunited with her Canadian orca family.

Orca advocates say it's time to give Luna the same chance and bring him home to Puget Sound.

Canada says at this point it is not considering any type of reunion for Luna. Instead the government says it's focusing on keeping people away from the whale.

Susan,
Thank you for your email today expressing your concern for Luna and your offer of assistance.

We are aware of the alleged incident and our Conservation and Protection Officers are conducting an investigation into the matter. I am confident that this matter will be handled thoroughly and appropriately, as it would with any report of such activities. The individual is not a DFO employee. The contractor in question will not be returning to his regular duties in the area until the matter is resolved. Rest assured that we are very concerned that this kind of treatment maybe occurring by anyone.

At this time, DFO staff are reviewing the situation with regard to Luna's current behaviours and the increasing interactions with people both at the dock and on the water. Our decision to leave Luna in Nootka Sound, came with a commitment to continue to monitor Luna's health and well-being and to be responsive to new information.

Regarding the stewardship program proposed by M3 and Soundwatch, no final decision has been made on the funding and operation of this program. We are investigating ways in which some kind of Stewardship program could be conducted given our very limited funding. Currently, our Conservation and Protection Officers and the local RCMP (Police) have been and are prepared to respond to reports of violations of the marine mammal regulations. Keeping people away from Luna is key to maintaining the opportunity for him to be a wild whale.

We share your concern and also want what is best for this whale.
Marilyn Joyce
Marine Mammal Coordinator
Fisheries Management - Pacific Region
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 - 401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5G3
Telephone: (604) 666-9965
Facsimile: (604) 666-3341
Cellular: (604) 813-5314
JoyceM@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

July 14, 2003

West coast whale funding cut
CBC British Columbia

VICTORIA - A Vancouver Island whale conservationist says federal fisheries officials want his group to watch over Luna the orphaned orca in Nootka Sound, but aren't willing to pay for the service.

Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Veins of Life Watershed Society says his funding has been cut, putting the whale's life in danger.

"He is going downhill fast. And if we don't do something in the near future, we're looking at a tragedy in the making," he says.

Luna has been living alone in the waters around Gold River for the last couple of years.

Veins of Life Watershed Society says while the solo whale appears fine physically, he is displaying symptoms of depression.

He says the only solution for Luna is to reunite him with his family.

Conservationists were able to reunite another orphaned killer whale – Springer – with her pod. Just last week, Springer was seen swimming in waters off northern Vancouver Island.

INTERVIEW: On the Island's David Grierson speaks with Veins of Life Watershed Society. (Runs 6:25)

July 11, 2003

Springer safe, but what future does Luna see?

Christopher Dunagan , Sun Staff

Luna, a member of a whale family, or pod, that frequents Puget Sound, remains isolated in Nootka Sound off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. He has lived there without contact from his own kind for two years.

Observers say the young orca is acting more and more like a caged animal or perhaps like a pet.

While Springer's dramatic rescue from central Puget Sound and return to her family in Canada has become legend, Luna is getting attention by performing tricks for humans.

Many researchers had doubts about whether Springer would survive the winter.

"The winter is often when we lose animals," said Graeme Ellis of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans who has been studying killer whales for 30 years. "I think orphans have the deck stacked against them."

Springer, or A-73, was spotted Wednesday by the whale-watching boat Naiad Explorer as she swam with about 30 orcas in Queen Charlotte Strait in British Columbia.

Nearby was her late mother's aunt, Yakat or A-11, the matriarch of the pod. Yakat seemed to take Springer under her wing last July and stayed with her through October.

Researchers don't know where the whales go in winter, because they aren't tracked during the wet season.

"What we do know," said researcher Paul Spong, who runs OrcaLab off northern Vancouver Island, "is that Springer has truly succeeded in making it back home and rejoining the company of her own society."

Others celebrating were Bob Lohn, regional director of NOAA Fisheries.

"By any measure, this rescue, rehabilitation and return have been an unprecedented success," he said.

"It is the event we have been waiting for all winter," said John Nightingale, president of Vancouver Aquarium, another rescue partner.

Springer captured the world's attention last year when she began to hang out in the ferry lanes between Seattle and Vashon Island.

After her health started failing, she was captured, treated and rushed by high-speed catamaran to the north end of Vancouver Island, where she was released near her closest relatives.

Many whale supporters hope something similar can be done for Luna, but the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has decided against capture so long as the young orca remains healthy.

"We are extremely concerned about Luna," Spong said. "DFO needs to ... do something before it's too late."

In fact, the Canadian agency might be dropping its support for the only whale-watching education program in Nootka Sound, said Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Luna Stewardship Project.

Veins of Life Watershed Society said Canadian officials assured him of funding to continue the project this year, but then withdrew support after eight days.

Canadian officials with knowledge of the funding were unavailable for comment Thursday, according to Lara Sloan, spokeswoman for DFO.

Veins of Life Watershed Society said he's worried about Luna, who is "showing signs of depression," such as repeatedly bumping into boat fenders.

As for the people, "the atmosphere is becoming more circuslike this year."

Two people have been arrested for harassing Luna, and others continue to bother the whale when authorities are not around, he said.

"Luna is either going to be injured or killed by a boat or someone will recommend that he be taken into captivity for his aggressive behavior," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy in Puget Sound says the answer is to capture Luna and place him in a netpen near his present location but within earshot if his pod comes by. Private funding is available, he said.

"I was hopeful the local community would take on the stewardship of this animal," he said. "The only thing you can say is that you're putting a nail in his coffin every time you interact with him."

Reach Christopher Dunagan at (360) 792-9207 or at cdunagan@thesunlink.com.

July 4, 2002

Kakawiin Stranded in Mowachaht/Muchalaht Territory
Ha-Shilth-Sa, p11
Jack F Little (Northern Reporter)

July 6, 2003

Clip from
A blast for the future
Once a flourishing mill town, Gold River spouts for change

Jack Knox
Times Colonist

Not that the google-eyed tourists mind. Being misted with a little Eau d'Orca is a small price to pay for having a real, live killer whale just about jump in your lap. Jacques Cousteau, eat your heart out.

Official signs plastered all around the government dock warn against molesting four-year-old Luna, who first showed up here after being separated from his pod in 2001. Good luck.

Luna appears to crave human contact. He makes a bee-line for every vessel that draws near, rubbing against the hulls, putting on a show.

There are stories of the orca moving logs and picking up logging chains for boom boats.

"He's like a big puppy dog," says Victoria's Chris Peterson, standing in the Lasqueti Sabre, a prawn boat tied up to the dock.

"If you don't acknowledge him at all, he slaps his tail like a petulant child."

As if to prove Peterson's point, Luna pushes on the Lasqueti Sabre, snuggles against it, rolls on his side and pops up for a closer look at Chris's daughter, J.J. She stifles an urge to touch the whale.

A couple of days earlier, Chris tried to warn a couple of sports fishermen of Luna's affinity for boats, but they didn't really listen.

One was trying to urinate off the side when the whale suddenly burst from the depths. "The guy just about peed his pants. It was funnier than hell."

As Peterson speaks, Luna noses a pleasure boat full of teenagers toward a parked water taxi. The kids gawk nervously, uncertain what to do. Salvation comes by way of another speedboat carrying loggers home from a day in the bush. Luna heads straight for them, wants to play, but the loggers ignore him. A celebrity nymphomaniac killer whale who wants to be your friend? Ho hum, been there, done that. This is old hat to the locals...

... no one knows what will happen to Luna.

There will be no attempt to drag the whale back to his pod. Officialdom has decided to take a hands-off approach to the killer whale, which is more than can be said for some of the people crowded around the dock. There are stories of bozos trying to pour beer down his blowhole. Peterson, the Victoria prawn fisherman, rebuked someone for tipping a glass of something on the whale.

"I guess there's a fine line lots of people don't understand," Peterson says. "You've got to treat this thing with a lot of respect. He's a magnificent animal."

Still, he wishes Gold River could exploit Luna's quasi-wild presence somehow. Growing up in Sointula, Peterson saw killer whales captured for sale to zoos. "This is much better than him being in a pen."

Mayor Lewis isn't so happy about the laissez-faire attitude toward the whale. He thinks the story will end badly. Luna is a pain in the butt, his playful antics hemming boats in at the dock for 45 miMr.es at a time. Lewis figures someone is going to get frustrated and shoot the whale.

Or maybe Luna will harm someone. In June, an out-of-gas boatload of anglers was stranded on the water overnight because the whale kept pushing them away from shore. Canadian and American television crews flocked to Gold River after that episode. There have been tales of people dangling children over what is, after all, a wild animal. "Someone's going to get hurt," says Lewis.

Gold River has had enough hurting. It's had enough broken dreams of renewed prosperity around the corner. For those who've kept faith in the community, it's time for the dream to come true.

June 12, 2003

Lonely Luna keeps boaters out all night

Carla Wilson
Times Colonist

Four Vancouver Island boaters spent a night trapped on the ocean when Luna, the lonely killer whale, kept blocking their vessel, shoving it away from shore.

"The whale wouldn't leave us alone," Norman Sinclair, one of the boaters, said Wednesday. "It kept pushing the boat around."

Sinclair, who runs Analisa II Fishing Charters, had been out on the water off the Island's west coast with Cory Handeyside, Chris Lazuk and Scott Comeau for a day's cruise and were heading home when their fuel ran out about 10 miMr.es from shore.

To bring their 5.6-metre boat to shore, they snapped the lids off their coolers to augment their paddle.

But whenever they made headway, Luna, also known as L-98 to denote his pod and birth order, ran interference.

"The whale would keep us going the wrong way or would spin the boat around so we couldn't really paddle."

The whale had the four men going in circles from about 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., when passing prawn fishermen came to their rescue.

"It would grab my rope in its mouth and tow my boat a little bit," said Sinclair, 23.

Luna also used his head to push the boat, or moved his tail through the water, sending the vessel on a 360 degree rotation.

The young whale was separated from his pod and has been living on his own in Nootka Sound, on Vancouver Island's west coast, where he turns to boats for company. He's a member of the highly social group of southern resident killer whales.

The four men didn't get any sleep on the cold water. As the hours wore on, the novelty of the situation paled.

"It wasn't funny," Sinclair said.

The situation was not dire enough to put out a mayday on the radio and Sinclair was never concerned for their safety.

Even so, "it was quite an adventure," Sinclair said.

At one point, the four were optimistic as they managed to paddle closer to shore. Then Luna surfaced, pushing the boat in the opposite direction. "Everyone was swearing at the whale," Sinclair said.

Despite what happened, Sinclair likes and respects Luna. "It's just nature."

And when passing prawn fishermen spotted Sinclair's boat and towed it to shore, Luna frolicked at the side the entire way.

Veins of Life Watershed Society, co-ordinator of the Luna stewardship program, which includes an on-the-water monitoring program, doesn't find the situation amusing. Instead, it highlights the loneliness of the whale.

"It's sad."

"This is an orca that is really lacking in the normal kind of stimulus that he would get with other whales."

Veins of Life Watershed Society would like to see efforts made to reunite Luna with his pod. But Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which established a Canadian-U.S. panel of whale experts, has decided to leave the whale alone for now. Luna is healthy and able to find food in Nootka Sound.

Federal officials are asking boaters to do their best to avoid Luna, to encourage him to live as a wild whale.

© Copyright 2003 Times Colonist (Victoria)

There has been considerable public interest in L98, a Southern Resident killer whale. The occurrence of a solitary animal is unusual because resident killer whales normally travel in cohesive family groups,says Dr. John Ford, a marine mammal scientist at DFO and a well respected authority on killer whales.

DFO convened a scientific panel of Canadian and US experts that have evaluated what the best options are for L98s future. Both DFO and the panel of experts agreed that this is a complex and unusual situation and the reasons for L98s solitary existence are not clear. Intervention in this situation poses risks for both the whale and the public and the likelihood of a successful reintroduction cannot be assured.

The panel felt that it may be possible to lead L98 out into open waters where he may be more likely to naturallyreunite with his pod. However, this approach has the potential to further condition L98 to humans, and increase his unnatural interest in humans.

L98 is healthy, active and growing. Although reMr.able progress has been made in whale research, still very little is known about the processes that structure their social relationships.

We believe that interfering in what may be a natural and potentially important process is not in the best interest of this whale or the Southern Resident population at this time,says Marilyn Joyce, Marine Mammal Coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

DFO will continue to monitor the situation and asks that the public stay away from this whale and abide by locally posted guidelines for the safety of the whale and themselves.

Help L98 by minimizing its contact with boats. Close human interactions with wild marine mammals can affect their ability to cope and live in their natural habitat. Under the Fisheries Act it is illegal to disturb a marine mammal. Violators can be fined up to $100,000.

Conservation and Protection officers will be patrolling the area to provide information and to remind boaters to stay away from L98 and allow him to live as a wild whale.

For more information:
Marilyn Joyce
Marine Mammal Coordinator
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region
(604) 666-9965
Please visit our web site at: http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Canada to leave solo orca alone
Some experts uneasy with plan to simply keep people away

By ROBERT McCLURE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Instead, Canadian officials facing the busy summer boating season will warn away sightseers who might try to pet the orca, named Luna, and hope he somehow finds his way back on his own.

But if he doesn't, maybe that's just what nature intended, Oceans and Fisheries Canada says.

"There are some signals that he is going about being a whale, and we don't know how this will work out," said Marilyn Joyce, marine mammal coordinator for the agency's Pacific region. "We want to see how this process develops. There may be something natural going on here."

Barring some major development or change in Luna's status, the plan is likely to remain in place at least through the summer, she said.

Orca-protection activists and some of the scientists who advised the Canadian government hoped for a decision to reunite Luna with his family, the so-called L pod.

In one version, Luna would have been scooped up and later released near his pod, much as the young orca Springer, which wandered astray into Puget Sound last year, was captured and returned to Canada to rejoin her family.

Another idea was to get Luna attached to a boat -- he's become fond of a number of them while hanging out in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island -- and lead him on a course to intercept family members.

Oceans and Fisheries Canada is instead setting up a program, in conjunction with several orca-protection groups, to fend off people who try to get close to Luna. Lacking whale company, the orca has repeatedly come up to boats and at one time was routinely petted at the waterfront near Gold River, B.C.

Since then, though, enforcement of regulations against approaching the whale been stepped up by the Canadian government. Last month a Canadian woman was fined for petting the 3-year-old whale.

"The biggest problem here is people staying away from him and we think if we can encourage the public to leave him alone, he'll be more interested in going about being a whale," Joyce said.

U.S. officials said the Canadians' decision is fine with them.

"It's not our call. The Canadians seem to be acting perfectly rationally. That's what we did at first with our killer whale," said Brian Gorman, spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. "Initially, our reaction was that it's not in harm's way, it's not causing problems, we should just chill."

Later, though, Springer developed health problems and, clearly lonely, began approaching passing boats to get some company. By this time last year, U.S. officials were preparing to capture and return Springer, citing the increasing boat traffic as summer approached.

Scientists who advised the Canadian agency were divided.

Said Paul Spong of Orcalab, the Vancouver Island research center that monitors orcas' underwater calls to each other: "Luna is in a situation where he is increasingly in jeopardy himself and he's potentially going to put people in small craft in jeopardy. As a prospect for the long term, I don't see that as a helpful situation."

But others, including those from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, said it's probably a lost cause because the orca has been separated from his pod for more than half of his three years.

Joyce said other marine mammals, such as a beluga whale on the East Coast and dolphins in the Bahamas, have been known to leave their families.

U.S. officials this week designated as "depleted" the orcas that call Washington waters home, and environmentalists are suing to protect them under the Endangered Species Act. The orcas are suffering from decades of industrial chemical pollution that interferes with their reproductive capacity, and their numbers plummeted by one-fifth in the late '90s alone.

Activists worry that if Luna harms someone in Nootka Sound, the Canadian government might depart from its normal procedure and agree to allow him to be captured for display in an aquarium.

Veins of Life Watershed Society of the Victoria-based Veins of Life Watershed Society, one of the groups helping guard Luna, said the whale could easily tip a kayak. Kayaking is a popular pastime in Nootka Sound; when two kayakers recently turned up dead, early speculation focused on Luna's possible role. Although that idea was later discredited, there is also the possibility that Luna could be hurt, he said.

"I am worried about that errant propeller or that inattentive driver and the consequence that could be fatal to the whale," Veins of Life Watershed Society said.

May 30, 2003

Solo whale to be left alone
CBC Radio

The experts have also ruled out leading the orca to open waters where he
Luna in Nootka Sound
might naturally reunite with his pod, because it would further condition him to humans.

Luna has been surviving alone in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, for almost two years.

Last summer, scientists transported another orphaned orca, named Springer, from Puget Sound to Johnstone Strait.

But John Nightingale of the Vancouver Aquarium, says what was right for Springer is wrong for Luna.

Nightingale says Springer was very sick, and wouldn't have lived long without human intervention.

"Luna, on the other hand, is as healthy as a horse. He's eating well. He lives in waters that are pretty clean. He's robust. There's not the urgent physical 'rescue him before he dies' kind of thing there was with Springer."

INTERVIEW: The Early Edition's Rick Cluff speaks with John Nightingale. (Runs 4:30)

The experts aren't sure why Luna separated from his southern whale pod. It's unusual for killer whales to be alone because they normally travel in cohesive family groups.

May 29, 2003

Canadian and American scientists decide not to reunite whale with its pod
Canoe News

"We believe that interfering in what may b