A73 (Springer)... | July 14, 2002 | What a Wonderful Day in Orca Conservancy's History!

Orca Conservancy is proud to be one of the lead organizations - tirelessly working back in 2002 - to ensure A73 (Springer) was reunited with her family back in British Columbia. We also think it is important to acknowledge some of the key players which ensured this projects success. Without Orca Conservancy Board members back in the day: Michael Harris, Fred Felleman, and Kelley Balcomb Bartok; A73 (Springer) probably would not have been successfully released back to her natal pod on July 14, 2002. This includes participation of Orca Conservancy's advisor at the time, Dr. David Bain. In 2017, Orca Conservancy chose to stop looking back at the past and start being present and collectively working with like-minded individuals and organizations towards assisting with the recovery of the remaining 72 'endangered' Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs). Additionally, Orca Conservancy remains committed towards recovery of the 300+ 'threatened' Northern Resident killer whale (NRKW) population -- which is A73's (Springer's) family.

However... before we head back to the past, we are thrilled to share the most recent image of A73 (Springer) from June 24, 2020 (her calves A104 (Spirit) and A116 (Storm) were with her and looked robust and healthy, but the image quality, unfortunately, was not transferable to share:

Northern Resident A73s travelling together with the A35s on Saturday, July 6th:

HISTORICAL 2002 | A73 | SPRINGER. It all started back on January 14, 2002. A73 (Springer), a Northern Resident killer whale (NRKW), was observed alone in Washington State's Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington. The exact location was actually off the Fauntleroy ferry dock and north Vashon Island. It was reported that "the whale" was about 11 feet long and assumed to be about 2.5 years old.

By May 2002, it was clear that A73, in addition to some health concerns, became increasingly interested in people and boats. Such behavior threatened her success in the wild, and she needed to be treated for her medical conditions and moved from a busy shipping lane....

Historically, Dr. David Bain, Orca Conservancy Chief Scientist, weighs in:
A10, A73's great-grandmother had a son and two daughters. A4, the son, was the whale A73's pod was named for. A11 was a daughter whose offspring and grand-offspring have fared well. A24, the other daughter, was Springer's grandmother. A10 had her last offspring in 1983. A10 and at least one other whale in Springer's pod were shot that summer. A10 and her last offspring both died over the winter after the shooting. A13, A11's son, survived being shot.
A24 has had seven offspring, but only two are still alive. Her first offspring was born in 1981, but died shortly after birth. A45, Springer's mother, was born in 1983. A24's low success at rearing calves has parallels with females the same age in the Southern Resident Community. In Southern Residents, high levels of PCBs and DDTs may be affecting reproduction.
A45, like her mother, lost her first calf shortly after birth. A73, A45's second calf was born prior to the summer of 2000. They were seen together many times that summer in Johnstone Strait, so that is where we plan to return A73 to the wild. She and her mother were last seen together in September 2000, by Marilyn Dahlheim of the National Marine Fisheries Service near Ketchikan, Alaska.
In 2001, A4 pod returned to Johnstone Strait without Springer and her mother. Both were feared dead. However, an unidentified calf was seen traveling with an adolescent female in one of the G pods (adolescent females are frequently seen babysitting in the Northern Resident Community). The calf was later identified as A73.
In a Southern record for the pod, some Gs were sighted by NMFS off Oregon in the fall of 2001. It is not known whether Springer or her babysitter were with that group.
In early January, there were reports of a baby whale near Sequim, Washington, where two transients stranded (a live adult male and dead adult female). While rescue efforts were underway for the male at Sequim, there were reports of a baby orca in Swinomish Channel. A series of sightings of a baby whale were received between there and Vashon Island over the next two weeks.
Mark Sears reported Springer's arrival at Vashon Island (across Puget Sound from Seattle) on January 14. Ken Balcomb attempted to identify her, but concluded she was not any of the Southern Residents he knew. It made sense to associate her with the transients that had recently stranded, but she did not look like a transient. Due to the poor condition of her skin, it was not possible to photoidentify her.
Joe Olson of ACS then obtained some sounds from her. One call obtained was characteristic of A clan whales (the three A Pods, B, C, D, H and some of the I pods), but since several pods used that call, that was only enough to conclude that she was a stray Northern Resident, hundreds of miles away from where she belonged. As the condition of her saddle improved a little, a tentative match with the G Pod calf was made. At the time, there was no explanation for why a G Pod calf would be making A clan calls.
Fred Felleman later obtained a good photograph of A73. David Bain obtained calls that were clearly from A4 Pod. Helena Symonds pointed out that A73 was the only whale in A4 Pod that was the right size to be the Vashon Island orca. The next morning, Fred's photograph was matched with Marilyn Dahlheim's photographs of A45 and A73 from Southeast Alaska, and her identity was finally known.
Marilyn Dahlheim sent copies of her photos to Graeme Ellis. Graeme confirmed that the young whale he had seen with the G's was A73, not a new G calf as originally thought. Graeme also confirmed that A45 had not been seen since 2000, so A73 was an orphan.
Planning to return A73 to her natal community started immediately. A4's had been seen in Northern British Columbia in the spring, but large day ranges at that time of year made it unlikely that A73 could keep up with her pod. The optimal time for her return was found to be in early July. At that time of year, salmon are plentiful. A73's pod passes by the same place a few days a week on average, so if it took time for her to get used to her pod again, she'd get several chances to reaffiliate with them. In addition, most, or sometimes all, of the Northern Resident Community passes through Johnstone Strait in July or August each year. This would give A73 the chance to be adopted by another pod as happened in 2001.
However, by September, fish abundance drops off sharply. A4 Pod leaves Johnstone Strait, and sometimes travels as far away as Southeast Alaska. That is, there is only a brief window of time during which A73 is likely to be successfully reintegrated with the Northern Resident Community.
Rather than rush into the rescue effort, NMFS looked for evidence that the rescue was likely to be successful. A major concern was that A73's ketosis reflected a genetic defect that would lead to an early death without ongoing treatment, because so many of her aunts and uncles, her sibling and her mother died at an early age.
As A73 became more tame, it became possible to do blood tests on her. The blood tests showed no signs of genetic defects, so NMFS authorized the rescue effort. Now, we can only hope that all her medical problems (the ketosis (a symptom of which is the smell of nail polish remover or paint thinner in her breath), an infestation of parasitic worms, anemia, her skin condition, a respiratory problem, low body weight, and poor overall physical condition due to inactivity) respond to treatment quickly enough that she can rejoin her natal community before the window of opportunity closes.
VIDEO | Credit: NOAA:

All of the historical data on A73 gives so much credence to the many individuals, organizations, and corporations that worked together.

They include the following:

Conservation Organizations

• American Cetacean Society
• Earth Island Institute
• Friends of the San Juans
• Orca Alliance
• Orca Conservancy
• OrcaLab
• People for Puget Sound
• Project SeaWolf
• Seattle Aquarium
• The Whale Museum

Corporations

Busch Entertainment - Sea World
Veterinary services & laboratory analysis
San Diego, Calif.
Cypress Island Inc.
Logistical support, rescue barge & live salmon
Bainbridge, Wash.
Diametrics Medical, Inc.
Blood Gas Analyzer
St. Paul, Minn.
The Friendly Foam Shop
Foam pad for transportation
Seattle Wash.
Home Depot
Supplies for whale-care pen
Seattle, Wash.
Manson Construction Co.
Barge-mounted crane on transportation day
Seattle, Wash.
Nichols Bros. Boat Builders
High-speed catamaran transport
Freeland, Wash.
Northwest Cascade
Sanitation
Seattle Wash.
Ocean Systems
Underwater monitoring cameras for whale-care pen
Burtonsville, Md.
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
Transport stretcher
Tacoma, Wash.
Six Flags Marine World
Transport container
Vallejo, Calif.
Underwater Sports
SCUBA tanks for whale-care team
Edmonds, Wash.
West Marine Corp.
Transportation supplies & safety equipment
Seattle, Wash.
Woodland Park Zoo
Blood centrifuges
Seattle, Wash.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Monitoring cameras for whale-care pen
Woods Hole, Mass.

 "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." – Andrew Carnegie

If you'd like to revisit Orca Conservancy's historical timeline on A73 (Springer), please click on the following link: SPRINGER ARCHIVES. Enjoy! As always, please feel free to reach out to us at: info@orcaconservancy.org