Springer File

SPRINGER UPDATES FROM ORCALAb www.orcalab.org

OrcaLab Springer News for 2008 and 2009 - Doing Great!

OrcaLab News - November 15th, 2007

Good Springer News

Springer has returned to Johnstone Strait, and she looks great!

Almost 3 anxious months have passed since the tragic oil spill in Robson Bight, which exposed fully 25% of the Northern Resident orca community to toxic diesel fumes.  Springer’s family, the A4 pod, was one of the groups which spent several hours amidst a dense diesel fog in Robson Bight the night after the incident. During the 2 weeks that followed, none of the A4s, including Springer, displayed obvious symptoms. But just the same, we were worried about them, and when they left we wondered if we would see all of them again.

Two months later, on November 7th, we heard the welcome sounds of the A4 pod in Blackfish Sound once more. We thought the calls were probably from Springer’s adoptive family, her great aunt Yakat’s group within the A11 matriline, though we couldn’t confirm their presence visually. An A5 group was with them, and a couple of days later they were joined by Scimitar’s A12 family. On November 10th, we were able to see all 3 groups as they headed slowly north through Blackney Pass against a strongly flooding tide. The groups were quite mixed up, but we were fairly sure that all of the A12s, all of the A8s, and all of Yakat’s group (including Springer) were there. We managed to get photographs of most of the orcas, to confirm their identities. All the behaviour looked, at least superficially, to be normal. The youngsters were in a playful mood, splashing about and flipping their flukes, and several of the orcas spent time foraging as they entered Blackfish Sound. Springer was traveling with her close cousins Nahwitti (A56) Current (A79) and Echo (A55). She appeared energetic, and her skin condition was the best we’ve ever seen it. Needless to say, seeing Springer and more than a dozen (16) of the 58 orcas who were impacted by the August 20th oil spill was heartwarming and reassuring. It’s far too early to say that the orcas are all out of danger, but we can say that 3 months after the incident, everyone in these 3 families looks fine. That’s good news.

OrcaLab News - July 14 2006

Springer’s 4th anniversary

July 14th, 2006 marks the 4th anniversary of Springer’s repatriation. The little orphan orca, who’s dramatic rescue and return to her family captivated the world in 2002, is now 6 years old and a fully functional member of her A4 pod and Northern Resident orca community. Springer was in her usual place in Yakat’s A11 matriline when she first arrived in the Johnstone Strait on June 27th, and (with the others) quickly settled into the familiar summer routine of socializing, feasting on the new season’s salmon runs, and rubbing her still-small body in the smooth pebbles that make up the “rubbing” beaches of the Michael Bigg-Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.

On the anniversary eve of her repatriation, Springer was amongst a large, energetic group of orcas that included all 3 matrilines of the A4 pod (A11s, A24s, A35s) as well as the A8s, a group from the A5 pod. Just after dawn, the orcas traveled quickly from eastern Johnstone Strait, swimming easily with one of the biggest ebb tides of the year; they were in a boisterous mood, evident from flukes flipping, spyhops, breaches and sudden splashes as they headed through Blackfish Sound and past Dong Chong Bay, the site of Springer’s release; then, when the tide turned to flood again, all the orcas headed back to Johnstone Strait, where they met up with the A12s, one of the A1 pod matrilines. The A12s were headed west, pushing against the tide, but as so often happens when orcas meet, Springer’s crowd turned & joined them. An hour later, all the orcas had turned and were east bound again, now swimming with the tide, heading towards the Ecological Reserve and the rubbing beaches, their voices joined in a rowdy chorus. Such is the day by day routine for young Springer. Quite clearly she is thriving, visibly bigger than a year ago, and absolutely at home.

We can’t know what Springer was thinking as she swam along in the early evening, but couldn’t help noting that all of the orcas into whose company Springer had been released on that remarkable day in 2002 were once again with her.

OrcaLab News - October 4th, 2005

Springer's Summer

Like the touch of fine silk caressing skin, Springer’s presence amidst her community was barely noticeable this summer. She was there, but she has become integrated so well that it was often difficult to find her among the crowd of other orcas visiting Johnstone Strait. By no means invisible, and still clearly identifiable via her striking “open” saddle patch, Springer is now a normal young orca in practically every way. Her status as an orphan, and the extraordinary adventure that took her away from home and then back again, of course make her unique. But it is clear that Springer has now joined the ordinary flow of life of the northern resident orca community, that she has a secure place among her close and distant kin, that she is where she belongs!

Springer was among the first “northern resident” orcas that returned to the Johnstone Strait this summer, on June 22nd. It was early morning at first light, and they came along the Hanson Island shoreline in Blackney Pass in a playful muddle of A12s, A4s and A5s. They were so close to us, and so jumbled together, that it was surprisingly difficult to determine exactly who was there. From their mix of A1, A4 & A5 calls, we had known whom to anticipate, but still we were only able to confirm just a few individuals. One group of 4 matched the profile of Springer’s adoptive family, Yakat’s “A11” matriline. It wasn’t a positive identification, but we believed Springer was there. At a certain point, we decided to relax and absorb the beautiful whale-filled moment, enjoying the spyhops and breaches that punctuated the orcas’ swim towards Johnstone Strait. All too soon, they disappeared from sight.

Over the next 2 weeks we thought we heard Springer’s unique voice several times, but a definite sighting did not occur until July 8th. The day before, we had become momentarily worried when Yakat (A11) and her 2 offspring, A13 & A56, passed by us in clear view, without Springer! Then we heard an “A4” voice among the calls of Scimitar`s “A12” family, which was following the A11s. We thought that Springer may have gone off to play with her young cousins, but could not spot her among the group. The next day, Springer finally showed herself to us, in her usual place beside her great aunt Yakat. In the weeks that followed, Springer and the other “A11s” spent much of their time in eastern Johnstone Strait, making only occasional trips to the west and into our view. In the east, she spent a lot of time with the A8 matriline of the A5 pod, and seemed to especially enjoy the company of Holly (A42) and her 2 year old baby, A79. On July 21st, the A8s and A11s made a brief visit to western Johnstone Strait, with Springer in their midst. For a few days after, the A8s & A11s travelled with Scimitar’s family (the A12s), forming an old comfortable alliance that we have seen before. It wasn’t long, however, before they left the A12s and returned to the east.

Springer was among a crowd of 60 orcas when she departed the “core area” on September 6th . This was the last day we saw her this summer. Now 5 years old, and visibly bigger than she was a year ago, Springer is becoming increasing comfortable among the other orcas, blending with her community. We take this as a sign of success. It is also an affirmation that the efforts of so many, that led to Springer`s 2002 return to her family and community, were well worthwhile.

Thanks to Paul Tixier for the photos of Springer, and John & Linda Gansner of Robson Bight Charters for their reports about Springer when she was in eastern Johnstone Strait.

-Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds, OrcaLab

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 3

Before we get to the first reports on Springer, we’ve included our favorite wrap-up piece on the effort, which aired on ABC World News Tonight With Peter Jennings. I’ve been a Contributing Producer/Wildlife Specialist for ABC News and Good Morning America for years, but now the story literally was happening in my backyard, the waters off Seattle. And it ended at my friends’ place – the waters off OrcaLab, BC. I was able to provide my desk the first images of Springer back in the Sound and the first back with her family. And to convey the real spirit of the accomplishment to the producers back in New York and LA, which I think comes across in the story. I know that this was one of Peter’s favorite stories of all time… and that’s saying a lot. Wherever you are, Peter – Springer and her family send their best wishes.

Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy.

Wednesday, August 21, 2002 (also BBC News)

ABC World News Tonight With Peter Jennings

“Family Found”

Peter Jennings: On World News Tonight this Wednesday… “Family Found.” That baby whale in Canada is doing fine. Her grandmother’s on the job…
Tease #1:
Peter Jennings: When we come back… The laws that let eye doctors keep prescriptions secret – forcing patients to pay top dollar for contact lenses and it may be "Your Money." White-collar criminals set a crash course on life behind bars – we’ll take "A Closer Look." And a reunion for the young killer whale in Canada – she is finally with family…
Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy: I don’t think anything even close to this has happened. I mean, this is totally unprecedented.
Tease #2:
Peter Jennings: When we come back this evening, the last item in the broadcast. That young whale we got so attached to earlier in the summer, she’s with family again.
Package:
Peter Jennings: Finally from us this evening, the family reunion that worked against the odds. The tiny killer whale, tiny by orca standards, who was found sick and orphaned in a Seattle harbor, was spotted with her family near Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.
Here is Neal Karlinsky.
 OrcaLab Video/courtesy OrcaLab and Orca Conservancy: Springer with family. Sound-up, Anna Spong, OrcaLab researcher: There she is, in the back.
Neal Karlinsky: These pictures are the first evidence that an unprecedented rescue effort by American and Canadian scientists actually worked. A73, the orphaned orca found in Seattle, is seen here surrounded by family for the first time.
John Nightingale, Vancouver Aquarium: (I’ve been) more than amazed. I've been a fascinated spectator, watching these whales get used to each other and her integration into her larger family group.
Neal Karlinsky: The 2-year-old baby orca spent months alone, far from her family, in the waters off Seattle. Scientists captured the whale, barged her to a holding pen in Canadian waters and watched in amazement as she began to react wildly to members of her home pod swimming nearby.
Lance Barret-Lennard, Vancouver Aquarium: Her calls were so loud they practically blew our headphones off.
Neal Karlinsky: Even as the young whale swam near her pod after being released, scientists were unsure if A73's family would accept her. Scientists have never before successfully reintroduced a whale to its family.
Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy: People told us we were crazy. They said this can’t be done, it’s never been done. And we’ve proved them wrong.
Neal Karlinsky: A73 now spends most of her time swimming with three older females, including the one scientists have identified as her grandmother. This whale, who became so familiar, is free and wild again. Neal Karlinsky, ABC News, Seattle.
Peter Jennings: And that’s our report on "World News Tonight." We’ll be back tomorrow.

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Before we get to the A73 Saga, a few stories on the Dungeness Stranding... or "Springer - The Prelude."

January 3, 2002

Stranded Orca Freed

By KOMO Staff & News Services

SEQUIM - A killer whale that repeatedly stranded itself in Washington's Dungeness Bay near Sequim is free. A National Marine Fisheries spokesman in Seattle, Brian Gorman, says rescuers towed it through the bay's inlet into the open water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was swimming west toward the Pacific Ocean Friday afternoon. It was the sixth attempt to free the adult male since it was discovered Wednesday in the bay with a female that beached itself and died. Five other times the male swam back to shore. Gorman says a cheer went up among more than a dozen rescuers as the orca finally took off in the right direction. They are still monitoring the 21-foot whale and trying to remove a float still attached to a flipper. Tests on the dead female have not yet indicated what caused her death. Gorman says the cause of the stranding may never be known.

January 3, 2002

Orca Rescued from Dungeness Bay Sandbar

Second killer whale dies; necropsy planned for today

By Luke Bogues - Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles

SEQUIM - Rescuers freed a killer whale from a Dungeness Bay sandbar Wednesday afternoon but were too late to save a second whale found dead. Officials will perform a necropsy today on the carcass of the female killer whale that died near Dungeness Bay. Workers were expected to mobilize today at daybreak to move the carcass to a location where scientists can determine what killed the marine mammal. Officials also plan to monitor the status of the male killer whale rescuers freed shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Stranding Coordinator Brent Norberg of the National Marine Fisheries Service said the killer whale remained swimming in the bay after rescuers used rope to pull the male orca off the sandbar and into open water. Before nightfall, the whale was free swimming, but not heading toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca, he said. Lingering killer whale? This morning, the U.S. Coast Guard will assist rescuers determine if the living whale is lingering, Norberg said. Should the male orca beach itself again, rescuers will again pull it into open water and try to persuade it to leave the bay, he said. "That seems to be the least invasive method," Norberg said. Killer whales found Rescuers became aware of the stranded whale Wednesday morning when a resident on the bluff overlooking Dungeness Spit discovered the orca after hearing peculiar noises and notified officials, Dungeness Recreation Area manager John Pease said. Workers from the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge were the first on scene, Norberg said. When rescue workers arrived, they found the male in water just inches below the top of the whale, Norberg said. The dead whale was later spotted when a Seattle-based helicopter crew flying over Dungeness Bay spotted the carcass, Norberg said. The dead female's carcass washed ashore just outside the bay. Resident or transient? Researchers are still unsure if the whales are from resident or transient pods, Norberg said. The orcas could be from one of three resident pods in Puget Sound or may have split off from migrating transient pods. Typically, transient whale hunt seals and resident whales eat salmon, officials have said. Washington State Patrol officials received reports of three killer whales hunting seals off Dungeness Spit on Tuesday. Researchers are unsure if the two whales found on Wednesday could be connected with those sightings, Norberg said.

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January3, 2002

Female Orca Dies on Sequim Beach

KING 5 News (NBC Seattle)

A female killer whale died on a beach in Dungeness Spit Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002. Rescue workers were able to free a male whale who was beached in the same area. Kelley Balcomb-Bartok of the Center for Whale Research was on the scene and in an interview on KING 5 News said he believes the male is related to the female and is in mourning. The whales are believed to be transient whales and not members of the three local pods.

January 3, 2002

One Killer Whale Stranded, Another Dies

The Seattle Times

A male killer whale couldn't find his way out of Dungeness Bay on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula last night even after a rescue crew pulled him into deeper water. Roughly two miles away, a female orca was found dead. Officials with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife found the male whale stranded in shallow water about 1 p.m. yesterday. Working with biologists from the Olympic Coast National Sanctuary, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a number of whale-research agencies, state wildlife workers waited for high tide and, shortly after 4 p.m., roped the male and pulled him with a boat into deeper water.

January 3, 2002

Whale Experts Hope to Learn Why Orca Died

KIRO 7 News (CBS Seattle)

Orca Conservancy and Earth Island Institute today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to determine whether or not U.S. Navy sonar tests being conducted in the area contributed to the death of a transient orca and the stranding of another yesterday on Dungeness Spit…

January 4, 2002

The Struggle to Save An Orca: With One Killer Whale Dead Nearby, Rescuers Fight to Keep Another Alive

The Seattle Times

A small army of researchers yesterday struggled with the two-fisted task of saving one killer whale trapped behind the Dungeness Spit and figuring out what killed another orca found nearby. Rescuers managed several times to pull the live whale, a male, close to open water, only to have him slip out of an inch-thick rope harness, swim away and strand himself again. As of late yesterday, he was still trapped. Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor yesterday said he was all but certain the two whales are transients that appear here less regularly and eat marine mammals instead of salmon.

January 5, 2002

Rescuers Finally Tow Orca to Deep Water

The Seattle Times

Its belly cut by shellfish, its organs straining under the heft of its own weight, a young male orca trapped inside the Dungeness Spit was finally towed to deep water yesterday — seeming healthy, but minus a companion. Young male orca are known to travel for years alongside their mothers, and her death might explain the bull's reluctance to leave. "We're dealing with behavior," said Schroeder, the veterinarian who also participated in the necropsy. "We're not dealing with illness."

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January 6, 2002

Whale Finally Towed to Safety

After Six Tries It Was Swimming Out to Open Ocean

By ROBERT McCLURE - SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A killer whale that repeatedly beached itself alongside the Olympic Peninsula's Dungeness Bay, frustrating would-be rescuers for two days, was finally towed to safety yesterday. He headed for the open ocean. "He started chugging west, and he hasn't made a turn yet," Brian Gorman, a National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman, reported before dusk. The orca came very close to being euthanized. Rescuers decided to try for a sixth and possibly final time to pull the five-ton creature out of the bay at midday yesterday. This time, they were aided by a special sling borrowed from the Vancouver Aquarium. Previously, they had rigged a makeshift rope harness around it, and it slipped off before he could be towed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. "It feels good to have him out free and swimming," said Dyanna Lambourn, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife who aided in the rescue. "He seemed to be swimming with a direction in mind." Researchers fitted the adult orca with a transmitter that would track the animal's movements for 24 hours. Scientists were anxiously tracking it. "Everybody's holding their breath," Lambourn said. The drama began Wednesday when a dead female orca was spotted alongside the bay near Sequim, at the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. The male was lurking nearby in shallow water. Over the next few days, scores of people hiked out to Dungeness Spit to get a look at the stranded whale. Researchers' attention now turns to trying to explain the self-destructive behavior of the orcas. Killer whales only infrequently beach themselves. Some other whales and porpoises more commonly do so. The phenomenon is poorly understood by scientists. Environmentalists yesterday raised questions about whether military sonar might have caused or contributed to this week's beachings. They filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Navy, seeking information about its operations around Puget Sound. Fred Felleman of Orca Conservancy, who is working with the San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute on the information request, pointed to a preliminary report released last week in which the Navy acknowledged that sonar was the likely cause of the beaching of 16 whales and a dolphin in the Bahamas in March 2000. Seven died. Felleman, who studied orcas' feeding habits for his graduate degree at the University of Washington, said there are a number of plausible explanations for the beachings. For example, he said, the female orca may have been trying to catch a harbor seal on the beach and got too far up onto the sand to make it back into the water. The orcas are not members of the groups that are typically found in Puget Sound for much of the year, but rather are thought to be "transient" killer whales that range worldwide and feed primarily on marine mammals. The diet of the local whales, which take off each year and migrate south before returning, is mostly fish. Both groups are contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, an industrial product widely used in electrical equipment until the 1970s. Levels are higher in the transient orcas because the seals and other marine mammals they eat are closer to the top of the food chain. Researchers took samples of the dead orca's body parts for further analysis and cut off the head, which can be examined for damage by sonar. Orcas use their own version of sonar to navigate underwater and to find food. A Marine Fisheries Service veterinarian will examine the head in the next few days, and tests will be run on levels of PCBs and other toxins in the carcass, Gorman said.

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January 6, 2002

Orca Makeover: From 'Killer' to Icon

The Seattle Times

Human fascination with the creature burned bright last week at the drama of two whales beached near Sequim. A dead female brought tears from onlookers. A stranded male, possibly her offspring, brought bittersweet joy as rescuers towed him to the wide waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Dave Ellifrit, a researcher for the Center for Whale Research, said much of the good that comes to orcas can help other creatures as well. "In order to save the charismatic creatures, you have to save the environment they're in," he said. "Sometimes, it takes a poster child to hook people before they learn about all the intricacies of the food web."

January 6, 2002

Extraordinary Efforts Save Stranded Whale

Story by Sharon Kivisto, San Juan Islander

Representatives of the State Fish & Wildlife Service aboard an Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary vessel tow the male past the entrance to Dungeness Spit and back safely into deeper water. Wet blankets, zinc oxide and determined whale researchers saved a male orca stranded in Dungeness Spit last week. A dead female orca was found in the same area. The whales were not members of the three resident pods which are frequently seen around the San Juans. Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, a Friday Harbor whale expert and Board Member of Orca Conservancy, heard about the stranding around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002. Realizing he couldn't get to the scene before nightfall if he took the ferry, he called KING 5 News. They picked him up with a helicopter and took him to the beach near Sequim. Having the aerial perspective came in handy in helping the people on the ground locate the two whales. The rescue effort for the male orca involved researchers, state wildlife personnel, and volunteers. The whale was fully out of the water both nights. Wet blankets were placed on top of the marine mammal. Zinc oxide was used to lubricate the blow hole and dorsal fin. On Thursday five attempts to move the whale out of the shallow spit and into the open water were unsuccessful. The whale managed to roll out of the sling placed around him. One attempt used an oyster barge with a crane. "He just about pulled the crane over," said Balcomb-Bartok. Despite appearing lethargic, the whale was very strong he said. The whale beached himself again Thursday night and spent another six to seven hours out of the water. His breathing was labored and his pectoral fin was becoming crushed by the weight. The rescuers worked in shifts and poured buckets of water over the whale throughout the night. Measurements were taken. A local hospital tested blood drawn from the whale. The tests showed the animal was healthy but dehydrated. He had low levels of proteins. Balcomb-Bartok speculated the whales were related and that the younger male was in mourning and that explained his behaviour. On Friday, the sixth attempt to lead the whale out to open water was successful. The rescuers retied the ropes and placed buoys on the whale's tail which seemed to calm him down. State fisheries enforcement officers using a depth sounder led the way in the first boat. Two miles out, the crews pulled the rope. "The farther out we got, he became a little shyer and more of a whale," said Balcomb-Bartok. "He literally swam off into the sunset." A time/depth recorder (TDR) was placed on the whale during the rescue effort. The device stays on the whale for up to 100 hours. Saturday, Jen Schorr, of Marine Research Consultants, determined the whale had most likely left the strait since the signals from the transmitter could no longer be picked up. Attempts will be made to locate the bright yellow TDR using its transmitter. Once it is located, the information will be downloaded onto a computer and analyzed.

The unidentified transient male swimming free in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The animal continued to head west into the sunset, while the rope visible on his back is believed to be merely pinched by his pectoral fins and is expected to eventually fall away. Photo: San Juan Islander.

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January 7, 2002

Freed Orca Still Can't Be Located; IDed in 1996

Peninsula Daily News

Scientists say they still don't know where the young male killer whale rescued from the Dungeness Spit's inner bay might be swimming. A small radio transmitter placed near the dorsal fin didn't work, or fell off, and the orca hasn't been seen since late Friday. When last spotted, the five-ton, 22-foot orca was in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, apparently in reasonably good shape, heading west toward the open Pacific at speeds up to 7 or 8 knots. Meanwhile, the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Cascadia Research identified the two orcas by the shape of spots near their dorsal fins. Both had been seen in a group of 10 whales in Coos Bay off Oregon on Sept. 12, 1996. They were recorded as CA-188 and CA-189.

Monday, January 7

Orca Detected at the Strait

The Seattle Times

NEAH BAY - A male orca pulled last week from a shallow bay behind Dungeness Spit appears to have made it to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Brad Hanson, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, picked up a signal around 10 p.m. Sunday from a transmitter affixed to the orca. The signal, which came from southwest of Neah Bay, was faint but moving, said Brian Gorman, an NMFS spokesman. Meanwhile, Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor has tentatively identified the whale from photographs taken of 10 transient orcas seen feeding on porpoises off Coos Bay in 1996. Also among the group was the female, possibly the male's mother, who was dead near Sequim last week.

January 8, 2002

Orca Detected at the Strait

The Seattle Times

Brad Hanson, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, picked up a signal around 10 p.m. Sunday from a transmitter affixed to the orca. The signal, which came from southwest of Neah Bay, was faint but moving, said Brian Gorman, an NMFS spokesman. Meanwhile, Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor has tentatively identified the whale from photographs taken of 10 transient orcas seen feeding on porpoises off Coos Bay in 1996. Also among the group was the female, possibly the male's mother, who was dead near Sequim last week.

Stranding of Two Transient Orcas at Dungeness Spit

Chronology of Events

What follows is a chronology of the stranding of two transient orcas near Sequim.

Data downloaded from the VHF radio tag on the rescued male transient

On the morning of January 2, 2002, a resident on the bluff overlooking Dungeness Spit discovered an orca in shallow water, moving very slowly, and notified officials of the Dungeness Recreation Area. Workers from the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge were the first on the scene. Officials from the National Marine Sanctuary were notified, and they in turn contacted Brent Norberg of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). A dead whale was later spotted by a Seattle-based helicopter crew flying over Dungeness Bay. Within hours the dead orca, a female, was located near Dungeness Spit, while the other, a male, remained almost immobile inside the spit in shallow water. Teams consisting of NMFS, DFW (Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife), The Center for Whale Research and Cascadia Research were on the scene by 4 PM. The male orca was helped out to deeper water, but as darkness fell he had returned and was still inside the spit, swimming slugglishly. On January 3, a team of scientists arrived on scene in the morning to conduct a necropsy of the dead female orca to determine cause of death. Meanwhile, rescue crews, some in the water or on the orca's back for hours at a time, attempted to tow the male to deeper water. The orca repeatedly slipped out of the tow ropes and beached himself. Although he was vocalizing, he seemed disoriented and oblivious to his surroundings, even colliding with floating driftwood at one point. He remained aground during the night, where volunteers covered him with blankets to keep him wet. He became dehydrated and blood tests showed signs of stress.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 10

In the morning of January 4 rescuers were able to once again tow him into deeper water, but were not able to get him outside the hook-shaped sandbar of the spit. All through the day the male orca evaded repeated attempts to tow him to deeper water. At midday rescuers decided to attempt once again to tow the whale out to deeper water before his condition deteriorated further. By 4:30 the rescue team was finally able to successfully tow the male orca out of Dungeness Bay. As the sun set he was independently swimming west out the Strait of Juan de Fuca at a steady pace of around 4 knots. On January 5 Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research identified the two orcas by the saddle patch below their dorsal fins. Both had been photographed in a group of 10 whales in Coos Bay, Oregon on Sept. 12, 1996. They were confirmed to be mammal-eating transient orcas, rather than the fish-eating resident types usually encountered in Washington's inland waters. Initial results from the gross examination of the dead female identified no clear cause of death. There were no apparent injuries or illness, and the remains of at least two freshly killed seals were in her stomach. Around 10 PM on January 7, the male, outfitted with a suction-cup radio tag, was detected by Brad Hanson of NMFS from a hilltop just south of Neah Bay. The orca was swimming normally a few miles SW of Neah Bay. On January 29, Seattle Times reported that Joe Barton of Shelton, Mason County, was beachcombing near Ocean Shores the previous week and chanced upon a time-depth recording tag that had been attached to the male orca in Sequim. Data on the device showed the orca had been traveling at 2 to 3 mph, regularly diving between 50 and 80 feet, then surfacing for about a dozen breaths before diving again. All of which suggests he was doing well. Thanks are due to: Steve Jeffries, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife was probably the central person coordinating the rescue efforts onsite. Dyanna Lambourn-Hughes, Monique Lance and Tammy Schmidt of DFW played crucial roles. Brent Norberg coordinated all activities from NMFS. Brian Gorman, Robyn Angliss, Marilyn Dahlheim and Brad Hanson, all from the NMFS National Marine Mammal Laboratory, were key in all aspects of the operation. Ed Bowlby, Andy Palmer, Mary Superkarno and Liam Antrim of the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary provided constant support. Jeff Foster, Jennifer Schorr and Greg Schorr did much of the in-water work with the live whale. The necropsy on the dead female was conducted by John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research, with Stephanie Norman and Gina Iatelo of NMFS, David Huff, Steven Raferty, Lance Barrett-Lennard and Brian Sheehan of Vancouver Aquarium, Rich Osborne and Albert Shepard of the Whale Museum, and Dave Ellifrit of Center for Whale Research, who also ultimately identified the whales from photographs. Debbie Nelson, of Olympic Medical Center, tested the blood. Pete Shroeder, Mary Sue Brancato, Mac Peterson, Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Joe Gaydos were helpful in a variety of ways. The U.S. Coast Guard did several surveys of the region. Battelle Marine Science Laboratory Northwest provided equipment and logistics. Port Townsend Marine Science Center provided volunteers. The Dungeness Salmon Hatchery provided cold storage. Farmer Gary Smith allowed his field to be used for the necropsy. Steve and Mike provided their oyster barge. Many other nameless citizens from the Sequim community helped out however they could, including the pizza delivery guy.

NOW, ON TO SPRINGER…

What follows is a chronological archive of news reports, dating back to the first reports of her discovery in Puget Sound, all the way through her rescue, translocation and successful repatriation back to her natal pod in Johnstone Strait.

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ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE PAGE 12

OC TIMELINE: FIRST POSSIBLE SIGHTINGS OF SPRINGER

These are the first reports of possible sightings of a mysterious young orca in North Puget Sound – posted by Orca Network on Orca Conservancy’s e-mail list. Coming off the heels of the stranding event of two transient orcas at Dungeness Spit near Port Angeles, WA, many researchers thought this orca might be the offspring of the female transient that didn’t survive the stranding. Turns out, she was an orphan, just not related to the deceased transient female. We would learn that this whale actually came from The Northern Resident Community of orcas of Johnstone Strait, some 250 miles north. No one knows how she got so far south. When asked by the local media for an explanation, Orca Conservancy’s Michael Harris guessed that her extraordinary journey might be akin to that of a stray cat or dog who wanders away from home and goes from “backyard food bowl to food bowl, neighborhood to neighborhood, traveling in one direction, until one day it finds itself a huge distance from where it’s supposed to be.” Another possible explanation is related to an extremely rare sighting of Northern Resident orcas in Southern Resident territory on September 8, 2000 (see page 4), with Springer possibly losing her group at that time. In any event, we knew we had both an extraordinary event and an extraordinary animal in our backyard. But rather than see Springer as some did, as a diseased, failing whale who may not be worth rescuing, Orca Conservancy saw a survivor. Clearly, she made it this far because she was resourceful, and that boded well for chances to save her and return her to her family.

Thursday, January 3rd -Jack Sanford: Yesterday at dusk he saw what he is 90% sure was a small orca swimming in the channel. Subsequent callers reported seeing a small orca in Swinomish Channel Wednesday, Jan 2 and Thursday Jan 3. Note: We have also received several additional reports of a small "mystery" orca in Swinomish Channel near LaConner yesterday afternoon, so we are asking anyone in that general area to please look for this animal & call us if you see it. There is some concern that it could possibly be connected to the strandings in Dungeness Bay, & in any case, it is very strange behavior for an orca to be in the channel for several days like this. On Friday Shane Agergaard of Island Adventures in Anacortes searched around Fidalgo Island and down Swinomish Channel to Hole-in-the-Wall but did not find the orca. Thursday, January 10th -Marilyn Dahlheim, National Marine Fisheries Service: We got a call at 1:30 a.m. this morning from the Arthur Foss Tug, which was at the Oil Dock at Pt. Wells, south of Edmonds. They reported a young orca (8-9' in length) swimming back & forth right next to the ship they were getting ready to escort out. They said the orca was moving slowly, & staying near the surface, & had been there about 45 minutes. The description & behavior sounded very much like the reports of the whale in Swinomish Channel, & again, the guys on the Foss Tug reported it had a white belly & were very sure it was an orca. We have reported this to NMFS, & checked again with the crew of the Foss, but their last report was at 2 am when they pulled away from the dock & the whale was still there. Monday, January 14 - An update on the orca calf off Vashon Island, from Mark Sears via Marilyn Dahlheim: The calf is 8 - 10', its skin is grayish & mottled, with some abrasions. It is alone, & its behavior ranged from being lethargic to breaching & spy-hopping. It was also approaching boats. This could've been the same whale reported previously & thought to be "Foster" the pseudorca - at least now we know there IS a small, lone orca out there acting strange, & it's a great relief to have him located & photographed, thanks to Mark Sears. Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research is on his way to help identify and figure out what's going on with this little critter. Thanks again to all who have helped to try & locate this whale over the past week or so - & stay tuned for the latest info. on this unfolding mystery~ * [2:30 PM] The mystery continues with another sighting of a lone, young orca today, Jan. 14th. Marilyn Dahlheim of NMFS just called to tell us that Mark Sears of Seattle reported this whale at 2:30 pm off Vashon Island. Mark is out with the whale now, so we will FINALLY get some photos &/or video footage of this little mystery whale! We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything more - stay tuned…

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 13

A STORY CUSTOM-MADE FOR KIDS…

Throughout the SPRINGER FILE, we’ve decided to also present this amazing story as told and illustrated by Vi Hughes and Daniel Grenier in the Scholastic Canada children’s book, “A Pod for a Baby Orca.” Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris worked closely with the publishers during the creation of this book, providing still images from video – or “frame grabs” – culled from footage Michael either shot in Seattle and Johnstone Strait or that he sourced through his friends at OrcaLab. The author and illustrator referenced those frame grabs to create their book.

Since that magical summer of 2002, Springer’s story has been recounted in several children’s books, including the wonderful “Springer’s Journey” (left), written by Seattle’s Naomi Black and illustrated by Virginia Hanson – also created with the help of OrcaLab.

Of course, when you’re telling this story to kids, it’s best to keep it as simple as possible. The true story

of Springer’s historic rescue and reintroduction to her family involved equal parts magic and grown-up greed, treachery and back-door dealing. But both these books do a terrific job capturing the tremendous spirit and wonder that all of us experienced during the project, despite the hardships. And hopefully they’ve inspired millions of kids to stick their necks out as we all did to help save whales.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 14

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January 16, 2002

Young Orca Discovered Alone in Puget Sound

KING 5 News (NBC Seattle)

A young whale was seen swimming alone between the Fauntleroy ferry dock and north Vashon Island. Thewhale is about 11 feet long and assumed to be about 2.5 years old. “He's a juvenile, he's past nursing, so he's not dependent on his mother for milk. He's dependent on his family for social context. I think that's why he's responding now. We give him a little encouragement here and he checked us out,” said Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research.

January 17, 2002

Where Is The Rest Of His Family?

By Kevin Reece, KOMO 4 News

SEATTLE - Researchers are closer to identifying the young orca swimming alone between West Seattle and Vashon Island. After watching it for three days they no longer feel the whale is in any immediate danger. Whale researchers Mark Sears and Ken Balcomb with the Center for Whale Research at Friday Harbor have been observing and photographing the whale since it was first seen alone near the Vashon ferry dock. It's 11 feet long, about two years old and apparently in good health. "The whale's looking healthy," Balcomb told KOMO 4 News. "It looks good. I'd say there's no concern for its health at this time." But even though the whale appears to be feeding on its own it is highly unusual for any orca, especially one this young, to be on its own. "Maybe its mamma told him to stay in one spot until they come home," Balcomb surmised. "Or maybe its just that there's food available here and why go anywhere else."

FIRST ENCOUNTER. Ken Balcomb, Mark Sears and a mysterious, solitary baby orca in the waters off Seattle, WA.

Balcomb admits the other possibility is that its the calf of the transient orca from a California pod that beached itself the first week of January at Dungeness Spit. An adult male orca that also beached itself was towed back to open water and was last reported swimming free in the ocean southwest of Neah Bay. "That's remotely possible but its behaving to me like a resident," said Balcomb. To identify the lone orca near Vashon, Balcomb and other researchers have videotaped and photographed the whale's distinctive eye patch, its dorsal fin, and saddle. They plan to compare the information and look for a match in the extensive database of Northwest orca populations. Balcomb and Sears even got close enough to the lone whale to rub a green pad on its back. They hope to get enough skin samples to run DNA tests and determine if it does belong to a pod in southern Puget Sound. That's the first goal. "The second goal," said Balcomb, "is to try and give it enough sanctuary where it would be able to do its natural thing and be healthy until its family comes home." Researchers are also checking with other whale experts to find out if anyone has recorded this "podless" behavior in this young and orca before.

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January 19, 2002

Podless in Seattle - Experts Ask Public to Give Orca Space

KING 5 News (NBC Seattle)

ANCHOR: A young orca found alone off West Seattle is baffling local researchers. Sound-up, Ken Balcomb, The Center for Whale Research: "I've never seen anything like this before!" ANCHOR: The orca, thought to be about two years old, turned up alone in mid-Puget Sound last week. It was first thought to be possibly the calf of this transient orca, which washed up dead on Dungeness Spit earlier this month. But now researcher Ken Balcomb thinks it may be from one of the Pacific Northwest's resident communities of orcas. Ken Balcomb: "It's behaving to me a lot like a resident." ANCHOR: And that behavior is what concerns local environmental groups like Orca Conservancy. Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy: "This is what we call a 'friendly,' a whale that is solitary, socially starved and increasingly unafraid of boats." ANCHOR: And that's not a good thing for an area that loves boats, and loves killer whales. Michael Harris: "The message we want to get out to boaters is, no matter how much you want to help this whale, do not approach it, don't feed it. That could create enormous problems for any wild animal. "A fed whale is a dead whale."

February 2002

Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds of OrcaLab.

WHO IS THIS WHALE?

February 1, 2002 Here's an e-mail update I received today: "Borca"? "Slough"? "Orphan Annie"? None of the above! Despite all the great affectionate monikers we've mustered up, OrcaLab's Helena Symonds has reminded us "Southern" folks that A73, the wrongway orphan calf making so much news down here in the mid-Sound, already has a name, thank you very much. She's "Springer," as in Springer Pass, one of the orca habs up around Johnstone Strait. Her mum was A45, or "Sutlej," and of course she passed away last year. Springer's grandmum is A24, or "Kelsey." Spread the word. And spread the word that the rumors of her demise (or incarceration) have been greatly exaggerated. She's chasing big salmon and seemingly OK for now. We'll find a way to get her home. Cheers, /M. Michael Harris Orca Conservancy

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March 2002

Presented by Orca Conservancy and Earth Island Institute

Rehabilitation Proposal

SUBMITTED to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on 3/1/02. Re: Translocation and Repatriation of the Orphaned Orca Calf A73 (aka “Springer”) With Natal Pod via Towable Seapen. Objective: To Maximize Chances of Successful Rehabilitation by Minimizing Transportation Stress and Human Contact. Presented by Orca Conservancy and Earth Island Institute. Scientifically Reviewed by Dr. David Bain, University of Washington; Dr. Samuel Wasser, Woodland Park Zoo; Fred Felleman, MSc., Orca Conservancy; and Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds, OrcaLab.

NAMU is towed via seapen from Namu, BC to Seattle, 1965.

Overview: The recent stranding of a transient killer whale in Sequim, Washington and the matter of the isolated juvenile killer whales, A73 and L98, from threatened resident communities in the Pacific Northwest, demonstrate the need to enhance the region’s marine mammal stranding/response capabilities. The success of the A73 repatriation effort will be enhanced by drawing on the complementary expertise of field, aquarium and government biologists, while drawing from lessons learned from Keiko and Namu. This effort will serve as a model for handling future incidents of this nature. Phased approach: 1.) Independent ongoing observational data to assess baseline behavioral and physiological condition; i.e., respirations, activity levels and other indices of stress. 2.) Blood draw (taken in the field) to better assess the animal’s health and guide future intervention. 3.) Build hydrodynamic floating pen to temporarily hold and transport A73 while blood results are evaluated. Pen will be stocked with salmon and her feeding and stress levels monitored through behavioral and fecal stress hormone measures to assess transport readiness. 4.) If prolonged medical treatment is needed transfer to nearby embayment with lift may be required. 5.) When indicators suggest transport readiness, prearrange Customs clearance and initiate slow tow to embayment in Johnstone Strait stocked with wild salmon. Maintain behavior and fecal stress hormone collections. 6.) Transfer lead responsibility to Canadian Government, who have already declared the Northern population as threatened and the Southern Community endangered. 7.) Monitor whereabouts of A4-Pod (due back in Johnstone Strait between June and July), their response to A73, and vice versa, to decide when to open net and initiate repatriation. It is far more optimal to retain A73 in native waters than in mid-Puget Sound to optimize preparedness for reintroduction. 8.) Monitor whereabouts of Ls and seek Canadian support to apply same technique to L98 when timing allows. In addition to providing for the best interests of A73 by reducing the stress of capture and transport to an aquarium, as well as minimizing human contact that could hinder future attempts to repatriate the animal, this towable seapen approach helps build the capacity to manage the region’s wealth of marine resources by tapping the broad array of expertise and public interest in this species in the Pacific Northwest.

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L98, aka “Luna,” alone in BC’s Nootka Sound.

Orca Conservancy Policy Position re: A73, the Wrongway Orca

Orca Conservancy believes that A73 is in no immediate danger of starvation, based on observations from scientists on OC’s Advisory Board, as well as Board Members Kelley Balcomb and Fred Felleman, MSc. and others. We feel it critical to take a thoughtful approach to intervention, should it be required. In such a case, OC proposes “THE NAMU SHUTTLE,” a transfer of the animal into a sea pen and towed to the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, BC. A73 would be fed and rehabbed and then towed north to a cove in Blackney Sound, her home waters. Attempts would be made there to repatriate her to her natal pod. This animal’s return to her family should be the ultimate goal of all parties involved, and certainly we have the expertise and resources among research institutions and non-profit organizations here in the Northwest to make it happen, as well as with our partner in these efforts, Earth Island Institute, the SF-based environmental organization responsible for assembling animal care staff and veterinary services and raised over $7 million toward the transport of Keiko from Mexico City to Oregon and the construction of the facility now in Newport. They are the most experienced and credible non-government non-profit organization in the field of orca translocation. In addition, the plan and teamwork we put in place now on the A73 question would be invaluable in our hopes of returning another wayward calf, our own L98 of the endangered Southern Community, back home from BC’s Nootka Sound. Our position at Orca Conservancy is that we want to do what is best for the animal. As many among OC’s Board of Directors and Advisory Board have first-hand experience in the orca roundups of the 1960s and 1970s for the captive- display industry (OC Board Members Ralph and Karen Munro were instrumental in putting a stop to these captures), we feel strongly that all viable options need to be fully explored before any consideration is given to pulling this orphaned calf out of the water and translocating it into an aquarium, even for temporary rehabilitation purposes. We are committed to doing all we can to preserve the ban on the removal of any orcas from these waters, for any reason. Article 3 in the US District Court Stipulation of Dismissal concerning the State of Washington vs. Sea World, et al, is unequivocal~ it states that, “... Sea World will not exercise its right under Permit 22 or successor permits to take any Killer Whales within the waters of the State of Washington." The document is dated and signed March 23, 1976. All residents of the Pacific Northwest need to remain vigilant. There is clearly great sensitivity in having the captive-display industry, including Sea World, once again working these local waters. In particular, many of these have long track records of “rescuing” animals, bringing them into “the care of humans,” and then unilaterally deciding that these creatures are unfit to return to wild. The human contact inherent in any translocation of a wild animal into a captive setting is the chief obstacle to reintroduction and must be avoided at all costs. OC believes that the rehabilitation and ultimate repatriation of A73 could be done via a towable seapen, requiring far less stress and human contact than an airlift to the Oregon Coast Aquarium or other aquaria which have offered to take the orca. Also, there is concern that while OCA is under a signed agreement with Free Willy Keiko Foundation (co-founded by Earth Island Institute’s Dave Phillips) forbidding the permanent display of orcas, the agreement does allow OCA to transfer the animal to another aquarium after it is successfully rehabilitated. Even to Sea World. Lastly, A73 is a Canadian resident. There is no need for this whale to remain in the United States.

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Friday, March 1, 2002

Feds Consider Helping Orphan Orca Calf

ASSOCIATED PRESS and KIRO 7 EYEWITNESS NEWS

SEATTLE — For weeks now, an orphan killer whale has been hanging around central Puget Sound— about 100 miles south of the state's resident orcas in the San Juan Islands and even farther from her own pod in Canada. Killer whales are often seen in the south sound through the fall, hunting salmon and herring. But this time of year there's not much to eat. Both scientists and whale advocates are concerned about the health of the female calf spotted Jan 14. Last week, the National Marine Fisheries Service convened a panel of experts to discuss what to do. Unlike the young whale, the issue is not black and white. The options: let nature take its course; catch her in a net pen, check her health and try to return her to her family off British Columbia's Vancouver Island or transport her to a commercial site such as Sea World, with operations in San Diego and Los Angeles. Captivity is not a popular option. The Puget Sound orca population has never quite recovered from the hunts of the 1970s, when 57 were trapped for lives as captive performers, leaving just 70 behind. The population grew to 99 by 1995, but is now back down to 80, according to the Center for Whale Research at Friday Harbor. The experts — veterinarians and biologists from state, federal and Canadian agencies and the private sector — have reached no consensus, NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman said Thursday. A summary report shows most agreed the calf's health seemed poor. While she generally seems "bright, alert and responsive," veterinarians noted the smell of ketone— like alcohol — on her breath, which suggests she is beginning to digest her own blubber. There were mixed feelings about intervention, which some feared could lead to dependency on humans. There were doubts about whether her pod — which apparently already left her behind once — would take her back. Gorman said his agency will likely decide whether to intervene over the next week. He called the decision "a very thorny one." If the 10- to 12-foot-long youngster's health is declining — which new tests should help determine — letting nature take its course "realistically is not an option," he said. "She's in a very public location. People would want to feed her." Local advocacy groups have struggled with the issue. "The last scenario that any of us want ... is putting this whale in a tank," said Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy. And most opposed leaving her to fend for herself if she is confirmed to be in trouble. But "as long as she appears healthy, we should let her be," said Joe Olson with the Seattle chapter of the American Cetacean Society. If she's starving, which he considers unlikely — "she does know how to fish, otherwise she'd be dead by now" — Olson would support nursing her back to health in a net pen and trying to restore her to her own pod. "It's speculation to say she's been abandoned," he said. Strangely, a solitary orphan male from the San Juan Islands population has been spotted on the west side of Vancouver Island. A single displaced calf is unusual. Two from different pods is quite bizarre, Harris said. The orphan female, born in 2000, is called A73 for her birth order in Canada's A-pod. She was identified through photographs of her black-and-white pattern and recordings that confirmed she uses the northern population's dialect.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 20

According to Canadian researchers, her mother, A45, is dead. The calf was apparently left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother. Last year, she was seen by Canadian researchers with a female from a different pod, the NMFS summary report said. Now she's alone—and lonely. "She's starved for attention," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy. "This is highly undesirable. The less contact with people the better if she's to be returned to the wild."

3/01/2002

Marine Biologists Continue Debate Over Lone Orca in Puget Sound

KING 5 News (NBC Seattle)

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. - Researchers are debating whether to take drastic action to try to save a young orca swimming alone near Vashon Island. Concern for the young orca began when she was found swimming solo near Vashon Island, somehow orphaned by her pod far from her home north of Vancouver Island. Experts believe her survival is threatened. Marine experts are conflicted on how to help this young whale. They can't agree yet on what to do about the young orca whale, but they know whatever they ultimately decide will set a new precedent on how to handle orphaned orcas in the future. The whale is orphaned at a time when there’s just not much found out there in the Puget Sound waters. Now, it’s a matter of figuring out what the best option may be and how much longer the whale will survive if they leave her alone. The young female, known as A73, is supposed to be with her pod, a group that spends several seasons a year on the northern side of Vancouver Island. Instead, she is here in the Puget Sound alone, eating the wrong kind of fish, and frankly a little lonely since orcas are social animals. The National Marine Fisheries Service is asking experts for their opinion on what's best for the whale. Not all agree on a fast course of action. Some orca experts are convinced her health is failing. They are trying to figure out what they can and should do to save her, weighing options that range from putting her in an aquarium or possibly guiding her back to Canadian waters in an attempt to re-introduce her to her old pod. "Given her present condition and that she doesn’t have a proper supply of food, she will eventually starve to death," said Brian Gorman, National Marine Fisheries Services. The young orca was separated from its pod in Puget Sound. But not all the experts think the situation is so dire. “I don’t see her as declining. I actually see her as actually somewhat improved from when she first arrived in our area. And I think she’d kind of maintaining right now,” said Ann Stateler, marine naturalist. Still, Stateler agrees that the whale needs medical attention. Experts say one option is temporarily penning the whale with enough food and care for her to regain health and be re-introduced to her pod. Some believe the whale is almost as healthy now as she was when they first found her in mid-January. Those experts say it's best to hold off on meddling with Mother Nature as long as possible. "My opinion, is as long as she is, still seems to be healthy and has some high energy levels then we should leave her alone until it appears that she actually is beginning to decline in her health," said another marine biologists. But Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy says before anything happens, he'd like to see a clear plan ofaction and funding to give the whale what she needs to survive. "If you care about this whale, you got to leave it alone. And if we’re going to let the potential for it to be re-established with its natal pod, we have to have as little interaction with it as possible," said Felleman. That’s another thing that all of the experts can agree upon. They say for this whale to regain her health, she needs some amount of privacy. They’re worried about her exposure to the public as well. For more coverage on the debate over the young orca, tune into NorthWest EXTRA at 7 and 10 p.m. PT Friday evening on NWCN.

KING 5's Deborah Feldman and Jeff Gradney contributed to this report.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 21

Friday, March 1, 2002

Orphaned Orca May be Caught and Sent to Theme Park

By ROBERT McCLURE / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Federal fisheries officials are considering capturing a young, orphaned killer whale that has been swimming around Vashon Island for several weeks – possibly for permanent residence at a theme park. The National Marine Fisheries Service yesterday asked conservationists what should be done about the female orca, which split off from a group of other killer whales that spends much of its time around the northern end of Vancouver Island in Canada. The orca, born in August 2000 and identified by NMFS as A-73, isn't eating properly and is showing signs of malnutrition. A panel of scientists that convened last Friday determined that "the likelihood for long-term survival is low, and that the animal is unlikely to reunite with its pod or join a surrogate (mother)," NMFS reported. Brian Gorman, an NMFS spokesman, said authorities are concerned. "We have to intervene at some kind of level and do it sooner rather than later," Gorman said. "We don't have the luxury of time." NMFS is considering removing the orca to a facility such as Sea World or Six Flags in California, or moving it to a pen of some kind in the Puget Sound area, where it could be fed and monitored by veterinarians until healthy. Scientists have grave doubts about the rehabilitation-and-release option. "There is no historic, behavioral or genetic evidence for resident calves leaving a pod and then rejoining it later, or for rejoining a new pod and thriving," the scientists advised NMFS. The orca tried to reunite with its pod after its mother died, but was rejected. Its closest living relative appears to be a grandmother. Fred Felleman, an activist with Orca Conservancy, said he's concerned that the orca seems to have become accustomed to people. He said authorities should keep it isolated from people in a net pen somewhere in Puget Sound until it recovers. His group is asking the public to keep away from the whale. "The animal is unfortunately somewhat socially starved, and interacting with humans would be the kiss of death for it," Felleman said. "We really want to discourage people in their efforts to be benevolent to it. Once it becomes habituated to people, it will be looking for handouts rather than making a living on its own."

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3/2/02

Young Orca May Possibly be Rehabed at OCA

KGW Television (NBC Portland)

NEWPORT, Ore – The Oregon Coast Aquarium-former rehabilitation facility of Keiko the movie star killer whale-has responded to federal fisheries officials for the possible placement and rehabilitation of a juvenile female orca (approximately 11 feet long) currently in the Puget Sound near Vashon Island, Washington. Whale-rescue and whale research groups in the area have been tracking the lone orca's health and location the past six weeks, where the juvenile orca has been staying in shallow water and not making any attempt to swim out to the open sea. "It's very similar to the situation with Keiko, where we were able to respond to a request for him to come to our facility," Aquarium President Phyllis Bell explained. "The Oregon Coast Aquarium has formally responded to the National Marine Fisheries Service and we're waiting their decision on our offer to help with the whale's care and rehabilitation." Other killer whales have been stranded in the Puget Sound since January 1. A male orca was successfully moved last month from shallow water in Dungeness Bay, north of Sequim, Washington, by volunteers who guided it back to deeper waters of the open Pacific Ocean. An older female was discovered dead on a sandbar near Jamestown, Washington in early January. Both orcas were identified as transient killer whales, possibly from California. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is well-known and respected for its marine animal rehabilitation program. Keiko, the killer whale star of the movie "Free Willy", was at the Oregon Coast Aquarium from January, 1996 through September, 1998. He was 1,000 pounds underweight upon his arrival due to poor diet and living in water too warm for him, with skin lesions similar to warts caused by papillomavirus. Keiko also suffered from poor muscle tone and stamina, and could only hold his breath for three minutes. His dorsal fin was bent and he had badly worn teeth from chewing on his concrete exhibit when he was at a Mexico City theme park. By the time Keiko departed the Aquarium for an open sea pen in Iceland, he had gained over 1,000 pounds, grown eight inches in length and his skin lesions were gone. His muscle tone and stamina were radically improved so that he could hold his breath under water for over 17 minutes and the improved condition of his back muscles raised his dorsal fin a foot off his back. The Aquarium has rehabilitated and released (when possible) injured seabirds, endangered fur seals, harbor seal pups, tropical sea turtles and other marine animals as facilities allow. Six sea lions, five harbor seals and three sea otters currently live at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Five of the sea lions and two harbor seals were captive born; one sea lion and three harbor seals were rescued and rehabilitated after beach strandings but were not considered releasable. All three Aquarium sea otters were stranded and recovered, rehabilitated and deemed nonreleasable. For additional information about the Oregon Coast Aquarium, surf www.aquarium.org or call 541-867-FISH. In 1996 Keiko was flown aboard a United Parcel Service plane to a new rehabilitation facility in Newport, Oregon. There he was returned to health and trained in the skills necessary to be a wild whale. In late 1998, Keiko was flown in a U.S. Air Force jet to a sea-pen in Iceland. In the summer of 2002, Keiko joined the company of wild whales and swam nearly 1000 miles to the Norwegian coast. Since then, Keiko has been cared for in a fjord where he was free to come and go by his own choice. Keiko inspired millions of children to get involved in following his amazing odyssey and helping other whales. Keiko's journey also inspired a massive educational effort around the world and formed the basis for several scientific studies. Thousands of people traveled to Norway in the past year to see Keiko, continuing his legacy as the most famous whale in the world. Phillips stated: "Keiko was a trailblazer, the first orca whale ever rescued from captivity. There's still a lot of work to be done to see that captive whales are given a chance to be free. Keiko showed what is possible if these animals are just given the chance." Irwin stated: "From the beginning, we did the right thing for Keiko and we intend to continue the fight to keep whales free."

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 23

3/4/2002

Debate Continues Over Fate of Orphaned Orca

Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5

The tug-of-war continued Monday as various groups prepared to meet over what to do about an orphaned orca cruising between West Seattle and Vashon Island, Wash. The question on many people’s mind is whether the whale could this whale end up in a zoo. The government has said that is not their first choice, but they also aren’t very optimistic that the whale can successfully be re-introduced to her home pod in Canada. More video of the orphaned whale caught fishing adds to the debate about whether the whale is really in trouble. Monday morning, a government boat headed out to try and find the young Orphaned Orca and representatives from some West Coast aquariums were expected to be on board. She's known as A-73 or "Springer" And late Monday, KING 5 News’ helicopter Sky King captured more video of her going after big salmon. Over the weekend, whale researcher Mark Sears captured evidence of the whale feeding. "She's got it, I saw her with a fish," Sears can be heard saying on video he shot of the whale. Experts say both are good signs that the whale is eating. But other scientists who've seen the whale in prior weeks say she is not eating enough and fear she will ultimately starve to death. And the National Marine Fisheries Service does not want to see that happen. “I mean, we enforce something called the Marine Mammal Protection Act, not the Marine Mammal Abandonment act,” said National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman. But what should be done to save this whale? Some environmental groups, including the Orca Conservancy, think the whale could be ferried in a moving net pen back to her home in Canadian Waters to at least try and re-introduce her to her home pod. What the group does not want to see is a return to capturing whales for aquarium displays, as it was done in the 1960s and 70s. “None of us want to open that door again, that's a very, very sensitive issue,” said Michael Harris, President of Orca Conservancy. On Monday, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which played temporary Host to Keiko, says it's willing to house and rehabilitate A-73 if asked. A public forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday night at to discuss the fate of the whale. The forum will be at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California SW, West Seattle.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 24

In 1965, Namu, a large orca, was brought down from Canada in a mobile sea pen, towed over about two weeks to Seattle. (Courtesy: Orca Conservancy)

March 6, 2002

Group May Try to Move Baby Whale

Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5 News

Everyone has an opinion on what to do about the baby whale. Some say do nothing, but that does not seem to be an option for this federal protected mammal. And the choices about what to do are tough, and there are no guarantees. Now, an organization called Orca Conservancy is proposing a reverse trip. Taking Springer, the orphaned and lost member of Canada's A-Pod, back to her home waters in a similar fashion. “To do everything we can to minimize the stress on this animal, to minimize the contact, to do every option we can to repatriate this animal into its home waters and keep it from being lifted out of the water and put into a tank,” says Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy. Orca Conservancy says it's working with Earth Island Institute, a San Francisco environmental organization, to put together a well thought out plan to get the young whale back home, providing her live fish and introducing her back to her home pod, which may or may not accept her. “There's a chance this whale wouldn't be accepted back into the pod. But it's probably a likelihood that she would,” says Harris. The national Marine Fisheries service says it will not allow the nature to take its course, and will not simply let the animal starve to death hundreds of miles from home. But the agency is considering a wide variety of options, including putting the animal into an aquarium so she can be nursed back to health and the agency says a decision on what to do is days, not weeks away. “Certainly, we're not foreclosing any options. A sea pen of some kind might be some sort of an option or an interim step. One of the problems we have with the first step, is that we have to get this animal assessed as far as her health is concerned and back into good shape,” says Brian Gorman of the National Marine Fisheries Service. NMFS says this is a lot more complicated that bringing a lost dog home. But there are fears that even if the whale is taken into temporary captivity, that the whale will ultimately end up as a permanent part of an aquarium exhibit. Namu was brought down from Canada in a mobile sea pen in 1965.

3/7/2002

KEIKO'S PALS MAKE A BID TO HELP ORPHANED ORCA

Conservationists Would Try to Reunite it With Pod, Avoid a 'Concrete Box'

By Robert McClure, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Conservation groups — including one that freed the orca popularized in the movie "Free Willy" — yesterday made a bid to take over care of the sickly, orphaned orca calf that has wandered into central Puget Sound. The conservationists said the female orca should be reunited with its family in Canada. But they're afraid that the National Marine Fisheries Service, because of budget restrictions, will be too willing to turn to an aquarium or theme park to take care of the animal.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 25

"We're concerned it would be a one-way trip," said David Phillips (left), executive director of the San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute. "Once the whale gets into captivity, there are a number of things that will keep it from going back out. It gets socialized, gets used to people. "You get the conflict of interest associated with facilities where this (orca) becomes a huge financial draw. The issue of when it should come back and whether it should go back becomes more than a scientific discussion." The Earth Island Institute teamed up with Orca Conservancy, after the NMFS last week asked environmental groups what they thought should be done. Yesterday they offered a seven-point plan for how to care for the whale. It entails building a floating pen in Puget Sound where the animal could be observed and cared for by veterinarians. Later, the pen would be towed to Canadian waters, with the orca's stress levels carefully monitored. It would be kept in a pen in Canadian waters until its family returns from its winter migration in June or July, then set free in hopes that its family would readopt it. It's an untried option in dealing with such a situation, Phillips acknowledged. But he said his organization surmounted even tougher obstacles to transport the orca known as Keiko and featured in "Free Willy" back to its native Iceland. "It's an easier course of action for the agency (NMFS) to go with a concrete box," Phillips said. "Its cleaner, the marine parks have the money; they're ready to go. ... No muss, no fuss." The activists said they were assessing how they can raise money to care for the whale, although they stopped short of calling for public donations. NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman, who last week solicited advice from the environmental groups, said he would not immediately comment "on an over-the-transom proposal," although he would relay the bid to higher-ups in the agency. Four facilities already had made bids to care for the orca: Sea World, in San Diego; Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, Calif.; the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport; and the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada. "They're all pretty serious and they all have resources that could do the job to one degree or another," Gorman said. "If we end up choosing one of them, I assume it would be for rehab rather than permanent (residence)." Gorman said the agency's budget for rescuing stranded marine mammals is half-spent, and now stands at $6,000. He said cost is not a factor NMFS officials have considered so far but acknowledged, "as we get closer to making a decision, we're going to have to consider whether we can afford to do A versus B." Orca families, known as "pods," have been known in the past to reject members and not take them back. The 18-month-old whale in question, identified as A73, is related to other members of its pod, but her mother and siblings died. Her grandmother is her closest living relative. Scientists advising NMFS have been quite skeptical about the chances that this orca would be accepted back into its pod. She also hung around for some time with another pod, but was rejected by it, too. A scientific panel assembled by NMFS has said it appears the orca will need human intervention. It appears to be very hungry, and has a skin condition indicative of poor health. However, orca enthusiasts who have visited the animal, which has been swimming around between West Seattle and Vashon Island, say there is no urgent need for human intervention. "I didn't see a withering animal," said Fred Felleman, a board member of Orca Conservancy who studied the animals as a graduate student. "I would suggest she's gaining more than she's losing.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 26

Environment

Second Baby Whale Isolated in Canadian Waters

3/7/2002 - Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5 News

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. - A tremendous amount of attention is focused on "Springer,” the young orphaned whale swimming near Vashon island. But there's another young whale considered even more critical to keeping local orca populations alive: L-98. Luna or L-98 has inhabited the waters of Vancouver Island's Nootka Sound since last summer. For some reason he's been separated from the rest of the L pod, a group of whales usually found in U.S. waters. He's north while his pod is south. Meanwhile, Springer or A-73, a distressed calf of about the same size and age, is swimming in the waters between West Seattle and Vashon Island. Scientists say this situation of two calves so far out of place at the same time is unprecedented, but they cannot find anything that connects the two. It's just a very strange coincidence.

Resource Links:

Orca Conservancy

Center for Whale Research

But everyone would like to see L-98 back home because the population of U.S. based killer whales is small and getting smaller. And the National Marine Fisheries Service is reviewing a petition to have the U.S. whales added to the endangered species list. The local whale population had been climbing. “But then just recently, maybe in the past five or six years, it's declined again and we don't know why,” said Brian Gorman, National Marine Fisheries Service. “It's down to maybe 82 animals, not from a high of 96 or 97.” The Orca Conservancy, a Seattle environmental group, is proposing to use a towed sea-pen, like the one used in the ‘60s, to bring L-98 back - if they are given permission to takes A-73 north to her home in Canadian waters. “I'm tremendously optimistic based on a lot of new information that's coming to light in the last few days,” said Kelley Balcomb, whale researcher with the Center for Whale Research and Vice President of Orca Conservancy. And while L-98 is getting plenty to eat and appears healthy, there are big concerns. “There is certainly less of a sense of urgency with L-98, compared to A-73,” said John Ford, Canadian Fisheries and Oceans. “But we are still not confident about his prospects for the long term. Again, these animals live in highly structured pods and do so for a reason." But L-98’s mother is still alive, improving his chances of successfully rejoining his pod, whereas A-73’s mother is dead. The government cites pollution and declining salmon stocks as possible reasons for the decline in the U.S. orca population.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 27

March 8, 2002

Bringing Springer Home

The Spokane Spokesman-Review

Two whale-protection groups — the local Orca Conservancy and the national Earth Island Institute – have proposed a plan to reunite an orphaned killer whale with her extended family in Canada. The plan – involving a large sea pen towed by tugs to move the whale – has been submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service for consideration, said Michael Harris, president of Orca Conservancy. Earth Island Institute played a key role in raising $7 million to reintroduce Keiko ("Free Willy") to his home territory in Iceland. Nobody knows why a 2-year-old orca swam so far south and remains in Central Puget Sound, where she has stayed since mid-January. The whale is from a pod that rarely, if ever, comes into Washington waters. Her mother is believed to be dead. Harris said the primary benefit of the plan proposed Wednesday is that the calf would remain in the water while she is given medical attention. The whale would be placed in a floating sea pen, which could be towed by tugboat from Puget Sound to British Columbian waters. The animal could then be released when her pod comes near. Until now, the only proposals that seemed to have sufficient funding involved capturing the whale and transporting her to one of four commercial aquariums in the region. Citing time constraints, Brian Gorman, spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, could not say whether this latest sea-pen idea would be considered by his agency. "We really don't have a lot of time left," Gorman said. "I suspect we’ll make a decision in days, not weeks."

———- OC E-Mail

From: "Orcalab"

To: "Michael Harris"

Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 10:14 AM

Subject: Re: CBC news story

Hi Michael,

Good job on CBC this morning! They ran a news clip from the interview in the news right after in which you said "Canadian" twice in one sentence... way to go!

cheers, & THANKS!

Paul & Helena

Friday, March 8, 2002

Help On Way for Orphaned Orca

By The Associated Press

Conservation groups and aquariums have offered to care for an orphaned killerwhale that has been swimming for weeks in central Puget Sound. "Nothing's changed," Brian Gorman, a National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman, said yesterday of the orca's situation. "We're closer to making some kind of an announcement, but we're not there yet. My sense is we'll probably be sure of what we're going to do and how to intervene maybe early next week. "We're getting down to the wire." Some conservationists say the female orca should be reunited with her family, based near VancouverIsland. They are worried the fisheries service will determine the whale's fate based on budget concerns, choosing to turn it over to an aquarium because that would be the most economical option. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is ready to help the whale.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 28

Aquarium President Phyllis Bell estimates it would cost $75,000 to transport the orca from Puget Sound to Newport, Ore., where the aquarium is, and an additional $148,000 for care, should she stay for a year. The aquarium would pay the bill. "We're getting commitments now from people willing to donate," Bell said. The young and malnourished orca would first have its condition assessed and treated in a 26,000-gallon medical holding tank at the aquarium. Then it would be released into a 850,000-gallon tank, the largest section of the "Passages of the Deep" exhibit. "We'd move out the larger sharks," Bell said. "The animal would have plenty of room to swim." The aquarium gained international fame for its rehabilitation work in behalf of Keiko, the whale star of the "Free Willy" movie. Keiko lived at the aquarium from January 1996 through September 1998. Other options being considered by the fisheries service include taking the orca to the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia, Sea World in San Diego or the Six Flags park in Vallejo, Calif. The Earth Island Institute, along with Orca Conservancy, offered a seven-point plan Wednesday for how to care for the whale. It calls for building a floating pen in Puget Sound where the animal could be observed and cared for by veterinarians. The pen would later be towed to Canadian waters, where the whale would be reunited with its pod, or family, after the pod returns from its winter migration. Keeping the orca in the water would put less stress on the animal and limit its contact with people, Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris said. "Give us a chance to pool our resources," he said. "We have the components necessary to keep the animal in the water and attempt to repatriate it." The whale was discovered Jan. 14. After a month passed, the fisheries service convened a scientific panel seeking advice on what to do. The panel of biologists, veterinarians and government scientists found that the 1ton orca's condition was poor and deteriorating.

 

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 29

March 9, 2002

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/61524_soap9.shtml

Readers Soapbox: Try Social Approach With Orphaned Orca

HOWARD GARRETT, GUEST COLUMNIST Since at least mid-January a female orphan orca calf has taken up residence in Puget Sound. Less than 2 years old and hundreds of miles away from home, this 11-foot-long baby killer whale has been identified by Canadian researchers as A73, aka "Springer," from the Northern Resident orca community. Locally she's called "Little Orphan Annie." There are indications that her health may be failing. Below is a proposal sent Tuesday to the National Marine Fisheries Service to generate support for an approach that involves empathy and companionship, rather than the suggested emergency room medical treatment plan. There was a public meeting Monday to find a solution. The overall sentiment was that capture and transport to a tank are not acceptable options to the public, even if it means that without intervention she might expire right there in the ferry lane. There is widespread skepticism that she would ever be released if sent to an aquarium. As I understand from NMFS, however, letting the calf die is also not an acceptable option, and the trend of the vets' comments was toward captivity in a tank for rehab. So there is a stalemate. Rather than relying on the medical model, look at a social model, and intervene accordingly. That would mean looking at her social problems, which is that she's a lonely orphan, a member of the most highly social species known to science. Her mother died in her first year, all her siblings have died, and she is now at least 400 miles from her family and unable to keep up with them without her mother or a surrogate to pull her along. Orca pods have no choice but to move on constantly, because their prey tend to scatter in front of them. Somehow she wandered down to Puget Sound and found a productive fishing hole, and camped out. She's starving for company, literally, with a worsening skin condition and, according to the veterinarians, an inadequate diet. The vets say she has ketosis, diagnosed by an acetone smell to her breath, indicating she is burning more calories than she's taking in. She could go downhill and develop terminal pneumonia at any time. Jim McBain, Sea World head vet, said her persistent rubbing on driftwood is not to scratch her sloughing skin but because she misses the tactile company of her mother. She has proven that she is able to catch and eat large salmon, but given her extreme stress factors she may have a depressed appetite, and in fact may simply be depressed. That would account for symptoms discussed at the public meeting. She wants company. When Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research, was out with her on Jan 15, she came to him and biologist Mark Sears, and when Balcomb waved his arms, she obliged by rolling over. She spyhops often and appears alert, aware, and responsive, though sometimes lethargic. There's no possibility that she could rejoin her pod at least until summer, but rather than do nothing until then, or take her to an aquarium to be poked and probed, perhaps certain people could be given authorization from NMFS to keep her company without fear of arrest. They could go out every day, weather permitting, sometimes wearing drysuits, to get in the water with her. I expect she would devise all sorts of games to play with them, and would be thrilled to have the attention of some compassionate beings. Captive orcas tend to bond with certain trainers, and in fact trainers generally say it's trust and attention, not food, that keeps them performing and healthy, to a point. This would provide a way for NMFS to do something to help this unfortunate orphan, and would satisfy the public's desire for minimal intervention. This option would leave open the possibility, providing she stays healthy and grows normally for another five months or so, to follow her human companions back up to Johnstone Strait next summer, where her pod typically shows up about four days a week in July and August. By avoiding captivity there would be no disease or hand-feeding habituation problems to complicate reunification with her pod. The cost of the entire operation would be small, maybe a few thousand dollars a week, maybe much less. The main hurdle in this proposal is to overcome objections that:

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 30

1) she would become too habituated to humans. Keiko was eager to explore the ocean and mingle with wild orcas even after 23 years of captivity. Unfortunately it appears he didn't come into contact with his immediate family, as this little orca almost certainly would in B.C. waters. 2) the problem is medical rather than emotional or social. Veterinary advisers are probably more prestigious than social system interpreters, so the weight of professional opinion presented to NMFS is likely on the side of the medical model. The services of vets are still very valuable under the social model, but the primary effort would be to keep her attention and raise her spirits. This may all sound too mushy and amateurish for many to accept, but a look at the natural history of the species and the lessons from captivity seem to indicate that the most effective, economical and politically acceptable way to take care of this lonely orca is the low-key social intervention option.

March 9, 2002

TUG OF WAR OVER ORPHANED ORCA

KING 5 News (NBC Seattle)

Anchor Tease, Dennis Bounds: A TUG OF WAR OVER A NORTHWEST ORCA’S FUTURE. THE CONTROVERSY NEXT ON KING 5 NEWS… Anchor Intro, Margaret Larson: A TUG OF WAR TONIGHT OVER AN ORPHANED ORCA… Deborah Feldman: I’M DEBORAH FELDMAN LIVE IN WEST SEATTLE. TONIGHT, EXPERTS AND AMATEURS MET TONIGHT TO DISCUSS THIS WHALE’S FUTURE. I’LL HAVE THE DETAILS NEXT.

TUG OF WAR OVER ORPHANED ORCA

CONTINUED…

Sound Up, Donna Sandstrom, Orca Alliance: IT’S GOING TO BE HEART-BREAKING TO WITNESS THE WORST THING HAPPEN, WHICH IS TO SEE HER DIE. Anchor Intro, Margaret Larson: A DILEMMA SWIRLS TONIGHT ABOUT THE ORPHAN SWIMMING IN WEST SEATTLE WATERS. A BATTLE CAME TO A HEAD OVER THE WHALE NAMED SPRINGER BUT NICKNAMED LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. Anchor intro, Dennis Bounds: WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THE ORCA CALF SWIMMING ALONE OFF VASHON ISLAND? KING 5’S DEBORAH FELDMAN IS LIVE FROM WEST SEATTLE WITH THIS DEBATE TONIGHT. DEBORAH… Deborah Feldman: CERTAINLY A TOPIC THAT HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE CONCERNED. TONIGHT MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE GATHERED HERE IN WEST SEATTLE TO HEAR WHAT EXPERTS HAVE OBSERVED WHEN THEY WATCHED THE WHALE THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS AND TO DISCUSS HER FUTURE. VO: FROM SKYKING, THE YOUNG ORCA SPRINGER APPEARS CONTENT, FROLICKING AND SOMETIMES FEEDING IN THE WATERS OFF VASHON ISLAND. BUT MANY ARE CONCERNED THAT LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING. THAT IN FACT, THE WHALE IS NOT CAPABLE OF SURVIVING MUCH LONGER ON HER OWN. TONIGHT, EXPERTS AND AMATEURS ALIKE GATHERED IN WEST SEATTLE TO DISCUSS SPRINGER’S FUTURE. Dr. David Bain, Orca Conservancy Advisory Board Member: I THINK HER FORAGING SKILLS ARE ALMOST UP TO PAR. Deborah Feldman: EXPERTS WHO HAVE SEEN THE WHALE UP CLOSE AGREE THAT SHE’S UNDERWEIGHT AND SUFFERING FROM A BAD SKIN AILMENT COMMON IN ORCAS. BUT WHETHER THOSE ARE INDICATORS OF BIGGER, PERHAPS LETHAL PROBLEMS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL FROM OBSERVATION ALONE. SO THE QUESTION REMAINS WHAT TO DO. SOME STRONGLY BELIEVE SHE SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 31

Donna Sandstrom, Orca Alliance: IT’S GOING TO BE HEART-BREAKING TO WITNESS THE WORST THING HAPPEN, WHICH IS TO SEE HER DIE. BUT WE WOULD RATHER BEAR THAT HEARTBREAK THAN KNOW THAT SHE’S ENDURING IT BY HERSELF IN A CONCRETE TANK. Deborah Feldman: OTHERS SAY THE ONLY RESPONSIBLE THING IS TO INTERVENE, WHETHER IT’S TO PUT HER IN A SEAPEN OR CONFINING HER TO AN AQUARIUM, PERHAPS LONG-TERM. Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Orca Conservancy: THE SEAPEN IS NOT JUST A DEAD-END STREET, THE PEN COULD ALSO BE A TRANSPORT TO CANADA. Dr. David Huff, Vancouver Aquarium: YOU EITHER DON’T INTERVENE, OR YOU INTERVENE PROPERLY AND GIVE THAT ANIMAL THE BENEFITS OF EVERYTHING WE KNOW HOW TO DO AND TRY TO REUNITE HER WITH HER POD. Deborah Feldman, Live: WELL, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT’S BEST FOR HER FUTURE. MOST OF THE EXPERTS TEND TO AGREE ON THE TWO FACTS THAT THIS WHALE DOES SEEM TO BE VERY LONELY AND THAT HER CHANCES FOR SURVIVAL IF SHE’S LEFT ALONE FOR THE LONG TERM ARE NOT GOOD. REPORTING LIVE FROM WEST SEATTLE, DEBORAH FELDMAN, KING 5 NEWS.

March 10, 2002

“Little Orcan Annie”

CNN and CNN International

ANCHOR:

Scientists are worried about a baby killer whale that’s on her own off the coast of Seattle. Lilian Kim has the story of the orphaned orca.

LILIAN KIM: 

She’s just a baby. Two years old, 12 feet long and all alone. Somehow within the past couple of months, this orca whale became separated from her pod and can now be seen hanging out at a ferry dock near Seattle.

BOB JOHNSON, Washington State Ferry Employee:

Well. the other co-workers nickname it, “Orca Annie.”

LILIAN KIM:

Playful and active, the baby orca has attracted quite a following.

Ferry Passengers looking at Springer:

Ahhh…

LILIAN KIM:

But experts are worried that she may not be in the best of health or getting enough to eat.

BRIAN GORMAN, National Marine Fisheries Service:

She’s got some kind of a skin disorder that suggests she’s in stress, so we’re guarded about her, I guess you’d say, if you were a veterinarian.

LILIAN KIM:

The National Marine Fisheries Service is trying to figure out how it can help.

LILIAN KIM O/C, On Boat With Springer, Off Vashon Island, Washington:

A decision on what to do with the orphaned orca needs to be made in the next few weeks, before salmon runs slow down and her food supply starts to dwindle. v/o Some suggest leaving the calf alone, but more likely, the whale would be rehabilitated, possibly at an aquarium.

Another option put forth by experts is to tow the baby home to Canadian waters, in hopes of reuniting her with her pod – a plan that would minimize human contact.

MICHAEL HARRIS, Orca Conservancy:

We don’t want this animal to begin to get accustomed to human contact, or else it’s going to make it a very bad candidate for getting it back into the wild population.

LILIAN KIM:

There is no simple solution. But experts agree that the common is to find a plan that’s in the best interests of the baby orca. Lilian Kim, CNN, Vashon Island, Washington.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 32

March 13, 2002

A Whale Of A Dilemma

By Kevin Reece, KOMO 4 News

SEATTLE - The picture shown here is one of the latest underwater images of A73, the female orca calf Canadian researchers have named "Springer." Alone now off Vashon Island for several months, she's the focus of a political battle between researchers who say leave her alone and government officials who say capturing her may be necessary to save her life. Now, Fred Felleman with the Orca Conservancy says the latest pictures show a whale that is doing just fine. Felleman says the still images, taken from video shot on March 7, indicate to him that capture for an aquarium shouldn't even be considered right now. "We think it's absolutely essential that before any heroic activities are taken that we need to have at least a week's worth of good baseline data," said Felleman. And that's exactly what will happen. Researchers tell KOMO 4 News they have agreed with National Marine Fisheries to monitor the whale together over the next two weeks. The research may include both observation and medical tests. Researchers say that only then will the decision be made either to intervene or let A73 and mother nature chart their own course. Researchers will begin this latest round of observations as early as possible. "That doesn't mean she's in the right place," said Felleman. "She's a B.C. whale, she's in U.S. waters, and I don't think she's got a visa," he joked. What he means is that even if the whale is determined to be healthy an effort may still be made to return the whale to its pod in Canadian waters.

Orca Conservancy’s Fred Felleman on ABC World News Tonight.

3/13/02

Dramatic New Rescue Plans for Whale

By Tracy Vedder, KOMO 4 News

PUGET SOUND - There are dramatic new plans to rescue an orphaned orca in Puget Sound. It would keep the orca out of aquarium tanks and re-unite her with her family pod in Canada. One of the problems is that no one really knows how well or how poorly the orca is doing. So beginning Thursday, orca experts will be on the water near Vashon Island where the killer whale hangs out. They'll be watching her from dawn to dusk, keeping track of her health. Nicknamed Springer, the orca designated as A-73 has been stuck in Puget Sound nearly two months. Orphaned and unable to keep up with her orca family, experts agree she is not getting enough to eat and belongs back in Canada. "Whether this is some kind of terrible danger or whether it's just a little indication of a problem, we don't know for sure," says National Marine Fisheries spokesman Brian Gorman. "But we certainly know that her diet is insufficient." Once scientists have a better idea of Springer's health, they'll look at a long-term solution. A ground-breaking coalition of conservation groups and the Vancouver Aquarium has come up with two options. The first would take a lesson from Namu, the first killer whale captured back in 1965. A seapen, pulled by a tugboat, could move Springer back to Canadian waters. The advantage is it keeps human handling to a minimum. The disadvantage is at two knots an hour, it would take several days.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 33

The other option comes with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard. They've offered the use of a hovercraft to take the orca home. The advantage is a fast, three-hour trip. The disadvantage is the orca would have to be captured and carried out of the water. Either way, the coalition including Orca Conservancy, Earth Island Institute and the Vancouver Aquarium can act quickly. "We can gear up in a day or two to actually get the animal back up to B.C. where it ultimately belongs," says Fred Felleman with Orca Conservancy. Springer has spent a lot of time off the north end of Vashon Island. The killer whale's pod will return around June to Canadian waters. Whether the net pen or the hovercraft is used for transport it would likely take the most protected route, hugging the coastline, to get Springer back to the waters of her birth. The National Marine Fisheries hasn't decided what to do yet, but these coalition proposals seem to be at the top of their list. "Our goal is to reunite it with it's pod," says NMFS spokesman Gorman, "and the best way to do that is to put her in a net pen, maybe treat her and then transport her to Vancouver Island." The dawn to dusk monitoring begins Thursday and will continue for up to a week until NMFS makes a final determination on the killer whale's future.

Orca Conservancy’s Fred Felleman and Michael Harris, in Ballard, WA.

3/13/2002

Group Offers to Move Orphaned Orca Back to Her Home Waters

Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5 News

A hovercraft is the latest option to move orphaned whale A-73 back to her home waters off Vancouver Island. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel, which rides on a cushion of air, was used two years ago to pull a dead orca, J-18, to the beach, where the carcass could be examined by scientists looking for a cause of death. One other alternative on the table, use a towed sea-pen to move the young whale. While the sea pen would not involve taking the whale out of the water like it would involving the hovercraft, the trip would take days rather than just a few hours. “A slower trip at this time of year would have vagaries of weather to potentially encumber the transit,” says Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy. But before the whale goes anywhere, scientists and veterinarians need to learn more about her condition. As soon as the weather clears, the National Marine Fisheries Service says it will begin frequent medical checks on the little whale known as Springer. “The level of per precarious condition is not well defined. Whales don't give you a lot of means of analysis,” says Felleman. One of the observations that have prompted concern among veterinarians is the smell of ketone - much like alcohol - on the whale's breath. That could mean she is beginning to digest her own blubber. Capturing and measuring the chemical composition of the orca's respiratory gases could give scientists a better idea of the extent to which the whale is malnourished, NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman said Wednesday. The private plan is coming together, but it is still up to the federal government to decide what should be done with A-73. The Vancouver Aquarium has offered to temporarily house the whale in a stationary sea-pen to nurse her back to health, before a release back into the wild.

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Orca Orphan Will Stay Free

Scientists consider ways to transport young killer whale to Canadian waters

Thursday, March 14, 2002 - By ROBERT McCLURE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The orphaned baby orca that showed up off Vashon Island last month and stole Seattle's heart will not be cooped up in an aquarium or sea park, federal fisheries officials announced yesterday. Instead, a dawn-to-dusk whale watch is about to get under way to give marine mammal experts a better picture of the orca's health. And the Canadian government has broached the idea of using a Hovercraft to ferry the killer whale home to Canadian waters. The National Marine Fisheries Service recently sought proposals from aquariums and sea parks outlining how the orca, which at times appears lethargic and may be having trouble catching food, could be cared for in captivity. "We're not going to do it," NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman said. "Our thinking early on was that we needed to have an emergency (capture) plan in place. We don't really have plans for that at this point." Orca enthusiasts had decried the idea. They started soliciting donors to support their bid to keep the baby orca free and reunite it with its family, or pod. Backers of that plan included Earth Island Institute, the San Francisco-based group that bankrolled the release of Keiko, the orca that starred in the movie "Free Willy." "Having NMFS committing to do the monitoring program, which is the first thing we called for, this is only positive," said Fred Felleman, a board member of the Orca Conservancy. "That was specifically the first part of our plan: Get baseline data before you go and schlep the animal around." The 1 1/2-year-old orca, known as A-73, was born to a pod that returns each summer to the waters around northern Vancouver Island in Canada. But its mother died, and the rest of the pod rejected the animal. She hung around another pod for a while, but then disappeared until she showed up alone in central Puget Sound. She's been there since last month, following the West Seattle-Vashon ferry, rubbing up against logs and capturing Seattle's affection. John Ford, head of the marine mammal research at the Canadian government's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, said the idea of borrowing the Canadian Coast Guard's Hovercraft came up during a "seemingly endless" series of telephone conference calls among orca experts. Officials want to see how well the orca is doing physically and determine whether it's up to being captured for transport back to Canada. If so, it could go by Hovercraft, plane or boat. Or a floating "net pen" could be set up and towed behind a tugboat to gently nudge the orca home. "We're so far from determining that kind of thing," Ford said. Trying to move the whale in a floating pen would take several days and the trip could be interrupted by bad weather. Orca activists had hoped the whale could be allowed to swim back to its home waters in a net pen so it would be less disoriented. But the Hovercraft could return the animal within a few hours, as opposed to a few days, putting less stress on it, Felleman said. That would entail capturing the orca – a feat not tried in Washington since the taking of orcas for display in aquariums and sea parks was banned more than a quarter-century ago. NMFS plans to field its observation team, composed of marine mammal experts, in a few days, Gorman said. They will go out each day and carefully watch the animal.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 35

If the team agrees the orca is healthy, it would relieve pressure to move the whale quickly, Gorman said. The experts will try to get a sample of the orca's breath, which could tell them how much she's been eating. If she's sick, veterinary care could be arranged. "Field observation... is a very imperfect way of trying to assess the condition of a whale or any wild animal," Gorman said. "Wild animals are very good at covering up any problems. They don't want to send any signals that say, 'I'm sick. I'm vulnerable.'" David Bain, a scientist on a panel organized by NMFS to advise the agency, said that the orca's condition "seems to be up and down, different days and different times of day." But he added: "She seems to be holding up better than I expected. We're getting more time to deal with the situation." Researchers and orca enthusiasts in small boats have been periodically checking on the orca, but some of their efforts have been thwarted by high winds. "You worry that her condition may start going downhill the day you're not out on the water looking for her," Bain said, "and when you do get a good look at her, you realize it's time to do something." NMFS is going to round up a bigger boat that will allow researchers unfettered access. It's still not a foregone conclusion that the orca can be reunited with her pod. The panel advising NMFS expressed skepticism, saying once an orca is ostracized by a pod, it has never been known to be accepted again. Ford, of the Canadian research station, said if the orca is returned to Canada, it would be relatively easy to find a place to keep her while she rebuilds her strength. Researchers say they want to make sure the orca doesn't get too friendly with people, because that would make it difficult for her to survive as a wild animal. But if she remains in Puget Sound, it's clear that she will have more and more contact with people as the weather warms. "There's all sorts of places in Canadian waters where she could be kept," Ford said. "There are remote places where it's quiet and the water quality is good. That is the kind of thing we'd be looking for."

March 25, 2002

Fate of Orphaned Orca Could Be Decided Today

By Tracy Vedder, KOMO 4 News

SEATTLE - Scientists were to deliver their recommendations Monday on what to do about a young killer whale that has been separated from its pod. The team of observers is reporting to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Members have spent more than a week monitoring the female orca, which was cut off from its pod and is stranded in Puget Sound. But while the observers say the orca is "holding her own," the group warns that the young female killer whale still has some serious health problems. KOMO 4 News first went out with the group of observers over a week ago to keep tabs on the killer whale named Springer. "This girl made a decision, she wants to live," one observer told KOMO 4 News. For the next 11 days, Springer tried to prove him right. The observers watched and recorded every move the little orca made: every time she came to the surface, every time she chased food, and every time she played with a log. The group includes two biologists from NMFS, a volunteer from The Whale Research Center, a research biologist from the University of Washington, a frequent whale watcher from West Seattle, and Kelley Balcomb-Bartok from the Orca Conservancy. Balcomb-Bartok says the group has reached this consensus: "We do not consider ourselves out of the woods, but we do consider this animal stable."

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 36

Springer is a juvenile orca, barely 2 years old. She wasn't even weaned when her mother died. When she was first spotted in Puget Sound in January, she had a skin infection, signs of malnutrition and a serious lung infection. Without her orca pod, or family, to help take care of her, observers didn't think she'd last. "She is definitely pushing the odds," says Balcomb-Bartok, "impressing all of us considering her young age and her situation." One of the problems continues to be that this whale stays in about a 4-square-mile area between Vashon Island and West Seattle. That severely restricts her ability to hunt – limiting her to just those salmon that stay in this small area of water. But over the past 11 days, observers have seen her catching fish. Signs of the lung infection are gone. And the skin infection, while serious, is not life-threatening. But playing with logs isn't normal orca behavior. "I think all of us agree, completely, that the psychological nature of this animal, she needs her social pod," said Balcomb-Bartok. The observers have spent many days aboard a boat owned by Bob Wood, with the American Cetacean Society and Project Sea Wolf. Orca Conservancy has also had a boat on the water. They want the National Marine Fisheries Service to extend the observation window, which ended Sunday, because while Springer isn't in immediate danger, her condition can change rapidly. They want to keep tabs on the little orca who's determined to survive, until she can be reunited with her orca family in Canada. Non-profit organizations including the Orca Conservancy, American Cetacean Society and Project Sea Wolf are volunteering their services, including the use of boats, to NMFS to continue watching the young orca's health.

April 2002

Presented by Orca Conservancy and Earth Island Institute

A73 Monitoring Proposal

SUBMITTED to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on 4/15/02.

Re: Supplemental Scientific Monitoring of the Orphaned Orca Calf A73 (aka "Springer") and Boater Education via NMFS- Authorized Vessel

OVERVIEW

Orca Conservancy and Earth Island Institute seek authorization from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to be the official platform from which ongoing biological and behavioral monitoring of A73 will be conducted. These activities will be conducted in cooperation with The Center for Whale Research and other institutions as sanctioned by NMFS. Ken Balcomb of The Center for Whale Research has made available the 23' Bayliner Bobby D. to be modified with identification markings clearly establishing an official vessel sanctioned by NOAA and National Marine Mammal Labs during the duration of the monitoring program. The Bobby D. will be the exclusive authorized research/monitoring platform for National Marine Fisheries Service during its upcoming 10-day evaluation period, and any additional period of time as needed. In addition, OC/EII will conduct boater education activities during the duration of the program, complementing the weekend efforts of The Whale Museum's Soundwatch Program. During this weekday monitoring program, observers on the platform will maintain the data collection protocols established during the initial 10-day monitoring period. In this way, any precipitous decline in A73's health will be detected earlier than if NMFS were to rely primarily on weekend observations. Additionally, the Bobby D. will be in regular communication with the Washington State Ferries operating the Fauntleroy/Vashon runs notifying the crew as to the exact whereabouts of A73, helping to allay stated concerns of WSF of a possible collision with the orca.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 37

RESPONSIBILITIES

The vessel will be the responsibility of Orca Conservancy, and OC/EII will assume all expenses related to its transport from San Juan Island to Seattle and all insurance and operations, including any staffing outside of existing NMFS contracts. A slip has been donated to Orca Conservancy by the Port of Seattle's Bell Harbor Marina in Elliott Bay for one month. NMFS will contract OC/EII for $1 to officiate this relationship. Anticipated scientific monitors include Ken Balcomb, Dave Ellifrit, Dr. David Bain, Dr. Brad Hansen, Dr. Marilyn Dahlheim, Fred Felleman, Candice Emmons, Kelley Balcomb and others who have expertise with whales in the field and are familiar with observation techniques. Activities will include independent ongoing observational data to assess baseline behavioral and physiological condition; i.e., respirations, activity levels and other indices of stress. All information collected, including data, photographs, video and acoustic recordings, will be made available to NMFS, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and The Center for Whale Research. The vessel and current/timely information will also be available to visiting veterinarians and biologists from NMML, the Vancouver Aquarium and the Canadian DFO to allow for consistent, professional observation, monitoring and communication between all responsible parties. As participants of the NMML monitoring team to date and in the recent Dungeness Spit stranding event, and as a key player in culling the expertise, potential funding and in-kind sources and the logistics needed for a possible translocation of A73, OC seeks to continue its role in facilitating and being a collaborative force in pulling together the diverse talents needed to make this a success. And the bridges that continue to be built between governmental and non-governmental organizations on both sides of the border, from Johnstone Strait to San Francisco, will be invaluable for future efforts of this kind (i.e., L98).

TIMELINE

Orca Conservancy has already secured a slip at Bell Harbor Marina in Elliott Bay and has approved moving the vessel to Seattle immediately. It is anticipated that OC/EII can have the Bobby D. in the water and begin its program by Monday, April 22. Adding to the urgency to this already unique situation is the increased concern by the Washington State Ferries as to A73's proximity to the ferry terminal and the possible danger of harm or collision. This public/private partnership is an important step in preparing this animal for transport to her home waters in Canada, once that decision is made by NMFS.

ORCA CONSERVANCY and EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE

Orca Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization advancing the welfare of Orcinus orca, the killer whale, and protecting the wild places on which it depends. Orca Conservancy teams up with some of the world's top research institutions and non-governmental environmental organizations to address the most critical issues now affecting wild orca populations. Our urgent attention is focused on the endangered Southern Resident Community of orcas of the Pacific Northwest. These three pods, the Js, Ks and Ls, are declining rapidly, due to the degradation of the ecosystem and depletion of their prey resources, the accumulation of toxins in the marine environment, increased acoustic disturbance and harassment, and the destruction of nearshore habitats, the nurseries of the Inland Sea. Orca Conservancy Board Members are leaders in safeguarding vital fish habitats and advocating creative oil spill prevention measures in the Pacific Northwest, and in the training and certification of naturalists and whale watch operators. OC is committed to the welfare of all whales and dolphins, and is an authoritative source for information on cetacea in captivity and on-going studies on the feasibility of returning these remarkable animals to the wild. Earth Island Institute (EII), founded in 1982 by veteran environmentalist David Brower, fosters the efforts of creative individuals by providing organizational support in developing projects for the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the global environment. EII provides activists the freedom to develop program ideas, supported by services to help them pursue those ideas, with a minimum of bureaucracy. Earth Island's Project Network consists of more than 30 projects worldwide. Through innovative education and activist campaigns, we are addressing many of the most pressing social and environmental issues: Protecting rainforests, marine mammals, sea turtles, and indigenous lands; Promoting organic and sustainable agriculture, ecological paper alternatives, and the emerging Russian environmental movement; Pursuing community-based habitat restoration, reduction of marine pollution, and development of urban multicultural environmental leadership. MILESTONES include launching more than 50 environmental projects including such notable alumnae as Rainforest Action Network, International Rivers Network, and Urban Habitat; being awarded six Project Censored Awards for the Earth Island Journal, the first tree-free magazine in North America; organizing the largest and most successful consumer-led boycott resulting in the requirement that all tuna be dolphin-safe; successfully incorporating social and environmental mandates in California's military base conversion process; bringing an end to commercial sea turtle exploitation in Mexico; organizing a highly influential series of Conferences on the Fate of Earth, bringing together leaders in the environmental, peace and social justice communities to seek common strategies; and bringing major public and industry attention to the opportunities to replace trees with agricultural alternatives like kenaf, wheat straw and corn for the manufacture of paper products.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 38

4/18/2002

Feds Outline Orca Intervention Plan

KING 5 News

VASHON, Wash. - In a forum Wednesday evening, federal officials decided if they have to intervene in the case of a young orphaned orca that’s hanging around near the Vashon Island ferry dock, they will make every effort to return her to the wild. "We have a net pen ready and available," Joe Scordino, National Marine Fisheries Service deputy regional administrator, told 150 people at a public hearing Wednesday night. "We intend to keep the animal in the environment." At that, the crowd burst into applause. In a three-step process, the whale, nicknamed Springer, would be captured here, then moved to a pen in Canadian waters for medical attention from the Vancouver, British Columbia, Aquarium staff. Then she would be moved closer to the waters off Vancouver Island, where her killer whale family group, which biologists call A-pod, normally lives from June to September. "If we go in, there will be a rehabilitation phase," he said, explaining intervention would only occur if the whale is found to need medical attention. She is eating and active, but a skin ailment, common among killer whales, is worsening. Scientists also are concerned about a paint thinner-like odor on her breath, a condition called ketosis. It can indicate starvation or diabetes, both considered unlikely, or a possibly genetic metabolism problem that can be serious, said veterinarian Dave Huff of the Vancouver Aquarium. Huff said the problem doesn't appear to be critical right now. "Nobody says it doesn't matter," he said. "You can wait until a crisis happens or you can say 'That's not normal, nothing that's alive should breathe like that' " and intervene. Marilyn Joyce from Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Canada stands ready to assist. An advisory committee will be meeting over the next week or two and will be asked to decide whether action should be taken soon, said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for the fisheries service. "She is stable, she's feeding, she's growing... but with the symptoms we're seeing, she's not a healthy whale," Lohn said. She is eating and active, but a skin ailment is worsening. First spotted near the Vashon ferry dock in January, the young female orca was identified by her markings as the whale researchers had dubbed A73 for her birth order in A-pod. Scientists say her mother died sometime last year and the orphan has been absent from her pod for months. A-pod never enters Puget Sound, fisheries service spokesman Brian Gorman said earlier. The young female may have found her way south following salmon runs late last year. The sole surviving member of A73's immediate family is a grandmother, who is apparently "not that good a grandma," fisheries service researcher Marilyn Dahlheim said in a recent interview. One orca calf going it alone for months is unusual, but right now in the Northwest there are two. The other - a male from the San Juan Islands-based L-pod, dubbed L-98 - was spotted on the west side of Canada's Vancouver Island last fall. He's apparently getting along OK - catching enough fish to survive, like his counterpart in Puget Sound.

The Associated Press and KING 5’s Elisa Hahn contributed to this report.

ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 39

April 19, 2002 - 9:29 AM PDT

BABY ORCA BETTER, BUT NOT OUT OF DANGER

CBC News

Vancouver - Scientists say the orphan killer whale in Puget Sound known as "A-73" or "Springer" is doing better, and they have decided to leave her where she is for now. The two-year-old orca was found by herself in January in the waters around Vashon Island near Seattle. There were worries at the time that she was dying of starvation, but observers say she is now eating well. However, Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy in Seattle says Springer isn't out of danger yet. "They've been able to take some breath tests and she has two forms of what's called ketosis, which means her breath is indicating that there's something going on with her, physiologically that's just not quite right," he says. Speaking with Rick Cluff on CBC Radio's “Early Edition,” Harris says scientists are continuing to monitor the young whale's progress, and will make a final decision this summer on whether to move her.

Sunday Sports Section, Seattle-Times/Seattle Post-Intelligencer: April 28, 2002

Let's Leave Little Orphan Orca Alone

By Ron C. Judd Seattle Times staff columnist

Photo: Fred Felleman, Orca Conservancy

Maybe she just found a warm spot. You know how it is: You're out swimming in a lake or bay, in typically organ-shrinking cold Northwest waters, when suddenly, out of the blue, you're enveloped by an inexplicably warm spot of water. This, we're beginning to speculate, is what's keeping that little orca — known alternately as Springer, Boo, and by her native name, Dances With Propellers — tooling around in the shipping lanes between Vashon Island and Fauntleroy. Alas, if we're right here — and, really, how often have we ever been wrong? — this warm-spot theory might actually be bad news for the whale. In an alarming example of revisionist history, a friend once informed us that some of the best "warm spots" we used to enjoy frolicking in along the shores of Hood Canal, for example, were most likely the result of the business end of a septic tank. Put that in your goggles and slosh it around. Nevertheless: The young, apparently orphaned whale, for reasons that may or may not involve water quality, has double-parked in the ferry lanes between West Seattle and Vashon and refuses to leave. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 44 This has stirred up all sorts of media froth, with TV news reporters appearing "live" (as opposed to their usual state of being) at community forums, which are packed with people in SmartWool Socks who frankly couldn't give a rip about the neglected kids across the street, but by gosh want to make sure nothing bad happens to that big black-and-white mammal whose mind they can clearly read from their personal upper-ferry-deck Command Post for the Known Universe. At these forums, the orca-philes are informed by Federal Sub-Adult-Whale Behavior Management Specialists that the beast's behavior is not normal for a whale. Normally at this time of year, the whale, which is Canadian, would be up north with her pod, quite probably watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. But this orca, for reasons known only to her and her god, hangs out in Elliott Bay, apparently waiting for someone to come tell her what to do. In between all the understandable pangs of love and concern for the creature in the continuing whale-disposition negotiations, a central question never seems to get asked or answered: So what? It's a whale, people. Whales, like Courtney Love and other finned species with sharp teeth and bad breath, are wild. In the wild, mothers die, and their children sometimes follow suit. Maybe we should, having tried everything else over the years, just leave the thing alone and let nature take its course. So far, whale experts have decided to let her be, but their Zodiac boats are ready to leap into action, potentially capturing and moving the whale, if she appears troubled. Which is fine, assuming that man (and by this we refer to all three sexes: male, female and infomercial professional bodybuilder) knows what the whale wants and knows how best to accomplish that. Being fresh out of people who speak orca, we're left to speculate. Fortunately, that's right up our alley. Deciding to join the other 2.5 million orca experts in this area, we took a drive the other day over to Alki, where our founding fathers and mothers stepped ashore and promptly established the first Starbucks. Just as they must have so long ago, we stood on the shore, sipped a half-caf, 2 percent caramel macchiato, gazed through the floating chunks of Styrofoam flotsam, and scanned the horizon for the great whale. Didn't see her. We did, however, feel a vibe. Moments later, as we dined on some of the misguided whale's saltwater second cousins at Sunfish, a list of explanations for her puzzling behavior spewed forth with the urgent ferocity of a tartar-sauce pump at lunch hour: • Personal protest: She goes when Paul Abbott goes and not a moment before. • Fashion statement: The whale is demanding an apology from King County Sheriff Dave Reichert — not for anything he's ever done, but for that cheeseball brown-and-yellow uniform. • Finally tired of the annoying personal questions from Canadian Customs agents in Blaine. • Is responding to Internet traffic-cam report of a visiting Makah canoe jackknifed in Admiralty Inlet. • Standing guard to protect rich Vashon dwellers against invading hordes of gravel-pit developers and organic- lavender ranchers. • Unable to swim since being stunned by the news that rich people bought big waterfront houses along Rich Passage, sued the state when waves landed on their beach — and won. • Thinks she has, at long last, located the watery grave of the Paul Schell administration. • Still has not heard from Oprah. Anything's possible. But there's only one truly likely explanation. Like most of the rest of us, the whale simply cannot decipher that blasted ferry schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon- Southworth, the Bermuda Triangle of arrivals and departures. Count on it: Soon as she figures out why they load half the cars on the boats backward, she'll be outta here. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 45 May 2002 Experts Say Orphan Orca Should Be Captured Feds Not Convinced The Associated Press SEATTLE - A scientific panel says an orphaned killer whale playing in nearby waters should be captured at least long enough to get a blood sample, but federal fisheries officials say they're not convinced that's the best thing to do. "There's enough evidence that this animal is not normal and its chances are not real good," said Jim McBain, an advisory panel member and senior veterinarian for the corporation that runs the Sea World attractions. "If you're ever going to deal with something that is unhealthy, the best time to do it is now." The orca turned up in the waters between Vashon and West Seattle in January. The scientists advising the National Marine Fisheries Service have recommended that the agency move now to assess the orca's condition and leave time for veterinarians to treat her before her Canadian pod returns to its summer home off Vancouver Island and any reunion is attempted. But Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman countered that the whale appears "fairly healthy," and federal officials are concerned that moving her from the waters off Vashon Island might cause stress that could harm her health. "We have to balance the current risk of leaving her alone with the potential risk of intervening, capturing her, putting her in a net pan and then moving her," Gorman said. "Those risks are considerable." Gorman added: "They had an opinion that if we're going to intervene, we should do it sooner rather than later, but they didn't come up with any standard that would determine if we need to act immediately." Known as A73, for her birth order in her pod, the orca turned up in the waters between Vashon and West Seattle in January. Scientists know her mother is dead but don't know the circumstances that separated her from her pod. Early last month, results of a breath sample confirmed scientists' suspicions that the orca is suffering from ketosis - a condition that can occur when a large amount of fat is burned due to a shortage of food. A73 also suffers from a skin condition that has been getting worse and could lead to infection of her blowhole. She is also experiencing respiratory problems and is underweight. "She's far enough gone that if you wait for things to get worse, there's not much you can do for her," McBain said. The 12-member panel of scientists and advocates for orcas want the whale reunited with her pod when the other orcas return in early summer. But questions remain about whether A73, even if nursed back to health, would be accepted by her pod. Scientists say they are unaware of any orcas that were welcomed back into a pod after a sustained absence. Meanwhile, boating season opens on Saturday, and the Fisheries Service wants boaters to keep their distance from the young whale. The Soundwatch program out of The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor has been patrolling Puget Sound, along with Orca Conservancy and Project SeaWolf, warning passing boaters not to get closer than 400 yards from the orca. "We've not had a problem to date," Gorman said. "That may change as the weather warms up, but I think people are aware this is a special killer whale." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 46 OC Web Release 5/14/02 History of A73, or "Springer" From OC Advisory Board Member Helena Symonds of OrcaLab A73 belongs to the A24 matriline of the A4 pod which is part of the Northern Resident Community of orcas of the Pacific Northwest, primarily frequenting the waters of the "inside passage" of British Columbia. Their range has been known to include the southern waters of Alaska. A73 was first seen in the Johnstone Strait area in July 2000. Her mother, A45 ("Sutlej") was born in 1983. A45 had one previously known calf, A68 born in 1997. A68 did not survive beyond the 1997 season. A45 and A73 were not seen during the 2001 season although their pod was present for a total of 57 days from early July until November. A73's grandmother, A24 ("Kelsey") was born in 1967 and was still alive as of November, 2001. She has had seven offspring: two of these; A64,"Schooner", b. 1995 and A71, "Magin", b. 1999), were alive as of November, 2001. There was some noticible "separation" between A45 and A24 during the 2000 season. When in the Johnstone Strait area together, A45 tended to associate with the A35s. A35 has 3 offspring of her own and she belongs to the A11 matriline of the A4 pod. This preference was first noticed in 1999, the season before the birth of A73. The pairing of A45 and A35 was noteworthy as both these two young mums seemed to "prefer" each other's company over that of their respective mothers. They even left the area together for periods of time, leaving their mums entirely. In 2001, the A24s were the first A4s to arrive, on July 7th. Even though A45 was not present there was no immediate concern, given the previous season's events. A11 and two of her offspring finally arrived on July 21st and when the A35s arrived the next day, without any sign of A45, we became very concerned that A45 and her young calf had died. All the A4s, once in the area, joined up and associated closely for most of the rest of the season. They were last seen on November 17, 2001. A73 was most likely seen further north of the Johnstone Strait area, nearer to Port Hardy, in September 2001. Graeme Ellis of the Pacific Biological station in Nanaimo had several encounters with G50 (of the G17 pod) who was accompanied by a young calf. Given the close proximity of the calf to G50 Graeme believed the calf must be G50's own calf. The G17s, to whom G50 belongs, have not been seen regularly over the last few years and Graeme thought, as the calf was already larger than what would be expected of a year old calf, that she must have been simply missed between encounters. Although, the G17s are part of the northern resident community they belong to G clan which has a separate acoustic tradition from A clan, to which A73 belongs. Social interactions between matrilines of clans is fairly common within the community. Adoptions within the community are little understood and there have not been many (if any) clear cases. But the following instances show that orcas do adapt sometimes to life when left without a mother. *In the "ID book" the possibility is mentioned that I04 and I41 are not twins after all but that one of them may have been adopted after its mother's death. *A51 and A61, in 1997 after the death of their mum A25, came in on the "coat tails" of the A8s who were (and are) very closely associated with the A12s. Each year following the physical gap between them and the other whales became smaller, until in 2001 A51 and A61 were often in tight with the A8s and A12s. The A43s joined these other groups in 2001, which is also interesting as they recently lost A23 and A27. There may be a tendency for A51/61 and the A43s to be developing a closer association in the years to come. In 2001 they came in together and left together after spending the summer in the company of the A12s and A8s. This might suggest two things: that A51/61 have gained confidence; and as the A12/A8 group with all these add-ons is getting so big (the A4s were there most of the time too) that for ease the group is dividing up a bit - but we will see what happens next season. *A5 and A26 did not immediately go with there own group after the death of A9 (1990) They hung around the Johnstone Strait "core area" for a while afterwards in January 1991, then left. In the next season summer 1991) they did not "turn up" with the A8s (their supposed sister's group) but came in independently. When the A8s left, A5 and A26 stayed in the area with the A36s (a completely different pod). For a long time before these two "groups" actually merged and began to swim together, they paralleled each other, most often swimming on opposite sides of the Strait. When the A5s turned up a few weeks later the two brothers finally went off with their own pod. It was almost a year after A9's death. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 47 So, "adoption" or re-integration might be a quick or slow process depending on the circumstances. There was certainly a separation happening between A24 and A45 so perhaps A73 may find the A35s a better fit. She may be "acting" as her own (i.e., A45's) matriline independent of A24. Her ability to survive this far is a good indication of her own innate strengths. Giving A73 a chance to associate with other close relatives and the larger northern resident community seems a reasonable course to follow & may lead to her integration with them. Getting her back to the Johnstone Strait area by late June or early July could accomplish this. Re: the yearly arrival dates; seasonal length of stay in the Johnstone Strait/Blackfish Sound area; the description of which of the matrilines (of A4 pod) to arrive in the area first; and the departure. As you will see both matrilines of the A4s have come in to this area together for the majority of the years. There had been some separation between the two matrilines in the 1980s but this gradually changed in the '90s. However, that being said the A11 matriline has shown signs that it is changing with A35 and her offspring becoming more independent of her mother, A11. So it has not been unusual to see A11 and her son A13 and youngest daughter, A56 on their own from time to time after arrival. Complicating this scene A45 (A73's mother) in the last two years started to spend less time near her mother, A24, choosing instead to swim with A35 and her offspring. Much of A73's time in the Johnstone Strait area during her first summer was in the company of A35's group and not with her grandmother. It is possible that if A73's grandmother (A24) does not accept her that there may be a place for her in the A35's. We have seen two other orphans work their way into a closely but not directly related group. The process of acceptance took at least a whole season. The A4s have the habit of coming in during the first part of the season, staying quite a while but then taking off mid August and then returning later in the season. They are often here in the late Fall but of course, conditions are not very good after October. This is why the urgency to get her back to JS asap. The A4s have been spotted on the central coast before they drop down to this area but I don't believe there is confidence in the regularity of these events, rather hit and miss. Also, the logistics of rehab on the central coast would be difficult to pull off. There is already a lot of local support for A73 that will greatly help the Vancouver Aquarium/DFO plans and the coverage of this area is so extensive now it will not be as hard to keep track of her (for a while at least). We will be able to track the movements of her pod, while they are here, both day and night, throughout much of the "core" area. From Dr. David Bain, Orca Conservancy Advisory Board Member... 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. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 48 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. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 49 Thursday, May 16, 2002 B.C. Gives More Time on Orca Aquarium Warns U.S., "We Need to Get Cracking" to Reunite Her with Family By ROBERT MCCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER As federal authorities waited yesterday for blood-test results on the orphaned baby orca in Puget Sound, a B.C. aquarium softened its deadline for withdrawing from an effort to reunite the whale with her family in Canada. The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre had told the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service that if a decision were not made to capture the orca by yesterday, the aquarium would no longer be poised to raise money to help the effort. "If we're going to have her reunited with her family in mid-July, we need to get cracking," said aquarium spokesman Angela Nielsen. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done." Aquarium President John Nightingale warned that unless the whale is captured and her medical problems remedied, "It's going to die, day by day, on the evening news." But the fisheries service said it is waiting for blood-test results to reveal whether the orca, known as A-73 as well as its official nickname, Springer, has an incurable genetic disorder. The results could take until early next week. "Once the whale is captured, if it is subsequently discovered that the whale has a chronic, untreatable health problem that would preclude her from being reunited, then we would be faced with ... a choice between two equally repugnant alternatives: Put her in an aquarium for permanent treatment, or at least permanent capture; or somehow return her to Puget Sound, where she's been all along," said Brian Gorman, the fisheries service spokesman in Seattle. The whale appeared in Puget Sound in mid-January. Scientists identified her as coming from an orca family, or pod, that returns early each summer to Johnstone Strait, by Vancouver Island. The pod migrates away in September or early October. The whale, which is 1 1/2 to 2 years old, is suffering from something that causes its breath to carry an odor like chemicals known as ketones. Usually that's a sign of starvation, but the whale is eating. Scientists now suspect is it indicative of an inherited metabolic disorder, meaning something is wrong with her digestive system. A blood test taken last week showed she does not have diabetes or a certain kind of virus. Results on a test for the metabolic disorder should be ready today, the aquarium's Nielsen said. The aquarium, responding to a request by the fisheries service, first proposed on March 1 to capture the orca and reunite her with her family. Two weeks ago, a scientific panel assembled by the fisheries service advised the agency to capture the whale. But the agency wants to know more about her condition. Nightingale, the aquarium president, wrote to the fisheries service last Thursday, saying "our plan cannot be implemented unless the plan is approved by Wednesday, May 15." If not, he wrote, "we are willing to reopen the possibility of our involvement but will not undertake a major fund- raising drive." The whale must be reunited with its pod by about mid-July so scientists can watch her until the weather turns bad in mid-September, the aquarium says. In the past, baby orcas in similar situations have been rejected by their pods. Aquarium veterinarian David Huff said if the orca turns out to have an incurable disease, she should be captured and studied anyway to learn about the inherited malady. Seven of the last eight calves born to her immediate family have died. Nightingale and Nielsen said that yesterday's deadline could be pushed back a few days. "It's being portrayed in the press as us holding a gun to NMFS' head, but that's not true," Nightingale said. Said Nielsen: "I think we would give them a day or two's grace. But if we're talking about a week or two, the deadline has passed." But some local orca advocates say withdrawal of the aquarium from the fund-raising effort may not be a huge deal. The Seattle-based Orca Conservancy, working with the Earth Island Institute of San Francisco, remains confident the public will donate to a reunification effort, said Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 50 Friday, May 17, 2002 No Genetic Disorder Detected in Orca, Raising Hopes of Pod Reunion By ROBERT McCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The orphaned baby orca of Puget Sound doesn't have a genetic disorder that dooms her to an early death, blood tests showed yesterday, buoying orca advocates who want to reunite the killer whale with her family in Canada. "This is really, really good news. God, I am so happy for that whale," said Michael Harris, president of the Seattle-based Orca Conservancy. "I think we've got a whale going north." Not so fast, said the National Marine Fisheries Service and Canadian authorities. The fisheries service, which must approve any intervention to help the orca, has taken the position that she should be left alone to fend for herself in Puget Sound. But yesterday's finding could change that, agency spokeswoman Janet Sears said. "Yes, it certainly does open the options," Sears said. "We need to go back and reassess." The agency will reconvene a panel of scientific experts Monday to ask their opinion, Sears said. The scientists two weeks ago unanimously advised the agency to capture the orca, officially designated A-73 and nicknamed "Springer." Capturing the 1 1/2- to 2-year-old, 11-foot-long whale would allow veterinarians to more fully assess her health, the scientists reasoned. The fisheries service has resisted that suggestion, citing the possibility that an inherited genetic disorder could doom the creature. If that were the case, the agency said, it would face two unpalatable choices: putting the orca in an aquarium, which is highly unpopular with the public, or capturing her only to release her again in the same waters. Paul Spong, a Canadian whale researcher and advisory panel member, said the blood-test result is significant. "You pretty much now have a situation where the major concerns have probably been dealt with in terms of health issues," Spong said. "Perhaps NMFS will feel more open to intervention." The orca, which weighs an estimated 1,500 pounds, first showed up in the waters between Vashon Island and West Seattle in mid-January. Scientists schooled in orcas' vocal patterns traced her to a family, or pod, of orcas that returns each summer to Johnstone Strait, by Vancouver Island. Her mother died, and she was somehow separated from her pod at a stage of development akin to that of a human toddler. Somehow, she has managed to learn on her own how to catch fish. But she has a skin condition and may have other health problems. An odor on her breath could be from eating too little, scientists say, and she sometimes acts strangely lethargic. In Canada, officials said they would need more information before agreeing to have the orca returned. And serious questions remain about whether the orca's family would accept her; other young orcas in similar situations have been rejected. The blood test result "certainly does take off the list one of the biggest concerns," said Marilyn Joyce, marine mammal coordinator for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. However, Joyce added, until a full picture of the orca's health emerges, the Canadian government will reserve judgment on whether A-73 should be brought back to Canada. Authorities there are concerned that the whale might carry a contagious disease that would spread to orcas there. "Our responsibility is the management of all marine mammals," Joyce said. "Our primary concern is that we don't do something that might be harmful to the northern (orcas.)" The news about the blood test came shortly after U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called on the fisheries service to act quickly. "The time has come for NMFS to develop a definitive action plan and commit to a timetable for making a decision on how to proceed," Cantwell wrote in a letter to Regional Director Bob Lohn. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 51 5/20/2002 Decision to Move Orca Getting Closer Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5 News SEATTLE – A decision on what to do about the orphaned orca appears close. Monday, the Scientific Advisory Committee, which is guiding the National Marine Fisheries Service to a decision, is recommending that the whale be captured and moved to her home waters in Canada. The committee was at odds with the National Marine Fisheries Service several weeks ago when it recommended that there should be human Intervention. Now it appears that NMFS is more willing to go along. The orca they call Springer, or A73, has been the subject of debate for months now – from leaving her alone to possibly die in the waters of Puget Sound to trying to reunite her with her home pod in the waters in Canadian waters. Even those who said something should be done could not always agree on exactly what. Monday, both U.S. and Canadian members of the Scientific Review Committee met on the phone and made the following recommendation: “It would be to capture, to do more tests to diagnosis what illness she’s got and then there was the recommendation to move her up to Johnstone straight, where her pod originally came from,” said Janet Sears, NMFS. Blood tests performed last week found no serious, untreatable medical conditions, but scientists do want more tests to determine the cause of a problem known as ketosis, a paint-thinner smell on her breath. But even if further testing still can find no serious problems, the government says there are risks and a decision on what to do has not been made. “We do have to balance all of these different issues of the risk to the animal, if we go to capture her, because that’s very stressful to the animal, particularly if she's not well, versus the kinds of things we might be able to do for her,” said Sears. The original plan approved by the Canadian government called for her to be moved to an inlet near Vancouver, B.C., where veterinarians could better monitor her rehabilitation. But there always was the option of moving her directly to a cordoned-off bay in a remote wilderness off northern Vancouver Island, and under the watchful eye if Dr. Paul Spong. This is good news for one of the organizations pushing to have the orca returned to her native pod, which is expected to arrive there in July. “I think it's a great thing that we get her straight up there. And if we can minimize the amount of time she needs to spend in the net pen, that would also be preferable,” said Fred Felleman, Orca Conservancy. Just how soon this could all happen is not yet known. The Vancouver Aquarium had called for the whale to be moved or captured as soon as Tuesday. That clearly will not happen. The NMFS says the decision on their part is much closer today. Friday, May 24, 2002 NMFS Decides to Capture Orphan Orca By ELIZABETH MURTAUGH ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER Scientists will try to capture an ailing orphan orca that's been languishing in Puget Sound for several months and return her to her native pod in Canada, the National Marine Fisheries Service said Friday. Officials of the service said that while it would be a high-risk operation, it would be best to remove the young female killer whale from the busy waters off Vashon Island as soon as possible. After a few weeks of rehabilitation in a pen, the whale would be relocated to Johnstone Strait off Canada's Vancouver Island, the summer home of her pod. "I want to emphasize this is a first. It has never been done before," Bob Lohn regional administrator for NMFS, told a news conference. "We don't know what the prospects are, but we think it is worth doing." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 52 Lohn said a team of scientists was being assembled to determine the best way to capture, treat, transport and prepare the young female whale for return to her pod. Although whales have been captured in the wild and placed in captivity, no one has yet captured a wild whale and reintroduced it into a pod. No schedule has been set, he said, but officials hope to capture the whale in two or three weeks, spend another two weeks giving it medical tests and treatment, then transport it to the strait in a day if possible. The whale then would be kept in a netted-off section of a bay for about two weeks or until her native pod arrives on its annual migration south, approximately mid- to late July. Lohn had no cost estimate for the operation, but said it could easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said NMFS may apply for federal grants to help pay the cost. Lohn repeatedly emphasized the risk of the capture and relocation, but said it was better than leaving the whale, whose health appears to be deteriorating, where it is. The whale lately has been approaching boats and lingers near the busy Vashon Island ferry terminal, about three miles west of Seattle. "We don't want this whale to substitute boats for fellow orcas," he said. A panel of U.S. and Canadian researchers, activist observers, and staff from the Vancouver, British Columbia, Aquarium recommended earlier this month that the whale be captured and treated. But the fisheries service held off, citing concerns that moving her might cause stress that could harm her health. "We're really proceeding on very unknown ground," Lohn said. A73 - her name, based on her pod and birth order - was first spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock in mid- January. According to Canadian researchers, her mother, A-45, is dead. The 1- to 2-year-old calf apparently was left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother. The whale has two apparent health problems. She has a skin ailment that has led to discoloration and sloughed skin over much of her body, now nearing sensitive areas around her blowhole and eyes. She also has ketosis, a condition that makes breath smell like paint thinner. In humans, ketosis can be a symptom of starvation, diabetes or metabolic problems - all problems ruled out in the orca's case by observation and blood-test results. Also known as "Boo," and "Springer," A73 spends her days catching steelhead, loafing near the surface, and sometimes spending hours rubbing against sticks or logs, possibly because she craves the physical contact she would have if she were with her family group. Some activists insist the whale should be left alone, arguing that intervention could result in a lifetime in captivity. It's unclear whether A73, even if nursed back to health, would be accepted by her pod, which usually spends June through September near Vancouver Island. Scientists say they are unaware of any orcas that have been welcomed back into a pod after a sustained absence. While solo juvenile orcas are rare, scientists are aware of two in the region this year - A73 and L-98, a male from L-pod based near Washington's San Juan Islands who has been living on the west side of Vancouver Island since last fall. Activists are seeking endangered-species protection for the 78 killer whales in three San Juan Island pods, which are struggling with pollution and dwindling populations of salmon, their primary food. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. 5/24/2002 Orca to be Captured, Returned to Canada Reported by Glenn Farley, KING 5 News SEATTLE - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decided Friday to capture an ailing orphan orca that's been languishing in the Puget Sound for several months and return her to the Canadian waters of her native pod. Officials of the service said that while it would be a high-risk operation, it would be best to remove her from the busy waters off Vashon Island as soon as possible. After a few weeks of rehabilitation, the whale would be relocated to Canada's Johnstone Strait, the summer home of her pod. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 53 Springer's pod, the "A" pod, lives at the north end of Vancouver Island in Canada. Bob Lohn of the NMFS told a news conference that a capture team was being put together. "We want to emphasize, this is a first. It has never been done before, we don't know what the prospects are, but we think it's worth the risk to do it," said Bob Lohn, NMSF. In two to three weeks, they will have a team together to capture the whale, and hold her in a netpen for two weeks in order to treat a variety of medical ailments, ranging from a bad case of intestinal worms to a skin condition known as whale pox. After that, the Canadian coast guard will move her in one day aboard a fast hovercraft to her home waters at the north tip of Vancouver Island. In the end, when her pod returns, assuming all goes well, she would be released to rejoin them. A panel of U.S. and Canadian researchers from the public and private sector, activist observers and staff from the Vancouver, British Columbia, Aquarium recommended earlier this month that the young killer whale be captured and treated. But the fisheries service held off, citing concerns that moving her might cause stress that could harm her health. The Fisheries service says there are big risks involving capture, stress and whether she will be accepted back by her pod. But the risks of living in a ferry lane, as pleasure boating season gets into full swing, may be worse. "For example, just yesterday there was an incident of people from the ferry throwing her food. This is the last thing we want to have happen. We don't want the whale to look at boats and ferries as a source for food," said Lohn. A73 - her name, based on her pod and birth order - was first spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock about 3 miles west of Seattle in mid-January. According to Canadian researchers, her mother, A45, is dead. The 1-1/2- to 2-year-old calf apparently was left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother. The whale has two apparent health problems. One is a skin ailment that has led to discoloration and sloughed skin over much of her body, now nearing sensitive areas around her blowhole and eyes. She also has ketosis, a condition that makes breath smell like paint thinner. In humans ketosis can be a symptom of mean starvation, diabetes or a complicated metabolic problem - all problems ruled out in the orca's case by observation and blood-test results. Also known as "Springer," A73 spends her days catching steelhead, loafing near the surface, and sometimes spending hours rubbing against sticks or logs, possibly because she craves physical contact that would be occurring if she were with her family group. Some activists insist the whale should be left alone, arguing that intervention could result in a lifetime in captivity. It's unclear whether A73, even if nursed back to health, would be accepted by her pod - which usually spends June through September near Vancouver Island. Scientists say they are unaware of any orcas that have been welcomed back into a pod after a sustained absence. Bob Lohn of the National Marine Fisheries Service explains the decision. While solo juvenile orcas are rare, scientists are aware of two in the region this year - A73 and L-98, a male from L-pod based near Washington's San Juan Islands who has been living on the west side of Canada's Vancouver Island since last fall. Activists are seeking endangered-species protection for the 78 killer whales in three San Juan Island pods, which are struggling with pollution and dwindling populations of salmon, their primary food. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 54 Lots of details to work out - particularly funding. There is emergency money available in the federal budget to move marine mammals. Private organizations, such as Orca Conservancy, say they do not expect it would be difficult to raise the money to do this privately. The costs are not nailed down, but the fisheries service says it could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Killer whales are not whales but the largest kind of dolphin, found in all the world's oceans. Saturday, May 25, 2002 Risky Rescue of Ailing Orca 'Worth Doing' The orphaned orca, which has a skin condition, was first seen off Vashon Island in January By Eric Sorensen, Seattle Times Science Reporter After months of deliberation and anxiety, federal officials yesterday said they plan to capture an orphaned orca in Puget Sound and attempt to reunite it with its native pod of Canadian killer whales. The risky rescue itself could take place in two to three weeks. The female orca's odyssey could take months, cover 300 miles and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, all with no certain outcome. "We want to emphasize that this is a first — it has never been done before," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which will lead the effort. "We don't know what the prospects are but we think that it's worth doing. I also want to emphasize that it's a very high- risk situation." Word of the decision by the fisheries service was welcomed by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who last week pushed for a decision, as well as orca groups and at least one member of an advisory panel that urged the service weeks ago to act quickly to rescue the ailing animal. "I wish it had been sooner but I'm not going to complain about the fact that they finally have something planned," said Jim McBain, an advisory panel member and vice president of veterinary services for Busch Entertainment, which operates three SeaWorld facilities. "My general feeling is it might be too late," said John Nightingale, president of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. The aquarium was scheduled to do the rescue operation but earlier this week told the fisheries service that it soon would have too many other commitments to handle capture, handling and treatment south of the Canadian border. Since the 2-year-old female was first seen off Vashon Island in January, the fisheries service has alternated between wanting to rescue her immediately to looking for clear signs that she needed rescuing. Lohn yesterday said the fisheries service now decided to rescue her because she is indeed sick — but not too sick. Recent blood tests show she does not have a genetic defect that would have jeopardized her survival in the wild. She also does not appear to have any viruses that would threaten the general orca population. More tests would still be needed, he said, "but so far we have reason for hope." Risk of getting used to people Meanwhile, the orca, known scientifically as A73 and either Springer or Boo by fans, risks getting increasingly accustomed to boats and people as the weather warms, Lohn said. Earlier this week, passengers on the Fauntleroy-Vashon ferry were seen throwing French fries to the orca. "We don't want this whale to substitute boats for fellow orcas," said Lohn, who worried about collisions between the two. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 55 The fisheries service rescue plan would run in three phases: • The Rescue: The orca would be lured into a net pen. If she can't be lured, she will be caught with a sling or other device. • The Rehabilitation: A73 would spend at least two weeks in the pen somewhere in Puget Sound while being evaluated and treated. Veterinarians are already well aware that she has a skin condition, worms and an acetonelike breath that typically suggests a metabolism problem but has so far defied analysis. Some observers say they've seen her skin condition creeping into her blowhole lately, risking a hard-totreat system infection if it reaches her lungs. If the fisheries service and Canadian authorities feel A73 can be released without harming her native A pod, she then will be transported to Johnstone Strait, roughly halfway up the northeast side of Vancouver Island. NMFS wants to do this quickly and may place the orca in a tank aboard a high-speed hovercraft owned by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, NMFS' north-of-the-border equivalent. Lohn said he had no set answer on what would happen if A73 could not be returned to her pod. • The Reintroduction: A73 would be kept in an enclosed bay or lagoon until late July. Then the A pod should return in a midsummer festival of squeaks, squeals, fluke-slapping, spy-hopping and leaping. "If there ever is a point in which we think that A73 would say, 'Hey, those are my kind and I want to be with them,' we think that's the best point," Lohn said. Orcas in the past may have been briefly captured and reunited with their pods, but A73 could be the first to be brought so far after so long for a reintroduction. Pete Schroeder, a former veterinarian for SeaWorld San Diego, successfully helped reintroduce a gray whale in the early '70s after its manure became too much for its aquarium tank-filtration system. The effort involved a seven-ship Navy flotilla. "It would probably be easier to do with a toothed whale like an orca," said Schroeder, now a consultant living in Sequim. "They seem to be more adaptable creatures." Marilyn Joyce, marine-mammal coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, declined to give odds on the orca's reintroduction. "Until we get a medical assessment, a thorough assessment, I don't think we can predict." Lack of money The National Marine Fisheries Service has almost no money for the operation, but Lohn said a good chunk could come from emergency federal grants. The fisheries service also was in a conference call with nonprofit groups yesterday morning and they now plan to formally launch a fund-raising campaign next week at a University of Washington-based Orca Recovery Conference (co-sponsored and coordinated by Orca Conservancy). "We're going to finally roll out the bake sale," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy. Saturday, May 25, 2002 Plan to Relocate Orca Called 'High-Risk' – Stress, Illness Could Foil Visions of Happy Reunion With her Pod By ROBERT McCLURE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The killer whale family cruises silently past the northern tip of Vancouver Island. When they reach Johnstone Strait, the orcas splash around and break out in chirps, squeals and squeaks, happy to return to their summer home. Just then, their long-lost cousin is released, setting the stage for a joyful pod reunion. That's the vision federal fisheries officials outlined yesterday for the orphaned orca of Puget Sound after weeks of entreaties from scientists and orca advocates. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 56 In a few weeks, the young orca will be captured, held for medical treatment at a floating pen in Puget Sound, then whisked up to Canada to await the reunion, the National Marines Fisheries Service announced. "This is a first; this has never been done," said Bob Lohn, the agency's regional administrator. "We don't know what the prospects are, but we would like to give it a try." The orca, officially known as A73 and nicknamed Springer, could die of stress while being captured. She might prove too sick to be allowed back into her home waters in Canada. There's also a fair likelihood that her old pod won't welcome her back. "We recognize the possibility that this could ultimately cause the orca to go into a stress situation and no longer live," Lohn said. "This is a high-risk enterprise." Likewise, the agency's regional marine mammal coordinator, Brent Norberg, said he has mixed feelings about the decision. A team of orca-capture experts will be assembled and may try to lure the whale into a pen, but might also resort to some form of net, he said. Lohn said the agency decided to capture and rehabilitate the orca because blood tests ruled out a genetic disorder, a scientific panel unanimously recommended the course of action, and the summer boating season is imminent. Authorities fear A73, which has been known to approach boats, will grow too accustomed to humans to be reintroduced into the wild. While boaters have heeded NMFS' pleas to stay away from the orca, "we're not able to ask the orca to stay away from boats," Lohn said. "In the end, she might bond to that situation and no longer seek the company of other orcas." U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called the decision "great news." "NMFS' decision to intervene and develop a plan for A73 now, ultimately increases its chances for long- term survival," Cantwell said. "I hope everyone will work together to give this orca the opportunity to thrive." Conservationists pledged to help raise money needed to rehabilitate and return the creature to the wild. "We hope we can take this outpouring of concern for this animal and redirect it to the whole orca population," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy, one of the groups helping raise funds. "We need to make sure that people understand that the reason for taking these heroics is because of the dire straits of the overall population." The orca is one of about 300 known to return each year to Puget Sound or to Johnstone Strait in Canada. Because they return each summer and live here for some time, they are known as "resident" whales. But they and other killer whales in this part of the world are struggling to survive. A big factor is thought to be the increasingly high concentrations of industrial chemicals being measured in them. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are present in levels known to inhibit reproduction and interfere with the immune response of other marine mammals. A73 was first spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock in mid-January. Canadian researchers say her mother, A-45, is dead. The 1 1/2- to 2-year-old apparently was left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother. The whale has several apparent health problems, including worms and "whale pox" – a skin ailment that has caused much of her skin to discolor and slough off. She also has ketosis, a condition that makes breath smell like paint thinner because proteins are not being metabolized properly. In humans, ketosis can be a symptom of starvation, diabetes or metabolic problems, but those problems have been ruled out in the orca's case. The whale will need at least two weeks of care before the transplant can be attempted, according to Lohn. The cost of the operation would be "well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars," Lohn said, but that $200,000 should be available from federal grants. "We're pleased they have decided to move forward and we're pleased to enter into a partnership to help raise funds," Felleman said. "But we don't feel we have to wait until we have money in the bank to get started." Orca captures were halted here in the 1970s. NMFS likely will go outside the country to find the expertise needed to successfully capture the orca, Lohn said. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 57 And before the whale can be taken back into Canada, authorities there will have to give the OK. They have said in the past that their first priority is making sure A73 doesn't introduce any disease into the already- strapped orca population there. "We support the plan," said Marilyn Joyce, marine-mammal coordinator for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "Once the whale comes into Canadian waters, the goal is to oversee its transfer and reintroduction." "We hope it's not too late," said John Nightingale, president of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, which also has been involved in the relocation strategy. "We think it's long overdue." With the whale's health continuing to decline, everyone is hoping to speed up the process, he said. "There's going to be a lot of fast planning over the weekend." When A73's family returns to Johnstone Strait in late July, they typically cruise in silently, then break out into a celebration like the one NMFS envisions, Lohn said. If that doesn't work, they could try again in late September or early October, when the pod leaves Johnstone Strait, he said. "If there is a point that A73 would say, 'Those are my kind and I want to be with them,' that's it," Lohn said. "We want to make sure she is in good physical shape when that happens." Felleman said many details need to be worked out. What will happen, for example, if the whale is judged too sick to return to Canada, or she is rejected by her pod? "Have a committed exit strategy, and know when to give up," Felleman said. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 58 June 2002 Showtime… Senator Maria Cantwell at Orca Conservancy’s Orca Recovery Conference at The University of Washington. June 3, 2002 Groups Trying To Help Feds Pay For Orca Relocation KOMO 4 News Staff SEATTLE - Advocacy groups are working on plans to help the government pay for the rescue and relocation of an orphaned orca that's been hanging out near the Vashon Island ferry dock for the last several months. They're not yet sure how much money they'll need to raise, but at the final day of the Orca Recovery Conference in Seattle, they said they want to do whatever they can to help the National Marine Fisheries Service cover the cost of trying to reunite A73 with her pod off British Columbia's Vancouver Island. “It's not a matter of if, because we can raise a bunch of money," said Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris. "It's a matter of who's on board." The National Marine Fisheries Service decided late last month that the ailing whale's health warranted a high-risk mission to capture her, transport her to Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island and try to reunite her with her pod, which spends its summers there. It's unclear how much that will cost, but Bob Lohn, the fisheries service's regional director, said it's likely to reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. No schedule has been set, he said, but officials hope to capture the whale by mid-June, spend another two weeks treating her and running more medical tests, then transport her to the strait as quickly as possible. The whale - named A73 because of her pod and birth order - then would be kept in a netted-off section of a bay for about two weeks or until her native pod arrives on its annual migration south, approximately mid- to late July. Lohn said the fisheries service likely will be eligible for two $100,000 federal grants - one for the capture and treatment of the whale, the other for the transport and release. Fisheries service spokesman Brian Gorman said a funding plan and more detailed outline of how the operation is expected to take place could be in place as early as mid-week. While welcoming the involvement of the numerous nonprofit groups that have offered to help out financially and logistically, Gorman said, "It's hard to pull together so many disparate groups, some of whom have money, some of whom don't, some of whom want to go in one direction, some of whom want to go in another direction." Ultimately, the cost and layout of the rescue, relocation and release will depend on the whale's health. A73 - also known as "Boo" and "Springer" - was first spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock in mid- January. Canadian researchers say her mother, A-45, is dead. The 1 1/2- to 2-year-old calf apparently was left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother. The whale has several apparent health problems, including anemia, worms and "whale pox" - a skin ailment that has caused much of her skin to discolor and slough off. The whale pox is creeping close to sensitive areas around her blowhole and eyes. She also has ketosis, a condition that makes breath smell like paint thinner because proteins are not being metabolized properly. In humans, ketosis can be a symptom of starvation, diabetes or metabolic problems, but those problems have been ruled out in the orca's case by observation and blood tests. It's unclear whether A73's pod will take her back. Scientists say they are unaware of any orcas that have been welcomed back into a pod after a sustained absence. "We're keeping our fingers crossed," said Paul Spong, director of OrcaLab, a research institute on Hanson Island off the northern end of Vancouver Island. "We're actually quite hopeful about this." Solo juvenile orcas are rare, since killer whales are highly intelligent and social animals. But this year there are two in the region - A73 and L-98, a male from L-pod based near Washington's San Juan Islands, who has been living on the west side of Canada's Vancouver Island since last fall. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. Activists are seeking endangered-species protection for orcas in three San Juan Island pods, which are struggling with pollution and dwindling populations of salmon, their primary food. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 59 6/7/2002 Orca Orphan's Capture Planned for Next Week The Seattle Times SEATTLE – Five months after a young female killer whale was spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock, the federal government says it will try to capture her next week for eventual relocation to her native waters in Canada. The young orca will be captured and immobilized – in a net or by securing her tail – and then placed on a barge for a quick trip to a net pen at Manchester on the Kitsap Peninsula, said spokesman Brian Gorman with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The government is hiring a private contractor to head the capture team, probably a local man with experience in the multimillion-dollar effort to reunite Keiko with his birth pod off Greenland, Gorman said. The young female is to stay in the pen 10 to 14 days for treatment of a skin ailment, worms and other apparently minor health problems, Gorman said. She'll also undergo a series of tests and effectively be in quarantine to ensure she doesn't take any serious health problems back to her pod. 6/7/2002 NMFS Plans to Try to Capture Orphan Orca Next Week The Associated Press SEATTLE - The federal government says it has set next week as the time when it plans to try to capture a young female killer whale that has been swimming near Vashon Island in Puget Sound, west of Seattle. The young orca was spotted in the area about five months ago. She apparently got separated from her pod - or family group - which is normally in Canadian waters off British Columbia. The plan is to capture the whale and then place her on a barge for a quick trip to a net pen in Kitsap County, west of Seattle. A spokesman with the National Marine Fisheries Service - Brian Gorman - says the young female is to stay in the pen 10 to 14 days for treatment of some health problems and for tests to make sure she doesn't carry any serious health problems back when scientists try to reunite her with her pod. Gorman says plans for the move to Canada are still being developed, but the initial plan is to keep her in an inlet that has been netted off "so she can swim freely and maintain muscle tone and wait for her pod to appear." And You Thought All That Orca Whale Coverage Was Just a Fluke Friday, June 7, 2002 By JOHN LEVESQUE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER TELEVISION CRITIC IT’S BEEN TWO years since we basked in the aura of Dr. T.V. Skreen, celebrated consultant to the broadcast industry and part-time base-running coach for the Seattle Mariners. We caught up with him at a fund-raiser for the Rampant Fescue Project, which is working to restore prairie grass to my back yard and other sensitive ecosystems. Skreen was the guest speaker, and after his illuminating talk – “An Orca in Every Newscast” – he was gracious enough to sit down for a few minutes and talk TV with me. Here is an excerpt of that conversation. TV GUY: Love your necktie, Dr. Skreen. Is that a “Free Willy” motif? DR. SKREEN: Thanks. Yes, it is. Thought it would be appropriate to the topic of my remarks today. TV GUY: Indeed. But I was surprised to hear you say it’s more important for TV news organizations to cover homeless whales than, say, homeless people. DR. SKREEN: What’s so surprising? Everyone knows homeless people don’t photograph well. A lot of them dress badly. But whales are extremely telegenic, even the ones with bad skin and bad breath. The camera loves them almost as much as it loves the first snowfall, the high-speed chase, the aerial shot of ... TV GUY: I see where you're going. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 60 DR. SKREEN: Don't interrupt me. Who do you think you are? Charlie Rose? TV GUY: Sorry. It's just that sometimes we see the same story about the same whale day after day. DR. SKREEN: What's your point? TV GUY: Well, it seems the story really isn't being advanced, that stations keep doing whale stories because other stations keep doing whale stories and they all seem to think it's what the public wants. DR. SKREEN: That is what the public wants. TV GUY: How do you know? Breaching news: It seems local TV news organizations have never met a blowhole they didn't like. DR. SKREEN: The local stations get their research from focus groups, even the ones we don't do any consulting for. TV GUY: And the people who take part in these focus groups say they want more whale coverage? DR. SKREEN: It's number three on the list, right after "more scary weather forecasts that don't pan out" and "more lame tie-ins to network programming." TV GUY: Fascinating. Where do you find these people? DR. SKREEN: Beats me. We just tell the station to find 10 people to fill up a room. It's not up to me to round 'em up. TV GUY: And exactly how are the questions phrased? DR. SKREEN: We usually give them a choice, such as, "Would you rather see coverage of whales or coverage of Alan Greenspan?" The whales win every time. TV GUY: But has it ever occurred to you that news organizations aren't supposed to pander to their patrons' desires? DR. SKREEN: Why not? Pandas get better ratings than whales. And if you can work a panda and a whale into the same story, boffo! TV GUY: What I meant to say is that stations should be holding themselves to higher journalistic standards. DR. SKREEN: What does journalism have to do with it? I'm in the marketing business. TV GUY: Beg your pardon? DR. SKREEN: Marketing. We're trying to sell a product here. And whales help move the product, especially among younger viewers. You wouldn't believe how many kids have been watching the news since that orphaned orca showed up in Puget Sound. TV GUY: What happens if she is returned to her pod in Canada? DR. SKREEN: Well, I'm sure the local stations will still do the occasional whale story, but they'll have to be careful about spending too much on travel. TV GUY: So they might turn to stories of a more pressing nature? DR. SKREEN: Possibly. Number four on the focus-group list is "more coverage of tearful crime victims." And number five is "more coverage of stories that make us afraid to go out at night." TV GUY: Now that I think about it, that whale coverage doesn't seem so repetitious after all.IT'S BEEN TWO years since we basked in the aura of Dr. T.V. Skreen, celebrated consultant to the broadcast industry and part-time base-running coach for the Seattle Mariners. We caught up with him at a fund-raiser for the Rampant Fescue Project, which is working to restore prairie grass to my back yard and other sensitive ecosystems. Skreen was the guest speaker, and after his illuminating talk – “An Orca in Every Newscast" – he was gracious enough to sit down for a few minutes and talk TV with me. Here is an excerpt of that conversation. TV GUY: Love your necktie, Dr. Skreen. Is that a "Free Willy" motif? DR. SKREEN: Thanks. Yes, it is. Thought it would be appropriate to the topic of my remarks today. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 61 TV GUY: Indeed. But I was surprised to hear you say it's more important for TV news organizations to cover homeless whales than, say, homeless people. DR. SKREEN: What's so surprising? Everyone knows homeless people don't photograph well. A lot of them dress badly. But whales are extremely telegenic, even the ones with bad skin and all. Deadline Set for Orphaned Orca The Associated Press SEATTLE, WA - The federal government says it has set next week as the time when it plans to try to capture a young female killer whale that has been swimming near Vashon Island in Puget Sound, west of Seattle. The young orca was spotted in the area about five months ago. She apparently got separated from her pod — or family group – which is normally in Canadian waters off British Columbia. Biologists had considered bringing the whale to the Oregon coast aquarium in Newport. Now, the plan is to capture the whale and then place her on a barge for a quick trip to a net pen in Kitsap County west of Seattle. A spokesman with the National Marine Fisheries Service – Brian Gorman – says the young female is to stay in the pen 10 to 14 days for treatment of some health problems and for tests to make sure she doesn't carry any serious health problems back when scientists try to reunite her with her pod in Canada. 6/11/2002 Baby Orca Going Home by Elisa Hahn, KING 5 News SEATTLE – Big changes are in store for the orphaned orca that has been living on her own in near Vashon Island since January. The young orca, named Springer, has begun to brush up against pleasure boats on Puget Sound. It's a dangerous turn of events that highlights the need for a killer whale rescue. The National Marine Fisheries Service plans to capture her later this week. She'll be held in a pen for medical treatment then moved to Canada in hope of reuniting with her pod. In the past, Springer has shown an affinity for Washington State ferries. Now, the orphaned orca is getting even closer to humans – and in harm's way. Those trying to save the whale are in a race against the boating season. Each day, as the weather gets warmer and more boats go out on the water, the dangers increase for the orphaned orca. So everyone is hoping the big rescue planned for this week doesn't come too late. A family enjoying a day out on the water got a close encounter they never expected. For more than a hour, Springer rubbed up against their boat, using it as a big back scratcher. The family kept the boat's propeller turned off the whole time to avoid harming the whale. "It's fairly new and it's really spooky,” said Bob McLaughlin, Project Seawolf. Experts say her behavior demonstrates she's becoming too accustomed to boats and humans, and needs to be moved – now. "The problem is a lot of people out there won't give her a fair shake. If they get tired of this after half an hour of the whale scratching up against them and they want to get to dinner, they may say, ‘The heck with it, I'll try to outrun it,’ and all of a sudden they're up and over a whale,” said McLaughlin. So this week, the National Marine Fisheries will try to rescue the orca. The whale will be plucked from the waters off the West Seattle ferry dock, placed on a barge, and moved to the NOAA fisheries laboratory in Manchester on the Olympic Peninsula. Wednesday they'll conduct a mock capture, hoping for the actual whale rescue on Thursday or Friday, but it may be pushed into the weekend. In the meantime experts worry about Springer's new affinity for pleasure boats. After an hour, the whale still wouldn't leave this the family’s boat, so the Project Seawolf boat, powered by jets, towed the family's boat away to keep them from turning on their propeller. But Springer gave chase, putting on a playful show along the way. Experts emphasize over and over to stay away from whale. They say, if she does approach the vessel, don't feed her, and turn off the motor and try to be patient until she leaves. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 62 Capture Plan On For Orphaned Orca Associated Press Manchester, Washington-AP — After a "wet run" tomorrow, whale experts say they'll be ready to capture an orphaned orca who's been living alone in Puget Sound. The National Marine Fisheries Service plans to capture the two-year-old called "Springer" on Thursday, and put her in a 40-foot pen at Manchester, Washington. The orca, or "killer whale," will be treated for worms and a skin condition. In a couple of weeks, she'll be taken to Canadian waters off Vancouver Island, where her rescuers hope she'll be reunited with her pod. It won't be easy to catch the one-ton whale. The capture team hopes to slip a loop around her tail, then ease her into a sling. Then a crane will hoist her onto a barge for the five-mile trip to Manchester. The stress could kill the whale, but officials don't believe she can continue to live alone in Puget Sound, where she was first spotted in January. In addition to her ailments, Springer has been getting too close to ferries and other boats. June 11, 2002 Rescuers to Capture Sick Whale MANCHESTER, Washington (Reuters) — Marine mammal experts will capture a sick, orphaned young killer whale near Seattle Thursday in an unprecedented and daring attempt to reunite the one-ton mammal with its family in Canada. Emaciated, covered with skin lesions and sporting foul breath hinting at digestive problems, the blackand- white female orca has captivated local residents by sidling up to ferries and other boats in the busy shipping lanes of Puget Sound. Ironically, the whale's preference for people drove scientists' decision to snare her, treat her ailments in an aquatic cage and then transfer her to British Columbia's Johnstone Strait before she gets hit by a boat or starves to death. "Restoration of a juvenile orca back to its community has never been tried in this form before and we don't know if it will work," said Bob Lohn, Regional Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). "We are sufficiently convinced that where she is now is not a safe place for her in the long term and that there is no likelihood that she can remain a successful wild whale if she remains where she is," Lohn told reporters at a NMFS station. If all goes well the orca, known as A73, would spend at least two weeks in a floating pen munching live salmon while doctors assess her ability to make the risky boat ride to rich summer feeding grounds some 250 miles to the north. From there the orca would be largely on her own and at the mercy of the dozens of whales in her native pod that may have rejected her when she first got sick or refused to wait for her when she lingered behind as her mother died of unknown causes. "We know that she speaks the same dialect as that pod," said Jeff Foster, a NMFS mammal rescue expert who helped return Keiko, an adult orca who starred in the "Free Willy" movies, to his home waters off Iceland. Keiko has been reluctant to join other whales, but researchers had no idea what pod, or family, he belonged to. A73's pod, headed by her grandmother, is well-known. "I'm very optimistic on how things are going to go," Foster said. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 63 Foster outlined several options for snaring the powerful animal using tethers, nets and stretchers and an array of transport options, including a speedy hovercraft from Canada's coast guard, a barge or other large ships. The rescue operation could cost several hundred thousand dollars, some of which will come from the federal government while private fund-raisers aim to raise the rest. Various people have offered free food and equipment to help rescue the orca, which first appeared off the Seattle coast last winter. Many of the rescue workers are volunteers. The dwindling local orca population suffers from shrinking salmon runs in waters polluted by toxic chemicals and many residents have rallied to defend the embattled regional icon. "There is no guarantee that she will be healthy enough to make the trip," said David Huff, a veterinarian from the Vancouver Aquarium assisting in the rescue. "I just can't wait to find out, because I think she's got a chance. Wed, Jun. 12, 2002 Unprecedented Orca Rescue Bid Draws Near BY CHRIS STETKIEWICZ, Reuters MANCHESTER, Wash. - (Reuters) - Marine mammal experts will capture a sick, orphaned young killer whale near Seattle on Thursday in an unprecedented and daring attempt to reunite the one-ton mammal with its family in Canada. Emaciated, covered with skin lesions and sporting foul breath hinting at digestive problems, the blackand- white female orca has captivated local residents by sidling up to ferries and other boats in the busy shipping lanes of Puget Sound. Ironically, the whale's preference for people drove scientists' decision to snare her, treat her ailments in an aquatic cage and then transfer her to British Columbia's Johnstone Strait before she gets hit by a boat or starves to death. "Restoration of a juvenile orca back to its community has never been tried in this form before and we don't know if it will work," said Bob Lohn, Regional Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). "We are sufficiently convinced that where she is now is not a safe place for her in the long term and that there is no likelihood that she can remain a successful wild whale if she remains where she is," Lohn told reporters at a NMFS station. If all goes well the orca, known as A73, would spend at least two weeks in a floating pen munching live salmon while doctors assess her ability to make the risky boat ride to rich summer feeding grounds some 250 miles to the north. From there the orca would be largely on her own and at the mercy of the dozens of whales in her native pod that may have rejected her when she first got sick or refused to wait for her when she lingered behind as her mother died of unknown causes. "We know that she speaks the same dialect as that pod," said Jeff Foster, a NMFS mammal rescue expert who helped return Keiko, an adult orca who starred in the "Free Willy" movies, to his home waters off Iceland. Keiko has been reluctant to join other whales, but researchers had no idea what pod, or family, he belonged to. A73's pod, headed by her grandmother, is well-known. "I'm very optimistic on how things are going to go," Foster said. Foster outlined several options for snaring the powerful animal using tethers, nets and stretchers and an array of transport options, including a speedy hovercraft from Canada's coast guard, a barge or other large ships. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 64 The rescue operation could cost several hundred thousand dollars, some of which will come from the federal government while private fund-raisers aim to raise the rest. Various people have offered free food and equipment to help rescue the orca, which first appeared off the Seattle coast last winter. Many of the rescue workers are volunteers. The dwindling local orca population suffers from shrinking salmon runs in waters polluted by toxic chemicals and many residents have rallied to defend the embattled regional icon. "There is no guarantee that she will be healthy enough to make the trip," said David Huff, a veterinarian from the Vancouver Aquarium assisting in the rescue. "I just can't wait to find out, because I think she's got a chance. • 6/12/2002 Researchers Still Hope to Capture Orphaned Orca AP and KING 5 News If weather and a young killer whale cooperate, the government hopes to capture Puget Sound's orphaned orca orphan Thursday or Friday for treatment before efforts are made to reunite her with her family in Canada. On Wednesday, whale researchers pushed a portable net pen to the north end of Vashon Island, Wash. where the orphaned Orca, called Springer by researchers, has been residing. Researchers conducted a practice run of Springer's capture, coaxing her into the pen. The "wet run" proved successful Wednesday afternoon when researchers, petting and scratching her on her side, successfully coaxed Springer into the pen. Because the nets were not in place yet, Springer swam in and then quickly swam out of the pen - a victorious moment for researchers, who will attempt to lure Spring again back into the pen Thursday. Except next time with the net. It all comes not a moment too soon, said Bob Lohn, National Marine Fisheries Service regional administrator. “She seems to be rapidly losing her fear of humans,” Lohn said. There have been numerous reports of her cozying up to ferries and smaller boats and rubbing against them, perhaps to ease the itching of her worsening skin ailment. The young orca was orphaned last year and then became separated from her family group. Since mid- January, she has made a temporary home near the Vashon Island ferry dock just west of Seattle. Killer whales are social animals who live and hunt cooperatively. But at 11 feet long and about 2,000 pounds - roughly the size of a small car - this young whale could capsize smaller vessels if she got too friendly. The plan is to keep her near this Kitsap Peninsula town in a 40-square-foot net pen at NMFS’s research station, where she can be easily tested and medicated. She may be moved to a larger pen here if her stay extends beyond a couple weeks. On Tuesday, members of the capture team affixed aluminum rails to a killer-whale sling on loan from the Point Defiance Zoo - a fleece-lined, 6- by 12-foot cloth apparatus with two holes for the orca’s pectoral fins. The sling will be used to lift her out of the water and place her on the 65-foot crane barge Elsie M., owned by the Cypress Island fish farm of Bainbridge Island. The barge was here Tuesday unloading live Atlantic salmon that will be fed to A73 — named for her birth order in Canada’s A-pod. A mechanical device will be used so she doesn’t associate humans with food. When she has recovered from several apparently minor health problems, she’ll be moved to a netted-off cove in British Columbia waters near Johnstone Strait, east of Vancouver Island, where A-pod spends summers. The strait is the narrowest point between the island and the British Columbia mainland. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 65 When killer whales enter the strait, Lohn said, there’s a sense of “joyous reunion” as they squeak and call out, often leaping almost completely out of the water. The goal is to release A73 there as they arrive, giving her “a chance to bond with them at the time they seem to be celebrating among themselves.” Restoring a juvenile orca to her community has never been tried before, he noted. Still, “we believe we have some of the best, most competent people in the world” lined up to help, Lohn said. The capture team is headed by Jeff Foster of Auburn, a veteran of the so-far-unsuccessful effort to return long-captive adult killer whale Keiko, star of the movie “Free Willy,” to the wild near Iceland. Foster also has done catch-and-release tagging of orcas for the Norwegian government. Foster said he’s optimistic about A73’s prospects. “Balancing the risks, we feel this is the best chance we can offer her,” Lohn said. The effort to restore A73 to her family is expected to cost at least $200,000, he said. Federal money is being sought, and whale activists announced private fundraising plans Wednesday. How A73 is caught will depend on her. On Wednesday, the capture team decided against trying to loop a soft, nylon rope around her tail, opting instead to lure her into a floating netless pen by stroking her with sticks. It’s a sensation she seems to like, since she’s often seen rubbing against chunks of wood floating in the sound. They planned to repeat the drill Thursday with the net. Then, she would be towed to a nearby crane barge, where a specially fitted sling would be used to lift her out of the water and onto the barge for the 4- to 5-mile trip to Manchester. Blood and skin samples would be taken on the barge if she’s not too stressed, and treatment could begin almost immediately, Foster said. NMFS veterinarian Janet Whaley said a complete round of tests should be completed within days. Boaters were told to stay 400 yards away from the capture attempt, Lohn said, adding the best view is likely from the Washington state ferries Seattle-Vashon run. Springer often followed the Evergreen State ferry. Wednesday afternoon, the ferry hosted a sendoff party for the whale. Members of the Tlingit Dance Troupe performed a killer whale song on the Evergreen in honor of Springer’s departure. Ferry workers say Springer often followed their boat and sometimes nuzzled up against it while it was docked. While juvenile orcas surviving on their own are thought to be rare, this year there are two of them - A73 in Puget Sound, and L-98, a male from one of the three southern resident pods that spend time around the San Juan Islands. He has been seen on the west side of Vancouver Island since November. According to recent reports from Canada, L-98 is also starting to get dangerously friendly with boats. Killer whales are found in all the world’s oceans. The Washington state population – under pressure from pollution and boat traffic – has dropped from 98 in 1995 to 78 currently. The government is to decide this summer whether to list them as an endangered species. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 66 OC TIMELINE: THE ORPHAN ORCA FUND In March of 2002, Orca Conservancy, Earth Island Institute/Free Willy Keiko Foundation and The Vancouver Aquarium entered into a verbal agreement to combine our submitted plans to NMFS and “pool our resources” toward the rescue and translocation of Springer. The resources OC and EII/FWKF brought to the table included an angel – a wealthy individual willing to write the check for the whole operation. When Dr. John Nightingale from the Aquarium walked away from that partnership, he also walked away from the money. We lost our angel. But we weren’t going to walk away from Springer. Once NMFS had publicly committed to an in-situ rehabilitation and a direct trip to Johnstone Strait, we knew we couldn’t let financial concerns kill the momentum. Our Board Member Fred Felleman brought a unique idea to the table – the Prescott Marine Mammal Stranding Grant. It was a new federal fund, with special language written into it in 2000 to give “special consideration to gray whale and orca strandings in the Pacific Northwest.” How did that unusual language get into the Prescott? In large part, because of Fred. Just a couple years earlier, the Puget Sound region was getting a high numbers of gray whales washing up dead along our shorelines. One of those beaches happened to be the Whidbey Island home of U.S. Congressman Jack Metcalf. Much to the dismay of the Congressman’s family, the feds didn’t have a budget to remove these massive carcasses. As time dragged on, the dead whale in front of Rep. Metcalf’s house was particularly putrid. In that stink, Fred saw an opportunity. He offered to work with the offices of Rep. Metcalf and Sen. Patty Murray on including this special consideration language in the Prescott. With this language, Fred knew the funds could be expedited. We would soon go after two $100,000 grants, each requiring a matching contribution of 1/3 – in other words, we needed to raise $66,666 to trigger another $200,000. From our calculations, that would be all that was needed to get Springer home. We helped found a coalition of five non-profit organizations called “The Orphan Orca Fund” to raise the matching funds. Orca Conservancy later extended an invitation to Earth Island Institute/Free Willy-Keiko Foundation – the only NGO ever to translocate an orca – and Friends of the San Juans, the biggest non-profit in the Islands and whose wonderful and talented Executive Director was also one of our Board Members, Stephanie Buffum. These seven groups went on not just to successfully meet the match requirements for the Prescott, but also to assert remarkable leadership in directly contracting the Namgis First Nations to catch wild salmon for Springer when she returned to Johnstone Strait. That decision (made against the strong objections of Orca Alliance’s Donna Sandstrom and the NMFS representatives at the meeting) ultimately thwarted Dr. John Nightingale’s inconceivably arrogant plan to introduce Atlantic farmed salmon at the Hanson Island seapen site – First Nations fishermen, and the Namgis in particular, are ardent opponents of aquaculture in BC waters. Namgis fishermen appearing on KING 5 News and NBC Nightly News catching wild local salmon for Springer, under contract from the Orphaned Orca Fund and an out-ofseason DFO permit obtained with the assistant of OrcaLab. Many of us knew the perils of coalitions going into this, but The Orphan Orca Fund – or OOF, as we knew it – still provided us new lessons in the foibles of men. At times, it was high comedy. Other times it was just annoying. Two OOFers who fought bitterly against the Namgis contract would a few years later invite themselves up to Namgis territory to receive the thanks of the band. Another OOF group, Project SeaWolf, abruptly quit our coalition after we wrote into our Operating Agreement a clause stipulating that none of the public funds we raised would be used to remove the whale to an aquarium. SeaWolf would re-emerge shortly after as a newly formed NGO called “Global Research and Rescue,” the lead group working with Nightingale and the Vancouver Aquarium (and indirectly with Marineland Ontario) on both the Springer and later the ill-fated Luna project. We had the Dark Side among us! But looking back at those OOF days, it wasn’t all bad. It was wonderful working with positive people like Joe Olson and Uko Gorter of American Cetacean Society/Puget Sound, Stephanie Buffum and her staff at Friends of the San Juans, Will Anderson and Earth Island, Dr. Rich Osborne and Kari Koski at The Whale Museum, even some of the feds – Lynne Barre, Brent Norberg and Joe Scordino, particularly. Only in the Pacific Northwest could you be suing an agency AND working closely with them on something else – in fact, as the Springer project was full steam ahead, NMFS had a press conference announcing they were rejecting our Petition to get the Southern Resident Community of orcas federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Orca Conservancy and four other groups were forced to sue, ultimately winning a year later in District Court (see last article in this archive). Still, lawsuits and all, we had good relationships with the feds here. Of course as we went higher up the food chain, we started hitting the stink of the Bush Administration, but down in the trenches, we found our Regional NMFS people to be decent and helpful folk. And again, despite our differences, together we found a way to get that little whale home. (below) A PLAQUE FOR THE EFFORT… NMFS thanks Orca Conservancy and the Orphan Orca Fund for its critical assistance during the Springer project. June 12, 2002 Orca Coalition Sees Hope For Ecosystem By KOMO Staff & News Services SEATTLE - The pending rescue and relocation of Puget Sound's orphaned orca has become a source of hope for improving the plight of the area's marine ecosystem, a coalition of whale advocates said Wednesday. "A73 is kind of the poster child in making sure we always have orcas out there," said Sally Hodson, executive director of the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, during a news conference at Cove Park in West Seattle, near where the whale hangs out. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 67 The museum is just one of seven conservation groups joining to form the Orphan Orca Fund and help the government pay for rescue of the killer whale - designated A73 because of her pod and birth order - that has stayed near the Vashon Island ferry dock since mid-January. Donations will go to a central location at Islanders Bank in Friday Harbor, said Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris. Cost of the rescue, including medical treatment and reunion with her pod off Vancouver Island, is estimated at about $500,000, Hodson said. The group isn't sure how much money it will need to raise. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency leading the rescue effort, is likely eligible for two $100,000 federal grants - one for capture and treatment of the orca, the other for transport and release. The remaining funding will have to come from money and materials donated from the community, Hodson said. Already, the fund is receiving buckets, foam pads and medical supplies - all necessary for the whale's transport. The groups, which also include the American Cetacean Society's Puget Sound Chapter, Earth Island Institute, and Friends for the San Juans, remain adamant that their goal is to have the whale returned to the wild. No money collected through the fund will be used to place her in captivity, Harris said. "This is a Canadian whale, it doesn't belong in an American tank," Harris said. The young orca's successful release would be significant in improving conditions of the southern resident population in Puget Sound, which has dwindled from 98 in 1995 to 78 today, said Kathy Fletcher, executive director of coalition member People For Puget Sound. Pollution and boat traffic have hurt the orca population. "It's amazing how the public has become so interested, really captivated by this whale," Fletcher said. "This little whale, because she's alive and in front of people, has brought the problem to people's attention." The fisheries service decided late last month that the ailing whale's health warranted this week's high-risk mission to capture the orca - also known as "Boo" and "Springer" - and transport her to Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island. On Wednesday, a team worked to prepare her for capture Thursday or Friday. Since determining that the 1 1/2- to 2-year-old calf was left behind by her pod, where her only known relative was a grandmother, scientists have found she has several obvious health problems, including anemia, worms and a skin ailment that has caused much of her skin to discolor and slough off. If capture is successful, officials hope to spend another two weeks treating her and running more medical tests, then transport her to the strait as quickly as possible. The plan is to keep her in a netted-off section of a bay near Manchester, Wash., for about two weeks or until her native pod arrives on its annual migration south, approximately mid- to late July. For More Information: Orca Conservancy – www.orcaconservancy.org The Whale Museum – www.whalemuseum.com National Marine Fisheries Service – www.nwr.noaa.gov ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 68 Orca's Fate Hinges on Rescue Try This Week Help: If capture works, experts will nurse whale to health Susan Gordon, The Tacoma News Tribune The world's first attempt to rescue a sick killer whale, restore her to health and return her to the wild begins Thursday morning in Puget Sound. At stake is the future of A73, a 1,500-pound, 11-foot-long orca that hangs out along the Washington state ferry route between Vashon Island and West Seattle. The whale, also known as "Springer" or "Boo," has attracted international attention because of her multiple ailments and isolation from other whales in her pod, or family. Since January, when onlookers first spotted A73, concern about her fate has mounted, prompting a joint U.S.-Canadian effort to save the orphan orca and return her to the Canadian waters where experts believe she was born about two years ago. On Tuesday, Bob Lohn, Seattle-based regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency coordinating the rescue and relocation effort, and other experts outlined how they plan to accomplish the feat. A coalition of whale advocacy groups has mounted a private, fund- raising effort to support the move, which Lohn estimated will cost more than $200,000. "Restoration of a juvenile whale has never been done before. We don't know whether it will work," admitted the administrator, who nevertheless insisted that the whale needs expert help. "There is no likelihood she can remain a successful wild whale if she remains where she is," Lohn said. "Human hazards with the orca continue to grow." For example, on Tuesday morning, Lohn said he and other state ferry riders watched A73 rub up against the boat, using it as a scratching post to relieve itching from a skin disorder that causes her skin to peel. "At the end of this, the goal is to have a whale that bonds to her pod" instead of people and boats, Lohn said. The rescue effort begins Thursday morning when a joint U.S.-Canadian team of whale experts will try to capture A73, then temporarily quarantine her in a fisheries service lab near Manchester, Kitsap County. "We just need to get our hands on her and do a thorough and complete medical examination. Hopefully, we'll get a complete picture within three days," said Janet Whaley, the agency's top marine mammal veterinarian. Medical testing - blood draws, skin scrapings and blow-hole cultures - will begin as soon as the whale is captured, Whaley said. Experts do not plan to sedate the whale, which will be hoisted into a donated landing craft for the trip to the lab. "The goal is to keep her out of the water as little as possible," said Jeff Foster, the whale expert upon whose expertise the capture depends. "The best thing to do is to keep her moist and keep her quiet." To relieve the whale's skin irritation, Foster said, team members will apply A&D ointment, the same medication many parents use to alleviate diaper rash. During the quarantine of a minimum of two weeks, whale experts must make sure the whale does not harbor any communicable diseases that she might transfer to other whales in Canada. Although the details of transport haven't been worked out, the goal is to return A73 to Johnstone Strait on the north end of Vancouver Island, where members of her birth pod return each summer and celebrate what Lohn described as a "joyous reunion." "We want to place A73 within earshot of this event," Lohn said, describing it as a noisy revel of hopping, fluke-waving whales. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 69 But before the move to Canada, Whaley and others will try to cure the whale's problems. Besides the skin disorder, A73 suffers from internal parasites, which probably will respond to deworming medication. The malady that most confounds experts is ketosis, which makes A73's breath smell like paint thinner. It could be linked to starvation, a hereditary disease or diabetes, but without testing, veterinarians won't know for sure. To capture the whale, the fisheries service will rely on Foster, an Auburn man Lohn called the "world's expert in drawing close to marine mammals and bringing them under control." Until last September, Foster worked with the orca Keiko, trying to coax the "Free Willy" star to return to the wild off the coast of Iceland, after being held captive for 20 years. Foster said the team plans to bag A73 by looping a thick rope around her tail. Then divers will wrap the whale in a sling, which will be hoisted into a landing craft for the trip to a secure, temporary holding pen at the Manchester lab. Cypress Island Inc., which farms Atlantic salmon in floating net pens, has donated the use of the landing craft, its 12-ton crane and tons of fish that A73 will consume during captivity. "Everybody's pretty excited about it," said Cypress Island manager Rob Miller. "It's a unique opportunity." SIDEBAR: Donations to pay for the orphan orca's return to the wild are being collected by The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor. Donations may be sent to Orphan Orca Fund, c/o Juanita Johns, Islanders Bank, P.O. Box 909, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. • 6/11/2002 Orphaned Orca to be Moved Thursday KING 5 News SEATTLE - The orphaned killer whale that has taken up residence in the Puget Sound will be moved Thursday, according to whale researchers. An advocate for the move said Monday that the procedure was risky, but the whale was at risk if she stayed in the area. The young orca dubbed Springer was spotted in the area around Vashon Island, Wash., about five months ago. She apparently got separated from her pod, which is normally in Canadian waters off British Columbia. Biologists had considered bringing the whale to the Oregon coast aquarium in Newport. Now, the plan is to capture the whale and then place her on a barge for a quick trip to a net pen in Kitsap County west of Seattle. Brian Gorman, a spokesman with the National Marine Fisheries Service, says the young female is to stay in the pen 10 to 14 days for treatment of some health problems and for tests to make sure she doesn't carry any serious health problems when scientists try to reunite her with her pod in Canada. Researchers say lately Springer has taken much more of a shining to boats in Puget Sound, even playing and nudging a small pleasure craft. People on Washington State Ferries have been feeding her, and as the summer gets going there is even more concern about what could happen to the whale. Orca Conservancy spokesman Fred Felleman told NWCN that researchers have told him they will slip what they call a soft loop around the whale's tail fluke and then lift her onto a padded research platform before transporting her to the Navy facility at Manchester, Wash. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 70 “There is a chance that the stress or pressure or unforeseen events may result in the loss of life for this orca. Nonetheless, we are sufficiently convinced that where she is now is not a safe place for her in the long term and that there is no likelihood she could remain a successful, wild whale if she remains where she is,” said Bob Lohn, National Marine Fisheries Service. In two weeks, Springer will be taken up to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, where her home pod is expected to arrive some time in early July. How to help Contributions to The Orphan Orca Fund will go directly to the project to reunite A73 with her pod. It will be administered by The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Washington. Donations can be sent to: The Orphan Orca Fund, c/o Juanita Johns, Islanders Bank, PO Box 909, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. 6/12/02 Rescue of Baby Orca to Take Place Thursday BY ERIC SORENSEN, The Seattle Times 6/12/02 SEATTLE - (KRT) - It's a delicate task, part art, part science, this moving of a minor leviathan from Puget Sound to Canada. At almost a ton, the orphaned orca is extremely strong. One wrong move and her tail is in your ear, or worse, her teeth are being used for more than chomping salmon. "They can be a little nippy," said Jeff Foster, who has swum with the likes of Keiko and a transient orca near Sequim, Wash., in January and finally was rescued. Foster and federal marine officials outlined how they plan to round up the orphaned orca off Vashon Island in the first tangible step toward moving her back to her community of fellow killer whales east of Vancouver Island. Wednesday, they did a "wet run," approaching the 2-year-old female and even brushing her with the soft, 1 1/2-inch-thick rope they plan to use as a lasso. Starting Thursday, they will do the rescue for real – weather, tides and orca permitting. They emphasized that the process is risky and encouraged would-be spectators to watch, if they must, from the Fauntleroy-Vashon ferry. "They have good viewing and a very reasonable fare," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is leading the stateside recovery effort. More importantly, Lohn cautioned that the orca, named A73 for its pod and birth order, is becoming dangerously accustomed to boats and people just as the hour of her capture approaches. "This is not only high risk for whales but high risk for people," Lohn said. "You're dealing with an animal that's roughly a ton in weight, about the weight of a small car, that's in her native habitat, who is extremely strong, and thus we'll only gain control of her if she chooses to come into that control. We need the help of the boating community to simply stay away and allow us to have the best chance to effect a good rescue." People such as Foster, the capture-team leader, are experienced but have no manual when it comes to rescuing orcas. "We're dealing with a wild animal," said Foster, who was involved in the Puget Sound captures that were halted in 1976. "There's a lot of unknowns. So we have to be kind of free-flowing as we develop techniques that we're going to use to restrain her." Two capture options are luring her into a salmon pen and raising the gate or trapping her in a salmon seine. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 71 But the first and likely method of capture will be to approach the orca and manipulate her in such a way that she raises her tail fluke, letting someone throw the thick loop around her tail. Foster said she will probably try to throw off the line but then calm down after realizing that she can't. "We expect to see some splashing but it's just her response. It should not be stressful for her. Maybe initially she's going to be confused, but these guys adapt very, very readily, especially at her age," Foster said. After the loop, workers will put a belly strap around the whale, then bring up a stretcher custom fitted down to the two holes for her pectoral fins. A 12-ton crane will hoist the orca onto the Elsie Em, a 65-foot landing craft owned by Cypress Island Inc., operator of several Puget Sound fish farms. While veterinarians gather blood, blowhole cultures and skin scrapes, workers will keep the orca moist and cool for the 30- to 45-minute cruise to a fisheries-service laboratory in Manchester, Wash. She will then go into a 40- by 40-foot pen, where she will be fed salmon donated by Cypress. Foster said A73 will get between 60 and 80 pounds of food a day. That's enough to help her gain weight but not so much that she stops eating; veterinarians will need to smuggle medications into the orca by slipping them into her food. Veterinarians should have lab results for A73 in three days, some within hours, but she will be held in Manchester for at least two weeks while she is nursed back to health. She has a skin pox, worms and a possible metabolic problem, and the capture will be the first chance for her to get a proper examination, said David Huff, veterinarian for the Vancouver Aquarium Science Centre and a consultant to Janet Whaley, a fisheries-service veterinarian out from Silver Spring, Md., outside Washington, D.C. If the orca appears up for the move and has no contagious diseases, the fisheries service will transport her to Johnstone Strait on the east coast of Vancouver Island, where her pod should return in July and begin a period of heavy vocalizing. But Lohn acknowledged that the fisheries service is working so incrementally that it has yet to decide just how she would be transported to Canada and it does not have a clear idea of how much this effort will cost. Much of it is being done with volunteer expertise, in-kind donations and help from the public. 6/13/2002 ORPHAN ORCA FUND Coalition Raising Money for Whale Rescue Chris Dunagin, Bremerton Sun SEATTLE (AP) — The pending rescue and relocation of Puget Sound's orphaned orca has become a source of hope for improving the plight of the area's marine ecosystem, a coalition of whale advocates said Wednesday. "A73 is kind of the poster child in making sure we always have orcas out there," said Sally Hodson, executive director of the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, during a news conference at Cove Park in West Seattle, near where the whale hangs out. The museum is just one of seven conservation groups joining to form the Orphan Orca Fund and help the government pay for rescue of the killer whale, designated A73 because of her pod and birth order. Donations will be deposited at Islanders Bank in Friday Harbor, said Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris. Cost of the rescue, including medical treatment and reunion with her pod off Vancouver Island, is estimated at about $500,000, Hodson said. The group isn't sure how much money it will need to raise. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency leading the rescue effort, is likely eligible for two $100,000 federal grants — one for capture and treatment of the orca, the other for transport and release. The remaining funding will have to come from donations, Hodson said. Already, the fund is receiving buckets, foam pads and medical supplies — all necessary for the whale's transport. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 72 The groups, which also include the American Cetacean Society's Puget Sound Chapter, Earth Island Institute and Friends for the San Juans, remain adamant that their goal is to have the whale returned to the wild. No money collected through the fund will be used to place her in captivity, Harris said. • Wednesday, June 12, 2002 Fisheries Service Hopes to Keep Gawkers at Bay While Capturing Orca By ROBERT McCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER MANCHESTER – Authorities preparing to capture the orphaned baby orca in Puget Sound appealed to the public yesterday to keep its distance from the creature, saying she has become overly friendly toward humans in recent days. Meanwhile, private conservation groups appealed to the public to contribute money, groceries and other goods to support the effort to rescue the orca and reunite her with her family in Canada. The capture of the orca is planned for tomorrow morning, but it could be delayed until the afternoon or even until Friday, said officials of the National Marine Fisheries Service. In the meantime, they said, the best way to see the orca is to ride a ferry between West Seattle and Vashon Island. "She seems to be rapidly losing her fear of humans," said Bob Lohn, NMFS regional administrator, at his agency's research facility here on the Kitsap Peninsula. "While that may be helpful in the short run (for the capture)... those traits need ultimately to be modified." If the orca becomes too habituated to humans, it likely would decrease chances she could be successfully reunited with her pod, officials said. Authorities will keep would-be sightseers at least 400 yards from the capture – far enough that little, if any, of the operation will be visible, they said. "We want to have as little contact as possible with her," said Jeff Foster, leader of the capture team. "Her pattern has really changed in the past few days. She's really interacting with boats." In the 1970s, Foster participated in some of Washington's last captures of orcas for display in aquariums and theme parks. He later served as director of operations for the group that sought to free Keiko, the captive killer whale that starred in the movie "Free Willy." "We believe we have some of the best and most competent people in the world" to do this job, Lohn said. "We think this whale will get the best possible medical care." The orca turned up in the waters between Vashon Island and West Seattle in mid-January. Scientists were able to trace her to her whale family, or pod, by studying her squeals, squeaks and other vocalizations. She became separated from her pod after her mother died. But the pod returns each summer to the waters off northern Vancouver Island. NMFS and its Canadian counterpart, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, hope to reunite her with the pod when it returns next month. But the orca, officially known as A73 and nicknamed "Springer," is clearly in ill health. A blood test indicated she does not have a genetic defect that would doom her to an early death, but that result will be double-checked, said Janet Whaley, a NMFS veterinarian. The whale, which is almost 2 years old, also has worms, a skin condition that causes itchiness, and perhaps other maladies, say orca experts who have observed her. "We don't know all the problems she is facing right now," Whaley said. Immediately after the capture, as the whale is taken by barge to a pen beside the NMFS research facility here, researchers plan to take samples of her skin and blood for further testing. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 73 On the boat, water and ointment will keep the whale's skin wet, and she will be iced down to prevent overheating. The orca will stay in the 40- foot-by-40-foot net pen at Manchester for at least two weeks as veterinarians assess her health, then be moved to a larger net pen nearby. There, she will be given medicine and enough fresh salmon – donated by the Cypress Island Fish Farm – to put on some weight. "She's so young that I think she's going to adapt pretty readily" to the pen, Foster said. In July, NMFS hopes to transport the orca to a pen on northeastern Vancouver Island to await the return of her pod. NMFS expects to get government grants worth $200,000 to help defray costs of the operation, but likely that will not be enough. Seven conservation organizations – Orca Conservancy, People for Puget Sound, American Cetacean Society, Orca Alliance, Whale Museum, Friends of the San Juans and Earth Island Institute – plan an appeal to the public today for funds. Checks can be sent to Orphan Orca Fund, c/o Juanita Johns, Islanders Bank, P.O. Box 909, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. In addition, the groups are talking with local businesses about what sort of aid they can provide. Those interested can call 206- 382-7007. 6/13/2002 Orca Rescue Attempt Begins at Noon The Associated Press/NWCN.com/KING5.com MANCHESTER, Wash. - A last-minute change in plans will attempt to make Puget Sound's orphaned orca whale, Springer, swim into a floating net pen, while surrounded by a lot more commotion than she’s used to. The rescue had been scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, but has been postponed until noon. Conditions will be very different from Wednesday's successful trial run, largely because the net will be dropped below the water, instead of floating above the water as it was Wednesday. The rescue could take several days depending on the weather and water conditions, as well as Springer’s health. If all goes well, the government will take Springer to a temporary site on the Kitsap peninsula for treatment before efforts are made to reunite her with her family in Canada. On Wednesday afternoon, whale researchers pushed a portable net pen to the north end of Vashon Island, where Springer has been residing. Researchers, petting and scratching her on her side, successfully coaxed her into the pen. Because the nets were not in place yet, Springer swam in and then quickly swam out of the pen - a victorious moment for researchers. It all came not a moment too soon, said Bob Lohn, National Marine Fisheries Service regional administrator. “She seems to be rapidly losing her fear of humans,” Lohn said Tuesday. There have been numerous reports of her cozying up to ferries and smaller boats and rubbing against them, perhaps to ease the itching of her worsening skin ailment. The young orca was orphaned last year and then became separated from her family group. Since mid- January, she has made a temporary home near the Vashon Island ferry dock just west of Seattle. Killer whales are social animals who live and hunt cooperatively. But at 11 feet long and about 2,000 pounds - roughly the size of a small car - this young whale could capsize smaller vessels if she got too friendly. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 74 The plan is to keep her near this Kitsap Peninsula town in a 40-square-foot net pen at NMFS’s research station, where she can be easily tested and medicated. She may be moved to a larger pen here if her stay extends beyond a couple weeks. On Tuesday, members of the capture team affixed aluminum rails to a killer-whale sling on loan from the Point Defiance Zoo - a fleece-lined, 6- by 12-foot cloth apparatus with two holes for the orca’s pectoral fins. The sling will be used to lift her out of the water and place her on the 65-foot crane barge Elsie M., owned by the Cypress Island fish farm of Bainbridge Island. The barge was here Tuesday unloading live Atlantic salmon that will be fed to A73 — named for her birth order in Canada’s A-pod. A mechanical device will be used so she doesn’t associate humans with food. When she has recovered from several apparently minor health problems, she’ll be moved to a netted-off cove in British Columbia waters near Johnstone Strait, east of Vancouver Island, where A-pod spends summers. The strait is the narrowest point between the island and the British Columbia mainland. When killer whales enter the strait, Lohn said, there’s a sense of “joyous reunion” as they squeak and call out, often leaping almost completely out of the water. The goal is to release A73 there as they arrive, giving her “a chance to bond with them at the time they seem to be celebrating among themselves.” Restoring a juvenile orca to her community has never been tried before, he noted. Still, “we believe we have some of the best, most competent people in the world” lined up to help, Lohn said. The capture team is headed by Jeff Foster of Auburn, a veteran of the so-far-unsuccessful effort to return long- captive adult killer whale Keiko, star of the movie “Free Willy,” to the wild near Iceland. Foster also has done catch-and-release tagging of orcas for the Norwegian government. Foster said he’s optimistic about A73’s prospects. “Balancing the risks, we feel this is the best chance we can offer her,” Lohn said. The effort to restore A73 to her family is expected to cost at least $200,000, he said. Federal money is being sought, and whale activists planned to announce private fundraising plans Wednesday. How A73 is caught will depend on her. On Wednesday, the capture team decided against trying to loop a soft, nylon rope around her tail, opting instead to lure her into a floating netless pen by stroking her with sticks. It’s a sensation she seems to like, since she’s often seen rubbing against chunks of wood floating in the sound. If that succeeded, they planned to repeat the drill Thursday with the net. Then, she would be towed to a nearby crane barge, where a specially fitted sling would be used to lift her out of the water and onto the barge for the 4- to 5-mile trip to Manchester. Blood and skin samples would be taken on the barge if she’s not too stressed, and treatment could begin almost immediately, Foster said. NMFS veterinarian Janet Whaley said a complete round of tests should be completed within days. Boaters were told to stay 400 yards away from the capture attempt, Lohn said, adding the best view is likely from the Washington state ferries Seattle-Vashon run. Springer often followed the Evergreen State ferry. Wednesday afternoon, the ferry hosted a sendoff party for the whale. Members of the Tlingit Dance Troupe performed a killer whale song on the Evergreen in honor of Springer’s departure. Ferry workers say Springer often followed their boat and sometimes nuzzled up against it while it was docked. While juvenile orcas surviving on their own are thought to be rare, this year there are two of them - A73 in Puget Sound, and L-98, a male from one of the three southern resident pods that spend time around the San Juan Islands. He has been seen on the west side of Vancouver Island since November. According to recent reports from Canada, L-98 is also starting to get dangerously friendly with boats. Killer whales are found in all the world’s oceans. The Washington state population - under pressure from pollution and boat traffic - has dropped from 98 in 1995 to 78 today. The government is to decide this summer whether to list them as an endangered species. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 75 June 13, 2002 Crews Capture Orca By KOMO Staff & Seattle P-I PUGET SOUND - Divers on Thursday captured an orphaned female orca whose growing coziness with humans had raised fears she could injure herself or capsize a small boat. The 2-year-old, 2,000-pound killer whale approached capture boats uncoaxed, and crew members acclimated her to their presence by scratching and petting her for at least half an hour. Finally, one crew member looped a rope around her tail and she was guided by divers into a sling between two boats, then hoisted by crane onto a 65-foot barge. She appeared to offer no resistance "It went very smoothly,'' Lynne Barre, an observer and fisheries biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "We saw very little splashing. She seemed to be under control very quickly.'' The whale, originally from a pod in Canada, has been hanging out by herself since January off the north end of this island southwest of Seattle in Puget Sound. The barge crew had laid a thick foam pad on deck for the 11-foot-long orca and brought ice to keep her cool as temperatures neared 90 degrees, unusually hot for the Seattle area in June. Because winds were high enough and the current strong enough to make use of a floating net pen difficult, capture team leader Jeff Foster said workers used a lasso to capture the killer whale by its tail. That's an option that some old-timers who captured whales in the 1970s, as well as some orca conservationists, described as potentially lethal for the whale and dangerous for the capture team. But the afternoon capture attempt went smoothly. Officials had said it was likely the orca would resist the capture and splash around a lot. And she did, but two men jumped into the water beside her and appeared to calm her. "She's never been restrained before. That's her natural reaction," Lohn said. Authorities extended the zone closed to boat traffic around the northeastern corner of Vashon Island from 400 yards to 1,000 yards, saying the orca was made skittish during a practice run yesterday by the presence of spectator boats. The orca, known by its scientific name of A73 as well as its nickname, Springer, appeared in Puget Sound in mid-January. Scientists used her vocal patterns to deduce that she came from a whale family, or pod, that spends its summers in the waters off northern Vancouver Island in Canada. She was somehow separated from the pod after her mother died. NMFS hopes to reunite the orca with her pod, which includes her grandmother and cousins, late next month. First, though, she is to be nursed to better health. She currently suffers from a pesky skin irritation, parasites and perhaps other medical problems. Post-capture tests should paint a clearer picture of her overall condition. "What we're doing we're confident is in the best interest of her long-term health," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Once the whale is put into a small net pen in nearby Manchester, she will be monitored by scuba divers for 48 hours, then human contact will be minimized, officials said. They want the whale to unlearn her growing tendency to bond with humans, so that the attempt at reuniting her with her pod is more likely to work. "We want to keep this as natural as possible," Foster said. "We want to give her every chance to succeed up north." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 76 Thursday, June 13, 2002 Orphaned Orca Captured off Vashon Island By Peggy Andersen Associated Press Divers captured a 1,200-pound orphaned orca in Puget Sound near Vashon Island today, beginning a weekslong effort to reunite the young whale with her family. The lost killer whale, originally from a pod in Canada, has been alone since January off the north end of this island, southwest of Seattle. Her eagerness for company had convinced scientists that she could not safely remain in Puget Sound, where she could be injured by a propeller or inadvertently damage a small boat. The 11-foot-long orca was guided by snorkelers and rescue boats into a sling and then hoisted by crane onto a 65-foot boat. A thick foam pad was placed on the boat’s deck for the whale and ice was on hand to keep her cool as temperatures neared 90 degrees. After a little splashing, she offered little resistance. "It went very smoothly," said Lynne Barre, an observer and fisheries biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "We saw very little splashing. She seemed to be under control very quickly." The effort was overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which planned to temporarily hold the orca in a 1,000-square-foot pen at its Kitsap Peninsula research station west of Seattle. The orca will be treated — she is known to have worms and an itchy skin condition — before being taken north for release near Canada’s Vancouver Island. There, she was to be held in a netted-off cove until her family, known as A-pod, returns in late June or early July. The whale, estimated to be about two years old, apparently became separated from them after her mother died last year. The young whale’s plight has captured the imagination of residents in Puget Sound, where the orca has long been a cherished icon. Local newspapers and TV stations have showered her with front-page attention. NMFS Regional Administrator Bob Lohn said the reunion effort is expected to cost at least $200,000. Animal rights activists announced a fund-raising campaign yesterday, saying the rescue could cost up to $500,000. Orcas, often called killer whales, are a species of dolphin. The number of whales in Washington state’s three resident pods has dropped from 98 in 1995 to 78 today. The government is to decide this summer whether to list the orcas as an endangered species. Springer out of water and under wraps; cartwheeling in her Manchester seapen. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 77 June 13, 2002 NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw “Whale of a Tale” Tease #1 Tom Brokaw: Later, the big human effort to help a lost baby killer whale. Tease #2 Tom Brokaw: Up next, a lost baby whale and hopes for an emotional rescue. Package: Tom Brokaw: In the Pacific Northwest tonight, where the see and all the creatures in it are so much a part of every day life, a rescue story to remember. A stray who drifted down from the north was in danger of perishing if she was not treated reoriented before long. Who was she? Here’s NBC’s Roger O’Neil… Roger O’Neil: This is one whale of a fish story. About a little lost whale with bad breath. A story about Springer. A life and death struggle of an orphan killer whale, stuck for six months in Puget Sound near Seattle, 300 miles from her home. Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy: She took a left turn where she should have taken a right turn and got lost. Roger O’Neil: She is Canadian, abandoned by the family pod after her mother died. Sound-Up, Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research: I’ve never seen this before (laughter)… Roger O’Neil: A-73, as she’s formally known has delighted marine scientists. Sound-Up, Ferry Captain: We are now arriving at Vashon Island. Roger O’Neil: And thousands of commuter who take ferry between Seattle and Vashon Island. The 11 foot long whale has adopted a 300 ft long ferry boat as it’s surrogate mother. Not only has the orca made this the most interesting commute in the country she’s changed the whole social fabric of the ferry boat passengers Ferry Passenger: Suddenly your coffee’s interrupted by people pointing out the window and everybody rushing over to where you’re sitting. Roger O’Neil: The orca likes to chase salmon almost as much as eat them. But scientists say in Puget Sound there is too much pollution boat traffic and people for a baby orca to survive. Bob Lohn, National Marine Fisheries Service: There is no likely hood she could remain a successful wild whale if she remains where she is. Roger O’Neil: A-73 is also sick. Her bad breath a problem with metabolism. She has worms and a worsening skin rash which quite frankly makes her itch. But she’s no dummy. Springer has figured out how to scratch those itches with logs, boats, and hands really feel good. This afternoon Springer was hauled in by marine cowboys, lassoed on live TV. She’s on her way now to a floating marine hospital for treatment. In two weeks she’ll be returned to Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island, Canada, and hopefully the orcas family will take her back. Tomorrow the ferry ride without Springer will just be a ride to work. Roger O’Neil, NBC News, Seattle. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 78 Thursday, June 13, 2002 Old Friends, Tlingits Bid Farewell to Orphaned Orca By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER ABOARD THE EVERGREEN STATE – Booming drums and undulating chants briefly drowned out the TV news copter hovering nearby. Red-and-black cloaks bejeweled with abalone shell-buttons and geometric renderings of whales shielded from view the half-dozen boats that buzzed around the little orca – a rehearsal for today's attempted capture. Yesterday, more than a dozen members of Alaska's Tlingit Tribe gathered on the deck of the Evergreen State – the ferry that plies the waters between West Seattle and Vashon Island and has become the killer whale's favorite motorized companion. They wished "Springer" well and said their goodbyes. "She comes up and sees us all the time," said Floyd Fulmer, a ferry worker and a Tlingit who came up with the idea of honoring the whale with a song and dance. "It's the right thing to do." With the deck as their stage, the tribal dance group performed a song from the Tlingit's Killer Whale Clan. Traditionally, it was chanted when canoeing among the orcas — an attempt to communicate with the marine mammals. It was also a calling card of sorts, announcing a visiting clan's arrival to others. Four women spanning three generations were among the dancers during the afternoon ceremony. Linda Green was joined by her two teenage daughters and 78-year-old mother. All wore black-suede hoods topped with a wooden dorsal fin. Across the backs of their handmade robes were images of arched, swimming orcas. "We feel related (to the orca)," Green said. Some performers wore deer-hoof ankle bracelets that tinkled as they pivoted and lunged through the dances. Soft white ermine pelts swung from headpieces worn by some. Others had hats of woven cedar. Orcas are sacred to the tribe, one dancer, Jack Strong, said afterward. That's because the Creator helped the Tlingits conjure a killer whale to rescue a captive Tlingit. He had been kidnapped by the sea lion people. "Ever since then the killer whale has been friends to the man, and the man friends of the killer whale," Strong said. Tlingit Jack Strong sings a traditional song during the ceremony on the Evergreen State on yesterday's Vashon Island run. The Tlingit Tribe is from southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Performers yesterday were mostly Seattle-area residents; members of the Kuteeya Tlingit dance group. The orphaned orca "is displaced, just like a lot of natives from Alaska are," said Fred Fulmer, Floyd's brother, referring to the orca's separation from her family. There were mixed emotions over the planned return of the whale to her pod in Canada. "I hate to see her go, but I realize that she's sick," said Floyd Fulmer. As an engine room-maintenance worker, he would hear the orca chirping and squeaking when the engines were cut. Many of the ferry workers have developed an affection for Springer, who hangs around the Vashon Island docks. Some disapprove of her capture and export to Canada. They watched as the tribe performed their sendoff. "It almost made me cry," said Kellie Shillington, who directs traffic on the Vashon dock. "It's going to be so sad to see her go." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 79 Friday, June 14, 2002 Capture of Orca Goes Smoothly A Lasso, a Sling and a Barge Used to Move Orca to Pen 'Everything Went as if the Animal Knew What to Do' By ROBERT McCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER MANCHESTER, Kitsap County — After months of concern and indecision and preparation, it took just 15 seconds to lasso Puget Sound's orphaned baby orca and get her calm enough to be placed in an underwater sling. The flawless capture was led by orca expert Jeff Foster, who looped a soft rope around the whale's tail before leaping into the waters off Vashon Island yesterday afternoon. The 2-year-old female, nicknamed Springer, thrashed a few times and tried to dive, churning up white water. Other team members jumped in to help control the 1,240-pound, 11-foot-long creature. "This is a very dangerous time," Lynne Barre, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist told reporters. "They need to be extremely careful right now, with the people in the water, and the boats and the whale." But a few seconds later, the white water smoothed to blue-green and the whale stopped struggling as Foster pulled his knees up under the whale's head and held her head soothingly in his hands. "Everything went as if the animal knew what to do," said Jim McBain, a Sea World veterinarian who assisted the team. "She handled it well. She was very cooperative." Within 15 minutes, Springer was being lifted out of the water on the specially built sling. She became the first of her kind to be captured in Puget Sound in 26 years. Just over an hour later, the adventure ended about five miles away. Removed from the 65-foot transport barge with a crane, the playful whale was turned loose in a net pen outside the federal agency's research facility here on Kitsap Island, along the Sound's western shore. "Everything happened just as we hoped it would," a sunburned, sweat-soaked Bob Lohn, NMFS regional administrator, said afterward. "We are just thrilled. The rescue phase is over and now the rehabilitation can begin." The dramatic capture sets the stage for the sickly whale to be nursed back to health for several weeks and returned to her whale family in Canada. But whether that joyous reunion will occur remains far from certain. Brad Hanson, the fisheries service biologist who has had the most contact with Springer, attributed the successful capture early yesterday afternoon to efforts to get the whale comfortable around her handlers. Several weeks ago, he and others began scratching the animal's skin with a knobby, 3-foot piece of driftwood. This seemed to satisfy her need for social contact and to soothe itchy places on her skin created by a condition known as whalepox. Later, Hanson, Foster and others taught the whale to slow down when they held their hands on her. All of that was in preparation for the capture. Teaching the whale "was kind of an evolutionary process," Hanson said. That bonding paid off yesterday. As soon as the team's boats approached shortly after 1 p.m., the orca came alongside Hanson's boat without being coaxed. "They've got the stick in the water," Barre reported a minute later, referring to the driftwood backscratcher. Conservationists familiar with orca behavior watched the capture anxiously. The 15 seconds "felt like 15 years," said Michael Harris, president of the Orca Conservancy. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 80 "It was a very tense moment when they had to get the rope around her," Harris said. "There were so many things that could have gone wrong, and nothing went wrong. It was like delivering a baby." Spectators gathered at the Vashon ferry dock, and some shed tears, knowing it would likely be the last time they saw the whale. As the capture unfolded, passengers aboard a state ferry bound for West Seattle craned to catch a glimpse. Sally Hough, 37, squinted into the distance as four boats closed in on the snared whale. "Did they get her? Do they have her?" the California native asked. "I borrowed someone's binoculars while I was waiting for the ferry, but, honestly, I couldn't see much then either." "Why are they catching her?" asked Bruce Hearns, 42, looking through binoculars. The Seattle hairdresser had heard of Springer, but he had no idea that the rescue mission was under way. And he wasn't entirely convinced she needed rescuing. "If she's healthy enough to splash around," he said, "why not just leave her alone?" When will Springer be sprung? She will stay in her 40-by-40-by-15-foot pen here for two weeks. Then she may be moved to a somewhat larger pen nearby. If she receives a clean bill of health, she could be transported back to Canada for a midsummer reunion with her long-lost whale family, or pod. But that chain of events is far from certain. Canadian officials have said they will not allow the whale to be returned to their waters unless they are convinced A73 is free of communicable diseases. If they are not convinced, or if the whale's health declines, the National Marine Fisheries Service would have to decide what to do. Such a situation is unprecedented, and Lohn refused to speculate on how it might be resolved. "We'll wait until we have information before making a decision," he said. "We're not looking for an animal in absolutely flawless health. We're looking for an animal that has a reasonable chance of surviving," and early indications are A73 can be nursed to that state of health. Orca conservation organizations are picking up part of the tab for the rescue effort — federal grants are expected to cover just $200,000 of the cost, and the final tab is not yet known — and they have vowed to fight any move to place the orca in an aquarium. In fact, they will oppose anything but turning her loose with her kind. The whale first appeared in the waters between West Seattle and Vashon Island in mid-January. Using recordings of her squeaks, squeals and other vocalizations, scientists traced her to a whale pod that returns each summer to the waters off Vancouver Island, B.C. She became separated from the pod about the time her mother died, but the family group still includes her grandmothers and cousins. Though no young orcas have been known to rejoin their pods after leaving, it is unclear whether one has ever been separated from its pod under these circumstances. "To me, this is a big question now — is she going to know she's a killer whale and go with those animals?" said McBain, the vet. McBain said much remains to be learned about the orca's health. For instance, he said, she may still have some sort of metabolic disorder, something akin to anorexia. The first order of business is to get her eating again, he said. Fisheries service officials hope to fatten her up with a diet of live salmon provided through a long tube, so she won't get the idea that people equal food. And they want to see the results of medical tests, including those on her blood, urine and skin. They also want to solve one of the biggest mysteries about the whale: Why does her breath have a paint thinner odor? This is a sign of ketosis, which can signify a serious underlying medical problem. "It's not like everybody can cheer," McBain said. "It's like running a hurdle race. We're past this hurdle and now we're on to another." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 81 VETERINARY REPORT From Jim McBain, DVM - 6/15/2002 Situation: A73 was collected from the wild on 6/13/2002. Visual observation of the whale immediately prior to collection demonstrated that she was very aware of her surroundings, responsive to external stimuli and active. I personally observed nearly 15 minutes of feeding/hunting behavior the previous day while I was a passenger on the Fauntleroy to Southworth ferry. The collection of the whale was relatively uneventful and resulted in no apparent physical trauma. A73 showed little distress during the collection and transport to the Manchester holding facility. During the transport, a blood sample was taken for health assessment approximately 45 minutes after the capture procedure. Blowhole swab samples and a urine sample were also collected during the transport to Manchester. Identical samples, consisting of serum, whole blood in EDTA, and whole blood in citrate, were sent to the Central Lab for Veterinarians in Langley, B.C., Canada and the SeaWorld Animal Care Laboratory in San Diego, California. A fecal sample had been sent to the SeaWorld laboratory at an earlier date. Both laboratories performed a similar array of hematology and chemistry tests on the morning of 6/13/2002. In addition, the blowhole culture swabs were sent to the SeaWorld San Diego laboratory for bacterial and fungal identification and sensitivity. Results from both laboratories were received on 6/14/2002. Executive summary of A73 visual examination and laboratory test findings: The laboratory findings reveal a mild inflammatory condition. The elevated plasma fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white cell count are all consistent with low-grade inflammation. The very low alkaline phosphatase level is most likely the result of persistent inadequate food intake, but inflammatory disease may also contribute to the very low levels. A73 has a generalized chronic dermatitis contributing to her unthrifty appearance. This condition may well be responsible for the indications of inflammatory disease seen in the laboratory test data. Dermatitis with this appearance is generally thought to be the result of poxvirus and is not uncommon in young wild killer whales. The virus is likely a common asymptomatic inhabitant of adult killer whale skin. The disease does not seem to be life threatening and generally has little if any effect other than the unsightly appearance. A73 is also infested with GI parasites based on the observation of microscopic nematode ova in her fecal sample and the occasional observation of adult nematodes in her stools. These parasites may in a small way also contribute to the inflammatory markers noted in her laboratory tests. The less than robust body condition of A73 is most likely the result of inadequate food intake, as previously stated. The skin condition and intestinal parasites are probably minor contributors to the apparent undernourished state. It seems apparent that the most important challenge for the immediate future is to establish consistent adequate caloric intake. Treatment of the nematode infestation should be accomplished as soon as A73's food consumption becomes dependable. A short, 1 week, course of antibiotic therapy is suggested to combat any bacterial infection associated with her skin lesions. Treatment of the parasites and possible bacterial opportunists should allow A73 to dedicate more of her bodily resources to growth and less to combating infection. Conclusion: None of the health problems affecting A73 appear life threatening. Long-term rehabilitation should not be required nor is it desirable to prepare her for reintroduction. If the desired circumstances present themselves, her current health challenges should not be considered a reason to delay. However, during the time that A73 is waiting for reintroduction, every effort should be made to improve her health status. Following is a bullet point synopsis of my conclusions from the clinical lab reports of the Central Lab for Veterinarians and the SeaWorld San Diego Animal Care Laboratory. Ø Central Lab for Veterinarians Ø Red cell parameters are within acceptable limits. Ø No reticulocyte count done Ø Platelet numbers are very high but the mean platelet volume is normal. I cannot attach any clinical significance to the elevated platelet number. Ø Total white cell count is in the normal range Ø Differential cell count is typical of a mild stress leukogram Ø No ESR performed Ø No fibrinogen performed Ø Electrolyte values cannot be interpreted as they were run on citrate plasma. Ø Glucose, BUN, creatinine, total bilirubin, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus, and gamma GT were within normal limits. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 82 Ø AST, and CPK were slightly elevated. Elevation of these enzymes can occur as a result of strenuous muscle activity probably associated with the collection procedure. It should be reiterated that these test values were only slightly out of the normal high range. Ø Alkaline phosphatase is very low for a young killer whale. This is compatible with inflammatory disease and with chronic low food intake Ø Cholesterol, triglycerides, ALT, LDH, and serum iron were not run I recommend that the Central Lab for Veterinarians utilize serum for electrolyte analysis, and add serum iron, ALT, and LDH to their chemistry profiles. I also recommend that plasma fibrinogen determined by photo optical instrument be included in the Canadian test profiles. I also recommend that reticulocyte count be made a standard component of the hematology testing on A73. Cholesterol and triglyceride are less important but may prove valuable as corroborative tests on future health profiles. h SeaWorld San Diego Animal Care Laboratory Ø Red cell parameters are within acceptable limits. Ø Reticulocyte count is within normal range. This test result is usually below normal when the animal is suffering chronic infection. Ø Platelet numbers are very high but the mean platelet volume is normal. I cannot attach any clinical significance to the elevated platelet number. Ø Total white cell count is slightly elevated which is likely associated with a mild inflammatory response. Ø The relative differential count is within normal limits while the absolute differential count reveals an elevation of neutrophils. Increased production or release of neutrophils results from an inflammatory stimulus. The band cell count is "0" which indicates that there may be an increased production of neutrophils, but a minimal consumption. This could arise from the dermatitis which has afflicted this animal for some time and/or could be the result of low-grade stress associate with the collection and transport. Ø The ESR is slightly elevated, typical of a low-grade inflammatory response which could be attributed to the dermatitis and/or the GI nematodes which we have identified in her stool samples. Ø Fibrinogen is elevated. This is nearly always associated with an inflammatory response. This elevation may be the result of the dermatitis and/or the GI nematodes but could be associated with any inflammation. Ø Glucose, BUN, creatinine, total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus, gamma GT, and electrolyte values are within normal limits. Ø LDH, AST, and CPK were slightly elevated. Elevation of these enzymes can occur as a result of strenuous muscle activity probably associated with the collection procedure. It should be reiterated that these test values were only slightly out of the normal high range. If these values remain elevated, LDH isoenzyme electrophoresis may help to clarify the origin of the elevation. Ø Alkaline phosphatase is very low for a young killer whale. This is compatible with inflammatory disease and chronic low food intake. Ø Serum iron is normal. This value will decline rapidly with bacterial infection. Ø Serum globulin is slightly elevated and serum protein electrophoresis confirms that there is a mild polyclonal antibody response. This finding is typical of animals that are managing low-grade chronic infection. Ø Fecal sample revealed the presence of Contracaecum sp. ova, a GI nematode. Jim McBain, DVM 6/15/2002 • • • ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 83 Thursday, June 20, 2002 Orca May Teach Us Vital Lessons SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD "There were so many things that could've gone wrong, and nothing went wrong." - Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris. The capture of A73, better known as Springer, went remarkably well. There was heated debate about the wisdom of the operation, but those on both sides seemed to agree that things could have gone much worse for humans and for orca. If nothing else, the uneventful capture June 13 calmed the most emotional elements in that debate and turned everyone's attention to the health and care of the orphaned orca. But yet another lightweight argument has developed, this one over the propriety of spending the money necessary to pull off the operation – perhaps $500,000 or more – in the face of so many pressing human needs. Why spend a half-million dollars nursing a single orca back to health when there are thousands of humans without health care? Why spend that much in hopes of reuniting Springer with her pod when there are plenty of torn human families in need of mending? It's a sure measure of the tight times that some are aroused to such either/or arguments. Some of the money for the orca project is federal, which would require some fantastic feat of budget alchemy to shift from a marine biology budget to social services. And, yes, the individuals and organizations moved to contribute money to the operation could dramatically alter their charitable orientation and send the money instead to human relief efforts. But the reality is that the money has been budgeted and donated for this purpose, and to date would seem well spent. There are no guarantees of success. Perhaps Springer will be rehabilitated, reunited with and accepted by her family pod and they will all swim off into the sunset together. But this story need not have a Hollywood ending to be worthwhile. Orcas are our neighbors. They share with us a close-knit biosphere. They are migratory animals that live in saltwater but also breathe air. The orca likely is an indicator species. If that species' health is at risk, maybe it means ours is, too. If scientists and veterinarians can find out what's wrong with Springer, maybe they can save her and return her to the wild. But even if they can't, they may learn ways to prevent or lessen a problem for baby orcas in the future. They may uncover a more serious, universal health problem directly related to the environment orcas and humans share. We know less than we should about the world beneath the waves at our doorstep and about the creatures that live there. Springer may be able to teach us more. On the Net: Orca Conservancy: www.orcaconservancy.org The Whale Museum: www.whalemuseum.com National Marine Fisheries Service: www.nwr.noaa.gov Vancouver Aquarium: www.vanaqua.org • ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 84 • OC TIMELINE: HANDS OFF SPRINGER This report is one that got us into some hot water… but it was a point that had to be made, even if it offended the feds and handlers. Despite strong scientific opinions on the need to completely de-acclimate Springer to human contact, the Vancouver Aquarium its team chose to offer the whale toys to “stave off boredom.” Jeff Foster had been criticized frequently for such tactics with Keiko, to which many attributed that whale’s slow progress toward reintroduction in Iceland (Foster and his crew later lost their contract with the Free Willy Keiko Foundation in large part because FWKF felt they were being too hands-on with Keiko). We didn’t want the same mistakes to be made here with Springer, especially with Marineland Ontario so eagerly waiting for the effort to fail. We had no choice but to speak out publicly. • • June 21, 2002 Springer Could Be Moved To Canada In 2 Weeks By Tracy Vedder, KOMO 4 News KITSAP COUNTY - Some encouraging news about Springer, the orphaned orca. She's looking healthy enough her rescuers say she could be back in her native Canadian waters in as little as two weeks. Springer is adapting well to life in her temporary pen. That's both good and bad. Good because she's beginning to eat well and acts alert. "She's responsive, she's bright, she's alert, she's sensitive to a lot of things in her environment," says Dr. Pete Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian working with Springer. Part of that is because of what's in the pen with her — logs suspended on a rope, blocks of ice — they're items handlers put in the pen to stave off boredom. "Our task is to keep juggling these things," says Dr. Schroeder, "so she keeps interested, keeps alert, keeps responding to them." But Springer needs to stay as wild as possible to increase her chances of a successful re-introduction to her Canadian killer whale family. So the blocks of ice and logs on a rope are red flags for some of the groups raising money to get Springer back home. "When we saw a lowered log into the water as reinforcement for eating a fish," says Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy, "that gives some concern because we realize that the deprogramming process has to start right away." Springer's handlers also put her back in the stretcher used during her capture to give the orca calf some de-worming medicine. They inserted a half-inch stomach tube down her throat and poured six liters of water in with the medicine. Two hours later, Springer ate 10 fish – about 50 pounds of salmon. "So we surmise from that," says Dr. Schroeder, "that the treatment didn't create too much distress." But the good news is that Springer has a virtual clean bill of health – her skin condition is improving, and she has no genetic disorder. If the next test results come back clean, she'll be on her way to Canada. "Our intent is to move the animal as soon as we have a green light from Canada," says National Marine Fisheries deputy administrator Joe Scordino. That could happen in two to three weeks. To date, the NMFS estimates it's spent nearly $50,000 "out of pocket" on Springer's rescue. But adds that volunteers and donations of supplies add up to much more spent on the orphaned orca. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 85 June 25, 2002 at 2:16 PM EST Hoping Springer's Call Is Music To Pod's Ears By Tracy Vedder, KOMO 4 News HANSON ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA - One killer whale is defying the odds. Springer, the orphaned orca calf, is proving she is a survivor. KOMO 4 News has obtained videotape of Springer as a newborn orca, showing her swimming with her mother in Johnstone Strait two years ago. (Footage Courtesy of Orca Conservancy and OrcaLab.) Springer's rescuers hope to return her to those pristine waters. "This little bay here would have a net stretched across it," says Dr. Paul Spong, from the aerial vantage point of Air 4. He's talking about a small inlet called Dongchong Bay on Hanson Island off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The plan is to put Springer in a small pen inside the bay, to wait for her orca family to arrive next month and then let her loose. "The hope of course is that she would join up with the other whales pretty quickly," says Dr. Spong, "but I'm not personally expecting that necessarily to happen, it may take some time." Time for both Springer and her orca pod to bond. One of the curious things about the Springer mystery was trying to figure out where she belonged. 'It Just Triggered Something' OrcaLab, a private research facility on Hanson Island, has been recording the sounds and the dialects of the northern resident orca community for decades. They were the ones that actually provided the piece of the puzzle to figure out just who she is. "That's a very distinctive call right there," acoustics researcher Helena Symonds refers to a whale call displayed on a computer acoustics program. They are the sounds of Springer, recorded in Puget Sound last winter. When Symonds first heard the recorded calls, "It just triggered something." Symonds began sifting through the thousands of recorded orca sounds to find one bit of tape — a whale call recorded in 1988. And Symonds knew right away. Played back to back, even an untrained ear can hear the similarity. It's Springer and her mother, each recorded 14 years apart. Like a fingerprint or DNA, in the orca world the sounds are definitive evidence of a connection, "because the acoustic traditions are passed on from the mother to the offspring," adds Symonds. In addition to solving the mystery of who she is, that acoustic tradition will also be key to Springer's reunion. The hope is that she and her extended orca family will each recognize their common calls, and they will accept the orphaned orca back home. Springer is eating eight to 10 fish a day and adapting well to her temporary pen off the Kitsap Peninsula. She could be moved to Canada in as little as two to three weeks. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 86 Meanwhile, from the Bush Administration… It was late May 2003, just weeks away from the long-awaited and highly publicized rescue of the orphaned orca A73, or Springer, a project that Orca Conservancy initiated and helped source the funds to make happen. For months, it seemed all of the Pacific Northwest was standing shoulder to shoulder. But we’d soon get a bucket of cold water tossed in our faces – our Petition to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the Southern Resident orcas of Puget Sound as “Endangered” under the ESA was rejected. As the feds were busy saving one orca, they were turning their backs on an entire population. Clearly, the moratorium the Bush Administration had on new ESA listings was holding firm. Some groups were eager to take advantage of the rejection, applying for NMFS grants under its alternative means of protecting the Southern Residents – listing them as a “depleted stock” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Southern Resident orcas, in the opinion of the Bush Administration, “were not significant.” If the Southerns went extinct, they argued, another population would simply move in and take their place. They employed a 17th-century taxonomy – done by a botanist, no less – that said that killer whales, although found in every ocean of the world and distinct in every location, represent only ONE SPECIES. Things looked very bleak for the whales. All but four of our original Petitioning groups dropped out (and in fact, TWO of the remaining plaintiff organizations were actually directed by members of our OC Board). We were up against the world, but Orca Conservancy fought on. Our talented and irrepressible attorneys at The Center for Biological Diversity (Brent Plater) and EarthJustice (Patti Goldman) filed suit on our behalf against the Administration and NMFS, challenging their flimsy arguments made against the listing. And a year later, VICTORY! In an historic ruling, the U.S. District Court judge found in our favor, sending NMFS back to the drawing board, remanding them to use “the best available science,” and giving them 12 months to come back with another decision. In December 2004, NMFS announced they would indeed list the orcas, as “Threatened.” A year later, they did one better – the Southern Residents would in fact be listed as “Endangered.” They now had their first-ever federal protection under the ESA, and the best the U.S. could drum up. It was the biggest day for our local orcas since SeaWorld was run out of town in 1976. Not surprisingly, the Bushies fought back – Big Agriculture and the Building Industry Association of Washington sued to reverse the listing. A half-year later, their case was soundly dismissed. They had no standing. With that threat asunder, the rest of us rejoined the feds to put some teeth in the listing. Now the work begins. June 25, 2002 Local Orcas Left Off Endangered Species List By KOMO Staff & News Services SEATTLE - The National Marine Fisheries Service will not list Puget Sound orcas for protection under the Endangered Species Act, despite years of decline and a chance the killer whales could vanish over the next century. But the agency said it will take other steps to increase federal protection for the "southern resident" pods of killer whales, which summer in Puget Sound. "We are taking the decline of these killer whales seriously and we will work to sustain and support this population," said Bob Lohn, head of the fisheries service's regional office. By the end of last year, only 78 killer whales remained in the three pods – down from 98 in 1995, a 20 percent drop in six years. The population is believed to have peaked at around 120 whales in the early 1960s, when dozens were captured for marine aquariums across the country – a practice that stopped in the 1970s. "They're not quite dead enough yet for the National Marine Fisheries Service to act," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy and Ocean Advocates, two of 10 groups that petitioned last year for the endangered-species listing. An 11-member team of biologists reviewed the case and determined that the southern residents, while in danger of extinction, do not qualify as a geographically and genetically distinct subpopulation of orcas - one requirement for protection under the Endangered Species Act. No one is sure exactly what is causing the decline, but Lohn said stress from pollution, parasites and vessel traffic including whale-watching boats are all possible factors, as well as declining salmon runs. While most killer whales feed on fish and seals, the southern residents - and their northern counterparts in Canada's inland waters - feed on fish alone. "The bottom line on causes is we don't know the answer," Lohn said. The agency plans to begin the process of having the orcas designated as "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which would allow allow increased attention to the population, Lohn said. "It allows more focused attention and certainly means we will write a conservancy plan, which is the equivalent of a recovery plan under an ESA listing," NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman said. "And we will list in pretty clear terms what we think the problems with the population are, and the things that we think would lead to a solution." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 87 He said he did not know whether the agency had funds on hand for more focused killer-whale work. "I think it's a little too early to tell." The agency will solicit public comment about other ways to help the population and, in conjunction with Canadian authorities, improve whale-watching guidelines, Lohn said. Brent Plater, attorney for the Berkeley, Calif.-based Center for Biological Diversity and the petition's lead author, contended the southern residents are a distinct population and said the findings are inconsistent with determinations on other populations. "Today's decision is a new low in the annals of the fisheries service," Plater said. "They've completely abdicated their responsibilities to protect this population." Lohn said he took the advice of some of the world's top scientists, and "I'll stand by that." The whales' status will be reviewed again in four years, he said. "If they wait another four years it is just to suggest they think the status quo is acceptable," Felleman said. "To wait four more years is a recipe for disaster." Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., issued a statement saying NMFS "should account for its decision by providing all available information to the public and local experts in order to allow a thoughtful examination of the merits." And she noted that the "depleted" designation "allows us to take advantage of additional research and recovery resources." "The call to action has been sounded and our regional leaders must act now to preserve this icon of our Northwest waters," she said. Tuesday's decision came in response to a petition brought by several conservation groups. They argued that the Marine Mammal Protection Act only prevents direct harming of orcas, while an endangered-species listing would also protect their environment. Wednesday, June 26, 2002 Orcas Denied Endangered Status Agency gives them less extensive protection By LISA STIFFLER AND ROBERT McCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS Puget Sound's orcas could be extinct within the next century but do not qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act, officials with the National Marine Fisheries Service announced yesterday. Instead, the agency is seeking protection for the killer whales under the less powerful Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since 1996 the population has declined almost 20 percent, from 97 to 79 orcas. "The Marine Mammal Protection Act appears adequate for the moment," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator of the agency. He said the agency will order more research into the cause of the whales' decline and take a close look at the effect of boats, including whale watchers and shipping vessels. But environmental groups said without the protection of the Endangered Species Act, the outlook is bleak for the orcas that return each summer to Puget Sound and nearby waters. While the Marine Mammal Protection Act governs the harassment, capture or killing of marine mammals, the Endangered Species Act would have provided much stronger protections. For example, it would have given strong ammunition to environmentalists challenging government-sanctioned dumping of pollutants, and required the government to set forth a detailed plan for rebuilding the orca population. The decision announced yesterday is "a death knell for the population," said Brent Plater, a Berkeley, Calif., lawyer with the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity. "We know that the threats facing the (orcas) cannot be addressed by the Marine Mammal Protection Act." Lohn said the federal fisheries agency will consider the stronger protection measures in four years. But Plater called that promise "absurd," noting that the number of killer whales would drop another 15 percent by then if current trends continue. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 88 Orca advocates and scientists also have been alarmed by a recent spate of deaths of female orcas in their prime reproductive years. Plater said his organization will likely challenge the decision in federal court. The orcas in question are known as the "southern resident" orcas. They return from the Pacific Ocean each summer, spending much of their time around the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound and southern Vancouver Island. They speak to each other in a unique set of vocalizations. Another group of orcas, the so-called "northern resident" population, inhabits the northern half of Vancouver Island and extends up the coast of British Columbia. They have received protection under Canada's equivalent of the Endangered Species Act. But an 11-member science team reviewing the southern resident whales' status could not agree on whether the orcas were a "distinct population segment," as required by the law, according to Lohn. To meet that standard, the orcas must live in an environment unique for the species, or be "markedly" different genetically from other populations, or represent the last hope that the species would continue to populate the area in question. Some members of the review team said the environment used by the northern and southern populations is similar. They argued that if the southern residents died off, their cousins to the north could repopulate the area. And while the two populations are genetically distinguishable, scientists disagree about whether they are "markedly" different. "We're not free to invoke the Endangered Species Act just because we really care about a population," Lohn said. But environmental groups take issue with these explanations. "The northern residents are in trouble too, so what are they thinking?" asked Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound. Environmentalists said the stronger protections could be given to the Puget Sound orcas because they speak a different whale language than the northern orcas, and have their own social structure and established behaviors. When the pods reunite at the beginning of the summer they have been observed lining up in an apparent greeting. Lohn said that by deciding to declare the orcas "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, he hopes to draw national attention to their plight. A conservation plan will be created, he said. "It sets an agenda for recovery," he said. Agency officials said they hope that Endangered Species Act protections given to Puget Sound chinook salmon will benefit the orcas as well. The chief suspected causes of the orcas' decline, scientists say, are the accumulation of toxic substances that impair their reproductive and immune systems; the decline of salmon runs, which provide the orcas' favorite food, and possibly disturbance by whale watchers. Other, less-understood factors may also be at play, scientists say. Lohn said the impact of these factors remains unclear and needs further investigation. "We don't know the answer," he said. "Our knowledge at this time isn't enough to speculate." Others disagree. "We know plenty," said Fletcher, the environmentalist. She worries that Lohn's call for additional research instead of stronger action means "we'll have a lot of dead whales but we won't have a cleaned up Sound." Ken Balcomb, the longest-serving observer of the orcas, said the decision shows that the federal fisheries agency will do little to save the creatures. Echoing many scientists, Balcomb said helping orcas would mean removing dams to open up big swaths of salmon breeding grounds, and dealing with the accumulation of pollutants known as polychlorinated biphenyls once used as lubricants in electrical equipment. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 89 "NMFS (the federal agency) is in the Department of Commerce, and commerce is the name of the game in America – all the dams, all the industrial lubricants, all the development we've done in the past that has contributed to this. That's all something NMFS doesn't want to address," Balcomb said. Like many, he predicted that the agency would seek to make whale-watching boats into scapegoats for the larger problems. "It's cheaper to just, 'Let's get the public thinking about this whale watching, and we can hire some enforcement officers and have them wave their badges,'" Balcomb said. Brian Gorman, a federal fisheries spokesman, said the agency has previously issued guidelines advising whale-watching boats to stay at least 100 yards away from the whales. He said the agency is considering increasing that buffer to 400 yards, but that the guidelines would still be advisory. That 400-yard buffer was immediately rejected by Bill Wright, vice president of the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest. He said the whale-watching industry has worked with orca scientists since the early 1990s to develop a detailed series of guidelines that are emulated worldwide by whale-watchers. "The idea of 400 yards is just way off the charts. We wouldn't have a business," said Wright, owner of San Juan Safaris. "There wouldn't be any science to back that up. There hasn't been any precedent like that around the world." Some scientists have wondered whether the boats' engine noise might be interfering with the whales' sophisticated, sonar-like system for finding food, known as echolocation. Because of that concern, Wright said, the boat operators took scientists' advice and agreed among themselves to slow their boats substantially whenever they are within a half mile of the orcas. "The whales themselves come up to us in a lot of cases," Wright said. That's exactly what happened yesterday to several boats near the San Juan Islands, said Jim Maya, the proprietor at Maya's Whale Watch Charters. "We just had about 40 orcas come from about 200 yards away, come right to the boats, roll over on their sides and look at the people. We were dead in the water," Maya said by cell phone from his 22-foot Arima. "I think we're part of the solution, not part of the problem. These people who are on my boat today will go home with a better appreciation of orcas." TWO LAWS MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT - Makes it illegal, with certain exceptions, to "harass, hunt, capture or kill" orcas and other marine mammals. If a species falls to 60 percent of its original size, it is considered "depleted;" a conservation plan is drawn up to encourage research and guide government decisions. The goal is to restore the population to its "optimum sustainable population." Governs National Marine Fisheries Service; provisions are non-binding. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT - Empowers the government to take strong actions to save an animal or plant in danger of extinction. In the orcas' case, it might have bolstered environmentalists' arguments against dumping of toxins in Puget Sound. The government also would be obliged to set numerical recovery goals, a schedule by which to reach them, and to outline specific steps to reach the goals. Citizens can sue to enforce the plans, which govern actions by all federal agencies. See the last entry in THE SPRINGER FILE for the happy ending to this ESA story – “Orcas Will Be Protected as Endangered.” ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 90 July 2002 . Springer Goes Home… July 2, 2002 Springer Ready To Go Home By KOMO Staff & News Services SEATTLE - An orphaned female orca has passed all medical tests and is ready to be reunited with her family in Canadian waters, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service said Tuesday. "It is time for her to go home," Brian Gorman said. "She's got a ticket, her bags are packed and we're just waiting for word from the Canadians." Gorman said U.S. researchers gave results of the orca's final battery of medical tests to their Canadian counterparts over the weekend. She was found to have no communicable diseases, and an itchy skin condition and internal condition that made her breath smell like paint thinner have cleared up. "She's behaving like a healthy, active young whale," Gorman said. Spokeswoman Michelle McCombs with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not immediately return a Tuesday call for comment on her agency's stance in the matter. Gorman said Canadian researchers probably got their first look at the latest test results Tuesday, since Monday was the Canada Day holiday. He said the NMFS and Canadian officials had been in daily discussions about options for moving the 2-year-old, 1,240pound killer whale north. Authorities hope she will rejoin her family, or pod, when they make their annual summer visit to waters east of Vancouver Island. She was captured by an NMFS team June 13, and has been under close watch since in a 40-by-40-foot holding pen in Clam Bay near Manchester, on the Kitsap Peninsula across Puget Sound from Seattle. The agency decided to capture her in part because of concerns about her health, and also because she had become extremely friendly with small boats off Vashon Island - raising concerns about both her safety and that of boaters. The whale, dubbed A73 by researchers for her order in her birth pod, was first spotted near the Vashon ferry dock in mid- January. Researchers believe her pod left her behind after her mother died, and she found her way into Puget Sound. Whale activists are helping raise money to cover capture and relocation costs, which could reach $500,000. The whale has adjusted well to captivity, Gorman said. Since her first few days in the pen, when she ate only one or two 5-pound salmon, she has increased her intake to a steady 40-50 pounds of fish and significantly more some days. Canadian officials have said they would not allow A73 into their waters if there was any sign she could have communicable diseases. However, Gorman said the U.S. team has conducted an array of tests for diseases including the dangerous morbillivirus. "It's a bad virus," he said. "It would have been a disqualifier. But we had run a test in May, one again after she was taken out of the Sound, and again last Tuesday, and she was negative all three times." Canadian experts will oversee the effort to reunite A73 with her home pod in Johnstone Strait, off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. Plans call for her to be held in a penned-off cove to allow the her and the pod to become accustomed to each other. Orcas, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. The population of Washington state's three resident pods has dropped from 98 in 1995 to 78 today. NMFS considered listing the mammals for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act but said last month the pods did not qualify as a distinct subspecies. Other efforts are planned. Orca Fund The orca advocates have set up a fund to help pay for Springer's rescue. It's the "Orphan Orca Fund" set up at Islanders Bank in Friday Harbor. The address is P.O. Box 909, Friday Harbor, Washington, 98250. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 91 July 4, 2002 Bell's Departure Clouds Future for Oregon Coast Aquarium DIANE DIETZ, The Register-Guard NEWPORT - Phyllis Bell, the Oregon Coast Aquarium executive director who oversaw the conversion of a Yaquina Bay shoreline into an internationally known tourist attraction, has resigned her post with little explanation. Members of the aquarium's nonprofit governing board had little to say about Bell's decision to quit late Tuesday after more than a decade at the aquarium's helm. President Al Gleason would not say if Bell's departure was related to the financial problems the aquarium was facing earlier this year when it ran out of cash and had to restructure its debt. "You need to ask her," Gleason said. "She told us she wanted to resign for personal reasons. We accepted that in good faith." Bell submitted her resignation during a meeting with aquarium board members. She hadn't been at the aquarium since June 24, when the board put her on involuntary administrative leave. Reached at home Wednesday night, Bell said her decision was not related to her health, but she declined to comment further. "I just resigned for personal reasons. That's all," she said. Senior management at the aquarium are closely examining financial records, public relations officer Guy DiTorrice said. "Every line item of the budget, every vendor relationship, every account payable," he said. The departure has spurred a stampede of rumors in Newport and the questions have spread to the people the aquarium most needs - the visitors, the members and the donors - who have kept the seaside attraction afloat. And after Keiko was gone, Bell pushed for an $8.8 million conversion to his old tank to produce the "Passages of the Deep" display with a 200-foot walk through a re-creation of the ocean depths. When it opened, attendance rebounded. "This organization has seen the coming and going of a major Hollywood whale and it has survived that transition because of the dedication of the staff and volunteers," DiTorrice said. "We took our lumps in attendance drops when Keiko left. We generated support, expanded, grew a new feature exhibit - in his absence - and saw our attendance grow in the two years after he left." Bell was so omnipresent at each of the decade's developments that she became the face and voice of the OCA. "It would be hard to separate her from the aquarium," then-Oregon State University President John Byrne, an aquarium board member, said in 1998. But Bell had her troubles, too. She got into a public mudslinging match with the Free-Willy Keiko Foundation, which was trying to restore the whale to its natural habitat. Members accused Bell and her staff of "gross negligence" in their care of the whale and accused them of sabotaging Keiko's return to the wild to keep him for the aquarium's "cash cow." Then, departing employees publicly complained about declining morale and Bell's alleged interference in their jobs. Aquarium board member Don Davis, a retired Newport city manager, said any person running a major institution for that long is bound to make some enemies. "I liked her as a human being, yeah. She was a warm individual. She was never anything but kind to me," he said Wednesday. Today, the aquarium's financial picture remains unclear. As Bell's immediate replacement, the board promoted senior managers Patrick Helbling as temporary executive director and Rick Goulette as chief financial officer, DiTorrice said. Board members will meet next week to go over the budget for the fiscal year that began Monday. DiTorrice said layoffs are possible. Aquarium operations are continuing as usual, he said. "The concept or idea of any sort of closure has never been discussed or entertained, ever." Davis, the board member, said the aquarium has a good management team in place now and it will survive Bell's dramatic departure. "I don't think any one person is the aquarium," he said. "It's bigger than one person." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 92 Orphaned Whale to be Moved to B.C. Friday KING 5 News SEATTLE – Canadian officials said Tuesday that the orphaned killer whale captured in Puget Sound will be relocated to Canadian waters on Friday using a high-speed catamaran. The decision came after blood tests gave the young whale, which biologists refer to as A73, a clean bill of health. "The team has determined that A73 does not pose any known threat to the northern population," said Marilyn Joyce, a spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A veterinarian for the Vancouver Aquarium, which is orchestrating the move, said that the whale's skin problem and an internal condition that made her breath smell like paint thinner were resolving themselves. The relocation plan outlined Tuesday calls for moving the whale, popularly referred to as Springer, to an 18-foot-long holding tank aboard a donated catamaran for the 10- to 12-hour trip. The trip is expected to begin around 7 a.m. Friday. The Canadian experts will oversee the effort to reunite the orca with her home pod in Johnstone Strait, off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. Plans call for her to be held in a net pen to allow her and the pod to become accustomed to each other. Resource Links Orca Conservancy The Whale Museum Vancouver Aquarium The whale will be penned in waters where her closest relatives swim during the summer months. Once officials are convinced the whale is ready to be released, they will wait first for her immediate family, the A-24 group, to arrive in the area and release her in their presence, according to Lance Barrett-Lennard, with the Vancouver Aquarium. If that opportunity doesn't arise, another group that Springer and her mother have been known to associate with, the A-11 group, are the next best bet. Failing that, researchers will release her in the presence of any group of whales in the A pod or any resident whales. Before she is released, she will be fitted with a suction-cup radio tag so that researchers can monitor her closely. U.S. researchers gave results of the orca's final battery of medical tests to their Canadian counterparts at the end of June. She was found to have no communicable diseases. Biologists treated the whale for worms, which proved to be very effective in getting her to eat more, according to Dr. David Huff, of the Vancouver Aquarium. "Directly following her de-worming and being tubed with six liters of Dasani water, she turned right around and ate exceptionally well," he said. Huff said A73 was now consuming 60-70 pounds of fish a day. The whale was captured by a National Marine Fisheries Service team June 13, and has been under close watch in a 40-by-40-foot holding pen in Clam Bay near Manchester, on the Kitsap Peninsula across Puget Sound from Seattle. The agency decided to capture her in part because of concerns about her health, and also because she had become extremely friendly with small boats off Vashon Island – raising concerns about both her safety and that of boaters. The whale, dubbed A73 by researchers for her order in her birth pod, was first spotted near the Vashon ferry dock in mid-January. Researchers believe her pod left her behind after her mother died, and she found her way into Puget Sound. Whale activists have been helping to raise money to cover capture and relocation costs, which could reach $500,000. Canadian officials made a similar plea for help Tuesday. "We need the help of anyone who wants to help us," the Aquarium's Dr. John Nightingale said. Orcas, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 93 The population of Washington state's three resident pods has dropped from 98 in 1995 to 78 today. NMFS considered listing the mammals for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act but said last month the pods did not qualify as a distinct subspecies. Other efforts are planned. KING5.com reporters Ellen Liang and Jim Klockow contributed to this story. 7/10/2002 Springer's Family Arrives Early in Canada By Darin Watkins, KING 5 News SEATTLE - Springer, the orphaned orca may be reunited with her family much earlier then hoped. The orca's family has returned to the waters off north Vancouver Island earlier then expected, opening the door for an early reunion. Scientists announced plans Tuesday to move Springer this Friday but weren't sure just when the young orca would be released. Tuesday night, biologists in north end of Vancouver Island heard the sounds that could change that thinking. Footage Courtesy: Orca Conservancy and OrcaLab. Biologists captured sounds of A-4, the pod of orcas believed to be Springer's relatives. The A-4 pod of orcas, Springer's relatives, have returned early. The crews at the listening station recorded sounds of the returning whales. “Everybody was really excited,” said Anna Spong, Orcalab. “It was an incredible coincidence with the announcement going out yesterday that Springer was coming home, and her family turning up, it was a very exciting moment for everyone here.” The orcas were spotted off Hanson Island, near Port McNeil. The A-4 pod is Springer's closest relatives and may include her grandmother. Scientists hope to reunite Springer with her pod near Port McNeil later this week. Biologists familiar with the group believe the chances are good. “We think that there's a reasonable chance of reconnecting her with the remaining members of her family, or with other family groups in the northern resident communities if she's given a chance,” said Dr. Paul Spong, Orcalab. Springer remains in a pen outside Manchester waiting for her trip north. With the early return of her pod to the waters of north Vancouver Island, it means that reunion could be moved up. “With her family already in the area, it probably means she'll be released hopefully very soon,” said Anna Spong. It’s not clear yet if this A-4 group of orcas contains Springer's aunt and grandmother. Springer is still set to be moved Friday, but the early return of her pod means Springer's release could happen very soon. KING 5 News will follow Springer's adventure to Vancouver Island. Be sure to join us Friday for special live coverage during KING 5 morning news and continuing coverage throughout the day. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 94 ORPHAN ORCA GOES TO CANADA Published in The Bremerton Sun: 7/12/2002 Springer Might Have Family Waiting for Her The 2-year-old will be returned to Johnston Strait today. By Christopher Dunagan Sun Staff Springer, the orphan orca from Canada, may find her family within hearing distance when she returns home to Johnstone Strait late this afternoon or evening. It would be a perfect ending to an unusual story — almost too perfect to hope for — but so far everything has gone like clockwork in the rescue of the 2-year-old orca, who showed up suddenly near Vashon Island six months ago. Springer, officially known as A73, belongs to the A-24 matriline, which is named for her grandmother who still heads the group. The A-24 matriline (sometimes called a subpod in the United States) is part of the A-4 pod. The remainder of the A-4 pod, another matriline called A-11, was sighted in Johnstone Strait earlier this week, but left the area Thursday, according to John Ford of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The two matrilines are so closely associated that one is rarely far behind the other, Ford said, which means that Springer's grandmother, aunt and uncle could be in the immediate area when the young orca arrives today by high-speed catamaran after a 400-mile, 10- to 12-hour trip from Manchester in South Kitsap. Nobody can predict whether Springer will choose to follow her pod or if the others will welcome her into the close-knit group, but experts say they will do everything they can to promote a successful reunion. Today's schedule calls for the killer whale to be lifted out of her net pen at the National Marine Fisheries Service lab at 6:30 a.m. She will be transported in an 18-foot box on the deck of a 140-foot catamaran, donated by Nichols Brothers Boat Building of Whidbey Island. After she arrives at Hanson Island off the northeast shore of Vancouver Island, Springer will be kept in a net pen until members of a pod — preferably her own matriline — are in the area. Then she'll be released with no advance notice to the public. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 95 ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 96 OC TIMELINE: FRED GETS THE BOOT… While Orca Conservancy President Michael Harris was up in Dongchong Bay working with OrcaLab and the Namgis First Nation to prepare for Springer’s arrival at the repatriation site, OC Board Member Fred Felleman was on the catamaran in Seattle that was going to take her north. When John Nightingale learned that Felleman was there (at the invitation of the boat owners), he had him ejected, along with award-winning Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Robert McClure and his photographer (Nightingale was unhappy with some of Robert’s reporting). Despite a direct phone call on Fred’s behalf from Dr. Paul Spong of OrcaLab to Marilyn Joyce of DFO Canada, Nightingale and Joyce stuck their guns and wouldn’t allow him back on the boat. It was one of many outrageous actions on the part of Nightingale to bully a project that was being paid for entirely by funds sourced by non-profits like Orca Conservancy and grants from the U.S. government – and another case where DFO did nothing to haul him in. But as it was, the boat broke down. No one – man or whale – made it up to BC that day. 7/12/2002 Whale Move Postponed KING 5 News MANCHESTER, Wash. - An orphaned whale plucked from the waters of Puget Sound in June will have to wait another day to be relocated to her home waters off Vancouver Island. The move was delayed after mechanical problems slowed the boat that was to transport her. Boatworkers and biologists earlier raced against the clock to pull off the move. But those plans hit a snag early when the high-speed catamaran donated for the mission could not reach its top speed. The young whale was captured after she appeared to have taken up residence in the waters off of Vashon Island, Wash. She suffered from a variety of minor health conditions and biologist feared that she would suffer if left to live by herself, an unnatural state for killer whales. By shortly after 9 a.m., Friday crews had attempted a repair to the Catalina Jet, taken the boat for a test run and bioligists and aquarium workers re-boarded the craft, which headed to Everett to refuel. But in a news conference at around 10 a.m., Canadian and U.S. officials decided to call the mission off for the day. "We were concerned that the window for transporting the whale is too narrow. We want to make sure there's daylight at the other end," said National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman Joe Scordino. It was important the catamaran move at full speed for the 400-mile trip in order to get to Canada before nightfall and to decrease the amount of time the whale spends in a holding tank on board, Clint Wright with the Vancouver Aquarium said. The trip is estimated to take between 10 and 12 hours. The goal was to transport the orca, popularly named Springer, Friday on the catamaran to the northern tip of Vancouver Island for an eventual reunion with her pod. The whale spent more than six months off Vashon Island in Puget Sound after it is believed her mother died. Standing in front of a small army of television satellite trucks, Scordino and Wright were unconcerned about the delay, saying it didn't add significantly to the expense of the trip and certainly didn't jeopardize the move. "It's not a big deal," Scordino said. "We see everything as a green light for tomorrow." Officials now say they will make their second attempt beginning around 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. Saturday morning. The boat, the Catalina Jet, will spend the night in Manchester Friday where the whale is now being kept, enabling workers to begin earlier. Wright said the boat's problems were not significant and were caused by debris clogged in the craft's propulsion system that prevented it from getting to its top speed. A piece of plastic lodged in one of the catamaran's intake valves is believed to have caused the problem. Asked about backup plans in the event the boat actually breaks down, Wright said it would be possible to truck the whale the rest of the distance on Vancouver Island. "We have that all lined up and we have a barge ready at the other end if we need to do that," he said. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 97 "I've got my fingers crossed now," he said. The whale, in the meantime, remained in her pen. "Springer's doing well. She's in the net pen. She looks ready to go," Wright said earlier. Wright said a day or two delay wouldn't make a difference in returning Springer to her pod in Canada. "Everyone's still upbeat. It's going to happen," Bob McLaughlin of Project Seawolf said. Scientists planned the move carefully Springer’s pod, called A-pod by scientists, arrived early in Vancouver waters – a good indication that Springer could be released into the wild within a couple of days. Thursday was intended to be the whale's last day in her holding pen in Manchester, Wash. Equipment was checked, final routes were made, and tides were calculated. At the end of the day, all parties involved looked over the moving plans and gave it the green light. “We’re pretty prepared and we have contingency plans if things do go awry,” said Jeff Foster of Marine Rescue, “but everything looks pretty, pretty good.” Loading Springer on the boat will look much the same as it did when she was first brought to her holding pen several weeks ago. A large net under the tank will be lifted, essentially corralling her into this same stretcher. Then she’ll be suspended in the water of a special tank, watched closely by a number of scientists and biologists. The key, say biologists, will be her breathing. If it stays constant at 8 to10 breaths every 5 minutes, they’ll know she’s doing OK. “We want her to be relaxed,” said Dr. Pete Schrader of the National Marine Fisheries Service. “We can tell. There will be people monitoring that and keeping her wet.” The trip shouldn’t take more than 12 hours in a high-speed catamaran. Crews hope to have her back in the water by early evening. Then, they’ll watch closely, letting Springer tell them when she’s ready to go. “If we see that activity level change and if she gets excited and we see her challenge the net in any way, then we know she’s wanting to go,” said Foster. “So we’ll drop the nets down and let her go.” Springer's health improved The orca, dubbed A73 by researchers for her order in her birth pod, was first spotted near the Vashon Island ferry dock in mid-January. Researchers believe her pod left her behind after her mother died, and she found her way into Puget Sound. Springer was captured by a National Marine Fisheries Service team June 13, and has been under close watch since in a 40-by-40-foot holding pen in Clam Bay near Manchester, on the Kitsap Peninsula across Puget Sound from Seattle. The agency decided to capture her in part because of concerns about her health, and also because she had become extremely friendly with small boats off Vashon Island, raising concerns about both her safety and that of boaters. While in captivity, Springer’s health improved. Her itchy skin condition cleared up and she gained some 50 to 100 pounds. The decision to move Springer came after blood tests gave the young whale a clean bill of health. "The team has determined that A73 does not pose any known threat to the northern population," said Marilyn Joyce, a spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A veterinarian for the Vancouver Aquarium, which is orchestrating the move, said that the whale's skin problem and an internal condition that made her breath smell like paint thinner were resolving themselves. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 98 Reunion could be earlier than expected Canadian experts will oversee the effort to reunite the orca with her home pod in Johnstone Strait, off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. Plans call for her to be held in a net pen to allow her and the pod to become accustomed to each other. The whale will be penned in waters where her closest relatives swim during the summer months. Once officials are convinced the whale is ready to be released, they will wait first for her immediate family, the A-24 group, to arrive in the area and release her in their presence, according to Lance Barrett-Lennard with the Vancouver Aquarium. As if on cue, Canadian scientsts captured sounds of Springer's pod Tuesday night, an indication that Springer’s orca family has returned to the waters off north Vancouver Island earlier then expected, opening the door for an early reunion. Scientists weren’t sure just when Springer would be released. But on Tuesday night, biologists in north end of Vancouver Island heard the sounds from A-pod. “Everybody was really excited,” said Anna Spong, Orcalab. “It was an incredible coincidence with the announcement going out yesterday that Springer was coming home, and her family turning up, it was a very exciting moment for everyone here.” The orcas were spotted off Hanson Island, near Port McNeil. The A-4 pod is Springer’s closest relatives and may include her grandmother. Biologists familiar with the group believe the chances are good that Springer will be reunited within the week. “We think that there’s a reasonable chance of reconnecting her with the remaining members of her family, or with other family groups in the northern resident communities if she’s given a chance,” said Dr. Paul Spong of Orcalab. Resource Links OrcaLab Orca Conservancy National Marine Fisheries National Marine Mammal Laboratory Vancouver Aquarium The Whale Museum Captive Orca Statistic The Orphan Orca Fund Contributions to The Orphan Orca Fund will go directly to the project to reunite A73 with her pod. It will be administered by The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Wash. Donations can be sent to: The Orphan Orca Fundc/o Juanita Johns at Islanders Bank P.O. Box 909 Friday Harbor, WA 98250. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 99 July 12, 2002 WAITING ON SPRINGER Kevin Reese, KOMO 4 News (ABC Seattle) Anchor Intro, Kathy Goertzen: SPRINGER’S DELAYED DEPARTURE WAS A TOUGH BREAK FOR CREWS HERE, BUT IT GAVE BIOLOGISTS IN HER NEW HOME A CHANCE TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE READY WHEN THE LITTLE ORCA DOES GET HOME. KOMO’S KEVIN REESE JOINS US LIVE FROM TELEGRAPH COVE, ON VANCOUVER ISLAND. I BET IT’S JUST GORGEOUS THERE TODAY, KEVIN… Kevin Reese: IT CERTAINLY IS, AS YOU CAN SEE, AND FROM THIS PICTURESQUE SPOT HERE IN TELEGRAPH COVE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, WHAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME ARE THE WATERS OF JOHNSTONE STRAIT AND THE VERY FIRST ISLAND YOU SEE THERE IS HANSON ISLAND, AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS DONGCHONG BAY, WHERE SPRINGER WILL BE HELD TEMPORARILY. AND SOME OF THE GOOD NEWS HERE IS THAT IT DOES GIVE THEM EXTRA TIME TO GET READY, AND AN EXTRA DAY TO CONFIRM WHAT THEY DID TODAY, THAT HER FAMILY IS ALREADY HERE. FIRST LET’S SHOW YOU TELEGRAPH COVE, A SMALL FISHING AND WHALEWATCHING VILLAGE WHICH WILL BE FILLED WITH BOATS TOMORROW. AN EXTRA DAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR TINY TELEGRAPH COVE, WHICH IS WELL OFF THE BEATEN PATH. AND CHARTER CAPTAIN ROY GRAHAM KNOWS IT MEANS AN EXTRA DAY OF TOURIST AND MEDIA MONEY. Roy Graham, Charter Captain: WELL, I LOOK AT THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT IT’S BRINGING TO OUR COMMUNITY. Kevin Reese: WHALEWATCHERS SEE THEIR BENEFIT, TOO. NANCY WOODMAN DROVE HERE ALL THE WAY FROM POULSBO. Nancy Woodman, Whalewatcher: IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PART OF THE WORLD TO BE WAITING. Kevin Reese: BEAUTIFUL, YES, BUT THE ONLY NEGATIVE PART – ANOTHER 24 HOURS OF PAINFUL ANTICIPATION OF SPRINGER’S RETURN. ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, THEY’VE NOW HAD AN EXTRA DAY TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING’S IN PLACE AND THE NETPEN IS READY HERE AT DONGCHONG BAY, WHERE THE CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS IS GUARDING THE PEN. DIVERS CHECKED IT OUT AGAIN TODAY. AND THE FIRST LOAD OF FISH WAS DROPPED IN, SALMON CAUGHT BY THE LOCAL NAMGIS FIRST NATION. Sound-Up, OrcaLab’s Anna Spong Monitoring A11 Calls. Kevin Reese: WHEN SHE DOES COME HOME, SHE’LL HAVE COMPANY. RESEARCHERS AT CRACROFT POINT, A FAMOUS ORCA LOOKOUT STATION ON JOHNSTONE STRAIT, FOUND ONE OF THE A-PODS FRIDAY, THE A11s – BASICALLY SPRINGER’S COUSINS, ONE OF TWO PODS IN JOHNSTONE STRAIT THAT SPRINGER COULD EVENTUALLY BE RELEASED TO. AND THEY’VE CONFIRMED ACOUSTICALLY THAT THERE IS A VOCAL CONNECTION AND THIS IS ONE OF THE SUBGROUPS SPRINGER MIGHT BE ABLE TO JOIN. Michael Harris, Orca Conservancy, at OrcaLab’s Cracroft Point Research Station: THE FACT THAT THEY JUST SHOWED UP ON THE DAY THAT WE ANNOUNCED THAT WE’RE GOING TO BRING HER UP HERE IS VERY KARMIC, VERY KINDA MAGICAL FOR A LOT OF US. IT’S A KEY ELEMENT. SO HAVING HER CLOSE RELATIVES HERE AT THE TIME THAT SHE’S COMING UP HERE IS JUST GREAT TIMING. Kevin Reese: TIMING THAT THEY HOPE GOES WITHOUT A HITCH ON SATURDAY. Michael Harris: AND NOW, MONTHS LATER, AFTER FORMING ALL THESE GROUPS TO HELP FUND THIS, WORKING WITH NMFS AND DFO, WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN EASY, PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER… IT’S LIKE DELIVERING A BABY, AND WE’RE ABOUT READY TO PASS OUT CIGARS. SO WE’RE ALL VERY, VERY EXCITED. THIS IS GREAT. Kevin Reese: AND ALSO WHAT IS GREAT FOR THEM AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WEATHER HAS BEEN PERFECT AND THEY EXPECT THAT TO CONTINUE TOMORROW. SO IT’LL BE ANOTHER DAY OF WHAT THEY CALL AN ORCA PARADISE HERE ON THIS SIDE OF VANCOUVER ISLAND. AND EVERYBODY IS USING THIS TIME TO GET READY, TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING’S IN PLACE. AND AS I SAID, THE PEOPLE HERE AT TELEGRAPH COVE THAT YOU SAW IN THOSE PICTURES, AN EXTRA DAY TO ENJOY THIS SUDDEN ATTENTION FROM THE MEDIA AND FROM EVERYBODY ELSE EXPECTED TO BE HERE TOMORROW TO WITNESS THIS HISTORIC EVENT, WITH SPRINGER FINALLY RETURNING HOME. LIVE AT TELEGRAPH COVE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, KEVIN REESE, KOMO 4 NEWS. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 100 Saturday, July 13, 2002 Orca Move Bagged till Today Problems with boat burn too much fuel and daylight to relocate whale before dark By ROBERT MCCLURE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER LANGLEY – Yesterday was not the day for Springer to be sprung. The orphan orca's trip from Puget Sound to its Canadian home waters sidled off course when a funky piece of flotsam fouled a water jet propelling the catamaran that was supposed to transport the young killer whale. Said to be perfect for the delicate job, the 144—foot Catalina Jet was tripped up by a 2 1/2-foot length of cord tangled up with a mangled buoy and some shredded orange plastic. A subcontractor's inadequate cleaning of barnacles also appears to have slowed the boat unacceptably, said Mark Nichols, president of Nichols Bros. Boat Builders, the Whidbey Island firm that donated the boat's use at an estimated cost of $20,000. The aborted trip started at dawn. "We're delighted you can come along. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," John Nightingale, president of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, told guests and crew members aboard the boat as it prepared to leave. "This has never been done before." Nightingale then asked several dozen of Nichols' friends and employees – some of whom helped build the boat – to move downstairs to the lower deck, leaving the upper deck for aquarium and Canadian government officials and reporters. Only then could the rescue mission get under way. Then, an hour into what was to have been a voyage of at least 10 hours, the Catalina Jet turned back for repairs at its launching dock here on southeast Whidbey. Springer, known to scientists as A73, remained at her pen near Manchester, across Puget Sound from Seattle. The 2-year-old whale turned up near Vashon Island in January after her mother died and she became separated from her whale family, or pod. The pod, as it does every summer, has just returned to Johnstone Strait on the north side of Vancouver Island. The idea is to transport the whale the nearly 400 miles north, put her into a pen for as little as half a day, and then let her go and hope she rejoins her extended family. "It's a very minor problem that should be fixable," Nichols said as the craft returned to its dock here. "But we don't want to press it. We want the best for Springer." The pressure to keep going was strong, though. Nightingale said that an extensive support network was on standby. For example, he said, boats with cranes were stationed along the transit route in case the whale ran into trouble along the way and had to be lifted out of its heavy blue metal tank on the stern of the Catalina Jet. While kids played the Tony Hawk II video game and their parents drank in the view of Puget Sound, the boat returned to its launch spot at Langley. After sending divers to unclog the water jets and clean off barnacles, and after ejecting a Seattle Post-Intelligencer photographer and reporter who were not granted status as part of the official eight-person reporting pool, the vessel's commanders ordered a trial run of the spruced-up boat. When that went smoothly, the boat returned to the dock for what was supposed to be a final pick-up of passengers for the trip to Manchester and then on to British Columbia. But time was growing short. Already it was midmorning. A long trip might get the boat to the orca's new pen at Dong Chong Bay at dusk. Officials did not want to proceed if she would have to be unloaded in the dark. "My personal feeling is that this is going to be a scrub," Nichols said. Ultimately he was proved right. All the back and forth in the boat had sucked down its fuel supplies. An hour-long refueling stop in Everett made a trip yesterday impossible. "It's like a moon shot," Nightingale remarked. "You have a certain window." Dejected, the contingent of friends and co-workers of Nichols left the boat at midday. They will not be coming along today, when Vancouver Aquarium and Canadian government officials said the boat would be ready and waiting at Manchester by dawn, gassed up and ready to go. "Somebody threw us a curve ball," Nichols said. "We swung and missed, but we'll keep going." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 101 Tommy and Michael Harris arrive in Johnstone Strait in June 2002 to assist OrcaLab in prepping for Springer’s arrival. OC TIMELINE: THE NAMGIS One the last operational initiatives Orca Conservancy undertook in the Springer effort was featured in an NBC Nightly News report, as well as the Associated Press and Bremerton Sun stories below. It actually was an idea that first came from our friends Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds at OrcaLab. Paul and Helena had got word that Vancouver Aquarium’s John Nightingale and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada were planning to introduce farmed Atlantic salmon into the holding pen of Springer at Dongchong Bay. The site is the ancestral lands of the Namgis First Nation, wild salmon fishermen and ardent opponents of fish farms. Paul made an urgent call to Michael Harris, President of Orca Conservancy, and together they came up with a plan. At that time, Orca Conservancy helped found the Orphan Orca Fund (OOF), a coalition of seven NGOs raising the matching funds to trigger the Prescott Marine Mammal Stranding grant. Nothing in the bylaws of the OOF prevented the coalition from using the funds it raised toward any part of the Springer project. Michael proposed that he present to OOF Paul’s idea – that the coalition directly contract the Namgis fishermen to catch wild salmon to feed Springer during her time in the Hanson Island seapen. It would eliminate the need to introduce farmed Atlantic salmon into the seapen to feed her – a grave offense to the bands that could’ve jeopardized the translocation effort. Once we found the money, Paul would then persaude DFO to provide an out-of-season fishing permit for the Namgis. Michael took the idea to OOF of directly contracting the Namgis fishermen. Fellow coalition member Donna Sandstrom objected strongly to the idea, as did National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) representatives at the meeting – one even suggesting that if wild salmon were employed instead of farmed Atlantic salmon, then “someone will have to be out on that seapen, running every fish through a metal detector to make sure they don’t have hooks in them.” Michael offered to “personally inspect every fish that comes off that boat and goes into the pen.” NMFS continued to object to the proposal, but without the bylaws to veto it and with strong support among the other partner groups, it went to vote and passed. Sandstrom was the lone vote against it. Paul helped secure the DFO permit, and the day before Springer’s triumphant return, the Namgis went fishing. Donna Sandstrom of Orca Alliance, pleading on KING 5 News in March for NMFS not to intervene to save Springer. “It’s going to be heart-breaking to witness the worst thing happen, which is to see her die, but we would rather bear that heartbreak than know that she’s enduring it by herself in a concrete tank.” But that didn’t prevent Nightingale from moving ahead on his plan to introduce his Frankenfish into Namgis territory. On the day Springer was readying for her transport to Johnstone Strait, with Paul, Michael and his brother Tommy furiously working with OrcaLab diver David Howitt to secure the critical hydrophone in the Bay – and with the Namgis in full view out in the bay, nets out – Nightingale decided unilaterally that the First Nations were moving too slowly. He ordered a barge of farmed fish to the seapen. Paul saw the barge approaching and intercepted it mid-Strait. He managed to convince the captain to turn around and head home. Within an hour or so, the Namgis arrived in Dongchong Bay with 73 fat wild salmon for Springer. And true to his promise, Michael, Tommy, Paul and the fishermen inspected every single fish. The footage Michael shot of that extraordinary moment was provided free-of-charge to KING Television, and ultimately made it to NBC Nightly News. It was a proud moment for the Namgis, and later contributed to the beautiful welcoming songs and drumming the band offered upon Springer’s arrival. But had we caved in to the objections of Sandstrom and the feds she was now so cozy with, or allowed Nightingale to buffalo us at Dongchong Bay, there could’ve been an ugly confrontation with Canada’s First Nations unfolding before the world’s media. And Springer might’ve never made it home. Unfortunately, despite our repeated warnings, DFO and Nightingale never learned much from all this, as evidenced by their pattern of disregard for the First Nations that killed the Luna effort… and, some would argue, Luna. But at least in the case of Springer, we overcame the deficiencies of others and found a way to respect the sovereignty of an indigenous community and engage them in what no doubt was one of the most memorable cross-cultural experiences any of us have ever had in our lifetimes. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 102 ORPHAN ORCA Published in The Bremerton Sun: 07/13/2002 Springer's Ride Develops Problem, Delays Departure Officials will try to move the 2-year-old killer whale again today By Christopher Dunagan Sun Staff Springer's much-anticipated homecoming in Canadian waters Friday was delayed by a day when the high- speed boat in which she was to ride developed engine problems. The 2-year-old orca, officially known as A73, remained in her net pen near Manchester in South Kitsap and was none the worse for wear. The 140-foot, high-speed catamaran left Whidbey Island on schedule before dawn Friday but could not get up to even half-speed, so it turned back. By the time the boat was ready to go again, the acceptable "window" for the operation had closed, since the goal was to reach Johnstone Strait in Canada by nightfall. Meanwhile, a portion of Springer's natal pod — headed by her great aunt — continues to move around Hanson Island, where Springer will wait for a reunion with her family. The group of orcas, known as the A11 matriline, came into the area twice Thursday and once Friday, said Michael Harris, president of the Washington-based Orca Conservancy. Springer's own matriline, led by her grandmother, A-24, is expected to arrive in the area any time. Harris, who is awaiting Springer's arrival in Canada, said the Namgis band of First Nations — the native people who occupy Hanson Island and Dong Chong Bay — is planning a special greeting ceremony, including dancing, when the whale arrives. Rescue organizers including Orca Conservancy arranged for the Namgis to catch live salmon to feed the young orca, and the Canadian government issued a special fishing permit under provisions that allow harvest for scientific purposes. Since her capture a month ago, Springer has been fed farmed salmon at the National Marine Fisheries Lab at Manchester. "They don't like aquaculture up here — and the Namgis really don't like it," Harris said. The first catch consisted of 73 salmon, which should feed the whale two or three days, Harris said. Further catches are authorized, but everyone hopes Springer won't need to be held long. Friday's problems with the Catalina Jet, a jet-powered catamaran, were attributed to a piece of plastic bouy that might have been ingested into the turbine or to incomplete cleaning of the hull. "Just by looking right here, I can see this is enough to slow the boat down," said Bryan Nichols, indicating a patch of barnacles Friday morning. Nichols is vice president of Nichols Bros. Boatbuilding, which donated use of the craft to the operation. Nichols said divers had cleaned the bottom of the vessel but not the sides in preparation for the trip, and barnacles can build up quickly. The vessel was cleaned at the dock, but by the time it was ready, it was nearly five hours behind schedule. The boat is designed to do 40 knots, but the trip with Springer is planned for 32 knots and is scheduled to take between 10 and 12 hours. Such a late start left no room for error, said Clint Wright of Vancouver Aquarium, which is organizing the final leg of the rescue. People were inconvenienced by the delay, Wright said, but Springer's safety remains the foremost concern. "It was really a human-based issue," Wright said after the trip was postponed. "She'll be ready to go tomorrow, as she was today." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 103 ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 104 ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 105 Sunday, July 14, 2002 Orphaned Orca Released to Join Pod By PEGGY ANDERSEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER HANSON ISLAND, British Columbia – An orphan orca that wandered into Puget Sound and was rescued by scientists was released Sunday afternoon to join other killer whales near this remote Canadian island. "Based on what we saw last night, we were quite sure that when we opened the gate, she'd go charging off, and she did go charging off," said Vancouver Aquarium President John Nightingale. Last night, the orca got excited about passing whales, said Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium, which is overseeing her care in home waters. The 2-year-old baby orca had been brought to this temporary home for release after being captured in Seattle. On Sunday, a group of eight whales turned into the bay, hearing her calls, and approached her slowly. "You got the impression they were being kind of coy. Killer whales are very cautious animals," he said. The scientists conferred by telephone and decided this was the right time. As they were preparing to hold onto her and lower the net pen, she grabbed a passing salmon and munched away during the release, Barrett-Lennard said. Then, after pausing to play with some kelp, she swam out of the bay with the pod, heading west as the others headed east, he said, but they were still within hearing range of each other. "We're not sure what will happen next but there are lots of salmon in the area now and lots of killer whales," Barrett-Lennard said. It's a good time for the orca to be there, he said. Scientists were thrilled. "I'm pretty much euphoric. It was only her second day up here," said Clint Wright, vice president of operations at the Vancouver Aquarium. He said it's possible the orca could end up with some other group. Scientists had placed suction-cup transmitters on the orca and followed in a boat, Barrett-Lennard said. Other boaters, who had clustered in the area Saturday, heeded scientists' pleas Sunday and stayed away. Earlier Sunday, when 20-30 killer whales swam by the mouth of the bay, the little female pushed against the seaside netting, called to them and "spyhopped," sticking her head out of the water to try to peek over the net fence to see what was happening. The 2-year-old female, named A73 for the birth order in her pod, arrived here late Saturday after a 400mile trip aboard a donated high-speed ferry. The whale, who had wandered by herself to the busy, boat- filled waters of Puget Sound, was captured a month ago after whale experts feared for her health and safety. The whales that passed by in the pre-dawn darkness Sunday included members of her three-member natal pod and others from their language group, called A-clan, plus other whales, Barrett-Lennard said. Any doubts about the young orphan's response – that she might want to stay in the pen, or that she might be intimidated or frightened – evaporated. "Seeing her last night pushing at the net, spyhopping to see what was going on," made clear her interest in leaving the 50-foot-square, 35-foot-deep pen in Dong Chong Bay, on this small island off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. "Her calls were so loud they practically blew our earphones off," Barrett- Lennard said. Since A73 was removed from a water-filled travel container aboard the 140-foot catamaran ferry on Saturday, the 12-foot-long orca had been "extremely frisky," said aquarium veterinarian David Huff. The journey from a net pen near Seattle lasted just over 13 hours. Forty salmon caught locally by First Nations fishermen who were granted a special out-of-season permit for just this purpose were in the pen when she arrived, with more in an adjacent pen for later. A73, who was not fed for the 18 hours before her journey home, hunted and dined all night, Barrett- Lennard said. Her caretakers worked from a 50-foot boat, the use of which was donated for the trip, as was the waterjet-powered catamaran ferry Catalina Jet. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 106 The donation of the Catalina Jet from Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island, Wash., made the relocation possible, said aquarium President John Nightingale. A lengthy truck ride would have been too hard on her and an airplane flight too expensive, he said. Boatyard President Matt Nichols, who estimated the value of his contribution at about a $100,000, has already volunteered use of the ferry to bring another wayward orca home. That whale, L-98 is a young male from a pod that summers near Washington state's San Juan Islands. L-98 has been on the west side of Vancouver Island since November, and there are reports of friendly but potentially dangerous encounters with boaters there. Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating and charges and fines are anticipated against the boaters, spokeswoman Michelle McCombs said. L-98's mother is still alive, and researchers on both sides of the border hope he will rejoin L-pod as it travels north after summer-salmon hunting. A73 – called "Springer" by Canadian researchers – was first spotted in mid-January near the Vashon Island ferry dock southwest of Seattle. Worried about her health and the danger posed by boats and people, experts decided to take the unprecedented step of attempting to capture her and bring her home. She was caught June 13 – underweight, suffering from worms and an itchy skin condition. Her health problems were cleared up during four weeks in a pen at a research station across Puget Sound from Seattle. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. Resident pods in the inland waters of the United States and Canada are struggling with dwindling salmon runs, increasing human contact and pollution. 7/15/2002 Springer Charges off as the Gate is Opened Orphaned Orca Released; Joins, Then Leaves Pod Baby "charges off" to join the group, then wanders to a boat KING 5 News and Glenn Farley TELEGRAPH COVE, Hanson Island - Springer, the Northwest’s celebrated orphaned orca, was released Sunday afternoon to join a pod of killer whales that swam by the mouth of the forested bay where she was penned. The pod uses the same dialect as the baby orca, which was captured in Seattle and brought to a temporary home off this remote Canadian island for release. In a new video released by OrcaLab Sunday night, Springer heads to, and seems to interact with her own pod, but after a while, the pod drifts away and she plays with kelp. Footage courtesy: Orca Conservancy and OrcaLab. Lance Barrett-Lennard with Vancouver aquarium remarked, “I hope that she’ll bond with the pod, but I think there’s a real possibility that she’s a whale that spends a lot of time by herself, or goes from pod to pod.” While she is seen with the pod and on her own, three radio transmitters are tracking her. For a couple from Enumclaw out fishing, Springer does something that raises concerns 90 minutes after her release. “We shut our boat down and she came right over and went under the boat and circled it twice,” Cindy Strom of Enumclaw said. “We were amazed,” Bruce Strom said. “You see orcas around here at different times, but to see the transmitters pop up, we knew exactly who it was.” ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 107 Her affinity for boats is one of the reasons she was taken out of Puget Sound. Paul Spong with OrcaLab said he feels she will eventually lose interest in boats and move back to her fellow orcas. Earlier in the day, Springer's release looked extremely promising. "Based on what we saw last night, we were quite sure that when we opened the gate, she'd go charging off, and she did go charging off," said Vancouver Aquarium President John Nightingale. Hours after the little whale was brought to her temporary home, 20-30 killer whales swam by the mouth of the bay. The little female pushed against the seaside netting, called to them and "spyhopped," sticking her head out of the water to try to peek over the net fence to see what was happening. "She spent a lot of time doing very energetic breaches. She did every kind of breach you can imagine. She did breaches on her side, jumped on the water and landed on her back, did belly flops, a lot of spyhopping, looking around. It looked for all the world like she was absolutely thrilled to be home,” said Dave Huff, veterinarian for Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center. The whales that passed by in the pre-dawn darkness Sunday included members of her three-member natal pod and others from their language group, called A-clan, plus other whales, Barrett-Lennard said. Any doubts about the young orphan's response - that she might want to stay in the pen, or that she might be intimidated or frightened - evaporated. "Seeing her last night pushing at the net, spyhopping to see what was going on," made clear her interest in leaving the 50-foot-square, 35-foot-deep pen in Dong Chong Bay, on this small island off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. "Her calls were so loud they practically blew our earphones off," Barrett-Lennard said. A warm homecoming After an 11-hour ride aboard a jet-powered catamaran, Springer arrived at her new Canadian home in Dong Chong Bay at Telegraph Cove, Hanson Island, just north of Vancouver Island, B.C. around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Since the 144-ft catamaran drew in too much water, workers had to lift Springer out of her holding tank using the specially designed sling. They loaded her onto a smaller barge and floated her to her new net pen in Dong Chong Bay. Springer appeared to jump for joy Sunday morning. Springer, also known as A73 by scientists, appeared calm and cooperative as scientists unloaded her. Scientists released her into her net pen, where dinner was waiting. Some 75 live salmon were caught by the First Nations Tribes and released into Springer’s new net pen. Orca move came off without a hitch Moving Springer was no simple task, but it came off without a hitch. After a one-day postponement, Springer set out on her journey home at the crack of dawn early Saturday morning. Like many humans, Springer began the day with a shower and a meal in her holding pen in Manchester, Wash. Biologists and researchers from Canada and the U.S. loaded her into a 18-foot by 5-foot holding tank aboard a high-speed catamaran, donated by Nichols Brothers Boats, and departed around 7 a.m. in an effort to reunite her with her family. The 2-year-old whale appeared cooperative and calm during the procedure as workers guided her into a specially designed sling, a crane lifted her from her pen and into a waiting tank on the second deck of the catamaran. Orca experts were pleased that the procedure went smoothly and called it picture-perfect. "She's very calm ... a bit of a laid back whale," Vancouver Aquarium spokesman John Nightingale said. "She hasn't been in captivity for 20 years, she's not used to humans, and yet she takes hands on care and going into the sling very quietly and very smoothly." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 108 She was immediately surrounded by workers who massaged her and draped her with wet, ice-soaked towels. For the 8- to 12-hour ride north, Springer was covered with ointment, wet towels, and an awning to keep her cool and moist. The key for the whale experts was to keep Springer's temperature cool enough to help her acclimate to the cooler Canadian waters. The crew only made one unexpected stop. About two-thirds of the way at the Campbell River just 80-100 miles south of Telegraph Cove, the catamaran stopped to refuel and load 100 bags of ice to keep Springer cool. Resource Links OrcaLab Orca Conservancy National Marine Fisheries National Marine Mammal Laboratory Vancouver Aquarium The Whale Museum Captive Orca Statistic Jeff Foster rides a sling to balance it as they lower an orphan orca into her temporary pen. Whale experts said Springer appeared restless but was doing fine in her holding tank on the catamaran, making "friendly and happy" vocalizations. U.S. government officials seemed thrilled to hand over the whale and her paperwork to the Canadians. Believe it or not, Springer has not one, but two sets of immigration papers. Boat problems postpone initial move A similar attempt to move A73 north from Puget Sound was scotched Friday morning after debris stuck in the catamaran's propulsion system prevented it from reaching its top speed of 40 knots. The whale had not yet been loaded. The vessel, which had not been used for months, was also slowed by a coating of barnacles, which the boat's owner said were supposed to have been removed. The more than $8 million craft was donated for the move by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island, Wash. "We found a buoy inside one of the water jets so we really didn't have a chance with the (barnacle) growth. We had a diver that was supposed to have cleaned all this and I think he fell short on his job a little bit," boat owner Matt Nichols said. A crane hoists the 1,348-pound orca whale in a sling onto a waiting catamaran ferry as crew watch in Manchester. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 109 The boat was cleaned of crustaceans and brought up to top speed by Friday afternoon and determined to be ready for Saturday's trip. "It's just one of those things that happen. Our main concern is, as always, the safety of A73," said Vancouver Aquarium spokesman John Nightingale of the delay. Aboard the catamaran Catalina Jet, the 400-mile trip to Johnstone Straight was estimated to take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. When the craft was unable to get to half that speed Friday morning, organizers from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Vancouver Aquarium determined that they would not be able to get the whale to her new pen in Telegraph Cove before running out of daylight. Springer first spotted in Puget Sound The young whale was captured in mid-June after she made a home in the waters off Vashon Island, Wash. and began getting too friendly with ferries and boaters in the area. The whale's mother died some months earlier, according to scientists. Researchers are able to identify individual whales and their relatives by their markings and vocalizations. Researchers and biologists concluded that the whale's chances for survival in the busy waters of near Vashon Island and away from her family were slim. She was suffering from a variety of minor health problems, including worms, a discoloring rash and a still mysterious condition that made her breath smell like paint thinner. Biologist ultimately determined that the whale had no known genetic problems or other diseases that would pose a risk to the northern population of killer whales. The population of orcas in Washington waters has dwindled from 120 during the 1960s to 78 today. Nobody knows exactly why the animals have declined, but shrinking salmon runs, heavy boat traffic and pollution have all been blamed. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 110 July 16, 2002 Orphaned Whale Back With Pod From CP Correspondents in British Columbia An orphan killer whale is tagging along with members of her birth pod, a day after she was returned to Canadian waters from a months-long stay near Seattle, USA. The two-year-old, 3.6-m orca is not yet mingling with the eight other whales, but has stayed within calling distance, said John Ford, a whale expert with Canada's Department of Fisheries. The orca appeared to be doing fine, though she was easily distracted by boats, logs and kelp, he said. "She's a toddler," Lance Barrett-Lennard, of Vancouver Aquarium, explained. The young whale apparently strayed into Puget Sound, near Seattle, in January after her mother died. She was captured last month because of safety concerns in the busy sound, and transported by ferry 645km to a small bay near her home waters. The eight orcas entered the bay yesterday morning and exchanged calls with the female in a temporary pen. She poked her head out of the water, as did some in the group. After her release in the afternoon, the whale paused to play with some kelp then swam west. "Her best chance is to find a female she can bond with closely," said aquarium vice-president of operations Clint Wright, who oversaw co-ordination of her transport north. The hope is that she will find a niche within her clan, but life as a solitary whale in Canadian waters would offer her a more secure future than she could have found in Puget Sound, he said. Members of the U.S. care team hold A73, the orca nicknamed Springer, as they prepare to release her into Dongchong Bay at Hanson Island, British Columbia, Sunday.7/16/2002 ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 111 Young Orca Spends Hours With her Family The Associated Press ROBSON BIGHT, British Columbia - A day after being released in her native waters, an orphan killer whale who spent six months dodging ferries near Seattle went to the beach with her family. The 2-year-old whale, dubbed A73 for her birth order in her family group, visited a favorite killer whale "rubbing beach" here Monday evening with a group of about a half dozen members of A-clan, said Lance Barrett-Lennard, a Vancouver Aquarium whale expert who is monitoring her. "It's a good start," Barrett-Lennard said. Killer whales swim close to shore here on the east side of Vancouver Island and massage their bellies on the smooth stones of the beach. It's the only place in the world where whales are known to exhibit this behavior. Earlier Monday, the young whale had been seen swimming a quarter-mile to a half-mile behind a group of A-clan whales, and she was seen swimming alone in the early afternoon before showing up with the beach party group. A73 did not appear to be bonding with any particular female, said Graeme Ellis of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Whale experts say that would be an ideal alliance for the little whale, who missed months of education when she wandered south last year after her mother's death. She was captured near Seattle on June 13 when her health worsened and her increasingly chummy behavior around boats raised safety concerns. She was pronounced in perfect health after treatment by U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service scientists and a group of private caretakers. Last Saturday, she was transported about 350 miles by high-speed catamaran ferry to Hanson Island near here. A group of A-clan whales answered her cries Sunday and entered the small bay where she'd been penned for less than 24 hours. She was released and swam out into the waters off Vancouver Island's northeast coast, not joining the other whales but staying within vocal range. Barrett-Lennard and Ellis tracked her Monday in a motorboat, using the last of three transmitters attached with suction cups before her release. Asked whether she had joined the whale group, Ellis replied, "No, she was just mixed in with them." But this was only her second day of freedom. There are weeks of summer ahead here as orcas gather to feed along what Barrett-Lennard calls the "salmon highway." Ellis and Barrett-Lennard eventually pulled their vessel back to chat with a reporter and others aboard a commercial whale-watching boat. They moved away because A73 had fallen behind her group and seemed drawn to their engine noise - a habit she picked up in her solitary travels. Veterinarian Pete Schroeder, left, watches the orca, Springer, spyhop after she's released into her new temporary pen near her native waters at Dong Chong Bay near Telegraph Cove, Canada, Saturday. While the hope is that she will join one of several groups of the A-clan whales who use her dialect, she could also live out her life as a solitary whale, or tag along behind one pod or another at a distance as a "satellite whale." There are 105 whales in the clan, one of three orca "language groups" in these waters. When all her transmitters have fallen off, Canada has a monitoring network of government staff, area residents and other volunteers along the hundreds of miles of coastline on both sides of Vancouver Island and all along the Inside Passage that separates the island from the mainland. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. The inland resident populations of British Columbia and Washington state feed mostly on salmon, while transient coastal populations eat marine mammals. The resident groups are struggling now with dwindling salmon runs, increasing human encroachment and pollution. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 112 Tuesday, July 16, 2002 Orca 'Doing Amazingly Well' in Pod A73 is chatty and hungry, but slightly wary of her relatives By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The orphan orca that endeared herself to humans in the Puget Sound area now appears to be winning over her relatives in Canada. One day after being released in her native waters, 2-year-old Springer is already tagging along with a group of killer whales that includes an aunt and three cousins, scientists said. Yesterday, they frolicked off the north end of Vancouver Island, chattering and popping their heads in and out of the water. In the evening, Springer followed the pod to a beach, where she rubbed on smooth rocks with other pod members. The pod was in a "relaxed and goofy mood," said Paul Spong, director of OrcaLab, a non-profit research group located on Hanson Island, B.C., where Springer was released. "She's doing amazingly well," he said. The orca, officially designated A73 by scientists, was spotted all alone in Puget Sound in January. Over the months, her health deteriorated and she became increasingly friendly with boats, putting her at risk for injury. She was captured in June near Vashon Island. She was nursed back to health for almost a month at a National Marine Fisheries Service facility on the Kitsap Peninsula. That ended Saturday, when she was shipped 400 miles to Canada aboard a jet-powered catamaran. Sunday, a group of related whales entered the bay where Springer was being held in a sea pen. She was released and charged out to greet them, gobbling two of the salmon from her cage on her way out. She then became "shy," slowly following the orcas out of the bay, circling the island in the other direction and eventually catching up to them, though she still lagged behind by a half-mile or more. "It's the group that Springer probably knew best as an infant," Spong said. The orca's mother vanished last year. Her grandmother is still alive. Springer speaks the same language as her relations, and their conversations were picked up yesterday by Spong's hydrophone system. "They've been doing this incredible vocal activity," he said. "It's been beautiful to listen to." The capture, treatment and return of the orphaned orca was paid for with $200,000 from a federal fund for marine mammal rescue, more than $50,000 from NMFS and more than $60,000 in donations, most of it in-kind. Those estimates do not include Canadian funding. Scientists were hopeful that the orca would reconnect with other killer whales after her months of chummy behavior with humans. Whale watchers and pleasure boaters have been asked to give plenty of distance to the orca. Early yesterday, A73 approached a researcher in a boat, presenting her with kelp, but the scientist did not encourage the behavior and the orca eventually departed for the other killer whales. Yellow transmitters attached to her with suction cups are designed to help the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans keep an eye on her during her first days. Springer appeared able to keep up with the orcas and came closer and closer, eventually coming within a distance of about a quarter-mile, Spong said. She was even hunting for salmon, leaping out of the water and then diving to grab a fish. Fred Felleman, of the Seattle-based Orca Conservancy, was concerned whether A73 would be in shape to swim with the other killer whales after a month in a pen. "If you're in a hospital bed for a week, walking around is pretty darned hard," he said. The orcas should remain in the area until September, giving A73 a chance to get fit before the pod roams up the coast of British Columbia. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 113 • POD REUNION Waters of Home Welcome Springer By Christopher Dunagan, Bremerton Sun Staff -7/14/2002 The orca settles into a place near Hanson Island after her 12-hour trip. Killer whale experts could barely contain their delight at Springer's successful 12-hour trip Saturday from South Kitsap to her home waters at the northern end of Vancouver Island. "She looks great," said Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy after watching a high-speed catamaran deliver the 2-year-old orca to Hanson Island on Saturday evening. "Everybody is so relieved, and there are a lot of exhausted people here. But the operation was seamless." Like magic, dark gray clouds parted into sunshine just as Springer arrived, Harris said. The clouds had threatened rain for most of the day. First Nation bands of native people greeted Springer in canoes and with songs and dances on the beach. One canoe carried a banner reading, "Welcome Baby Orca." "It was just a beautiful moment, all the way around," Harris said. As if to add to the magic of the tale, Springer's closest living relatives arrived near Hanson Island just the night before Springer herself came in by boat. It was the first time those particular orcas, led by Springer's grandmother, were spotted this year. The group, known as the A-24 matriline, typically returns from its winter travels in early to mid-July when the salmon are running, so the coincidence is not shocking. A related group of orcas, led by Springer's great aunt, has been moving in and around the area the past few days. A new calf was seen with that group. On Saturday, the two groups merged and stayed together throughout the day, said Helena Symonds of OrcaLab, a major research outpost that specializes in whale vocalizations. As soon as Springer was lowered into her new net pen in Dong Chong Bay about 7 p.m. Saturday, she began squealing and squeaking with excitement. "She was vocalizing pretty constantly and doing lots and lots of calls," Symonds said. OrcaLab technicians had installed special hydrophones in the bay, adding to other longtime instruments throughout the region. Springer's pod, the A-4 Pod, uses some 12 discrete calls not used by other killer whales. Springer was using nearly all of them Saturday night, Symonds said. Springer's relatives remained out of hearing range after her arrival, but researchers were eager to see what kind of interaction might take place today. The timing of Springer's release - a judgment call - depends on acoustic or physical contact with other members of her pod. Those whales can communicate vocally over several miles, as sound travels well under water. The whales might even approach Springer's pen out of curiosity. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 114 "If her pod comes by tomorrow and they vocalized and were positive, we could release her tomorrow," said her chief veterinarian, Dave Huff of Vancouver Aquarium. Springer became separated from her pod last year after her mother died. Traveling alone, she showed up near Vashon Island in Puget Sound in mid-January and remained in the ferry lane until her capture a month ago. During her stay at Manchester, she was treated for intestinal worms and a skin disorder. She ate live salmon and increased her weight from 1,240 to 1,348 pounds. Despite the orca's confinement in a tiny tank during Saturday's long boat ride, she was moving about naturally in her pen and chasing fish placed there for her. Even during the trip, the young orca's breathing remained slow and easy, according to Huff. The orca showed no signs of stress, although a few times she tried to shift around in the tight tank. It was as if she had placed her trust in her human handlers, led by Jeff Foster, bolstering her reputation as a "laid-back whale." "She's a very calm animal," said whale handler Jen Schorr of Seattle. "They're pretty bold in most cases. They're the top predator, so they can afford to be." The 340-mile trip began about 6 a.m. Saturday, when Springer was lifted out her 40-footsquare net pen. Springer barely wiggled her pectoral fins, sticking out through holes in the canvas sling, while a massive crane hoisted her into the tank at the back of the Catalina Jet. The sleek passenger boat moved swiftly through Puget Sound and north into Canada, defying heavy waves near the border. The boat made a brief stop at Campbell River, beyond the halfway mark, to pick up fuel for the vessel, more ice for the whale and pizza for the passengers and crew. Springer's dinner - 40 live pink and chinook salmon - was waiting for the whale at her pen. The fish had been placed there after being caught by the Namgis band of First Nations, the native people of Hanson Island. Marilyn Joyce of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Bob Lohn of the National Marine Fisheries Service in this country said the cooperation has been tremendous. • Monday, July 15, 2002 Springer Swims Free Released orphaned orca shows interest in her pod SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES HANSON ISLAND, B.C. – Springer has been sprung. The orphaned orca was released yesterday afternoon to join a pod of killer whales that swam by the mouth of the forested bay where she was penned. The pod uses the same dialect as the baby orca, which was captured in Puget Sound and brought to a temporary home off this remote Canadian island for release. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 115 "Based on what we saw (Saturday) night, we were quite sure that when we opened the gate, she'd go charging off. And she did go charging off," Vancouver Aquarium President John Nightingale said. Using suction cups, scientists have attached transmitters to the orca to follow her movements. The cups will remain on the killer whale for about three days before they fall off and are recovered. All in all, things are looking good for Springer, said Paul Spong, a Canadian whale researcher who also served on a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service advisory panel. "We thought it might take Springer two or three days to adjust from the trip, but she did so immediately," Spong said. He said the killer whale was vocalizing and chasing salmon as soon as she arrived in her pen. "She was vigorous and vocalizing and obviously interacting with the other whales. We were listening practically with our mouths hanging open (Saturday) night." Although he's hopeful that Springer will successfully integrate into the pod, Spong said that he'd like to wait awhile longer before evaluating the ultimate outcome of Springer's rescue and transport. Her big moment came early yesterday, when 20 to 30 killer whales swam by the mouth of the bay. The little female pushed against the seaside netting, called to them and "spy-hopped," sticking her head out of the water to see what was happening. The whales that passed by in the predawn darkness included members of her three-member natal pod and others from their language group, called the A-clan, plus other whales. "This is not very scientific, but I think she knows she's home," said Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium, which oversaw her care in her home waters. Any doubts about the young orphan's response — that she might want to stay in the pen, or that she might be intimidated or frightened — evaporated. "Seeing her last night pushing at the net, spy-hopping to see what was going on" made clear her interest in leaving the 50-foot-square, 35-foot-deep pen in Dong Chong Bay, on this small island off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. "Her calls were so loud they practically blew our earphones off," Barrett-Lennard said. The passing whales did not appear to notice her cries amid their own — which was just as well, he said. Having dozens of killer whales surrounding the pen in the dark would have been "a bit daunting." Springer was responding to calls to whales from subpods A-24, her grandmother's pod, and A12, which Spong described as Springer's "distant cousins." The 2-year-old female, named A73 for the birth order in her pod, arrived here late Saturday after a 400-mile trip aboard a donated high-speed ferry. The whale, which had wandered by herself to the busy, boat-filled waters of Puget Sound, was captured a month ago after whale experts feared for her health and safety. Since A73 was removed from a water-filled travel container aboard the 140-foot catamaran ferry Saturday, the 12-foot-long orca has been "extremely frisky," aquarium veterinarian David Huff said. The journey from a net pen near Seattle lasted just over 13 hours. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 116 Forty salmon – caught locally by First Nations fishermen who were granted a special out-of-season permit for just this purpose – were in the pen when she arrived, with more in an adjacent pen for later. A73, which was not fed for the 18 hours before her journey home, hunted and dined all Saturday night, Barrett-Lennard said. Her caretakers worked from a 50-foot boat, the use of which was donated for the trip, as was the water jet-powered catamaran ferry Catalina Jet. The donation of the Catalina Jet from Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island made the relocation possible, said Nightingale, the Vancouver Aquarium president. A long truck ride would have been too hard on her and an airplane flight too expensive, he said. Boatyard President Matt Nichols, who estimated the value of his contribution at about a $100,000, has already volunteered use of the ferry to bring another wayward orca home. That whale, L98, is a young male from a pod that summers near the San Juan Islands. L98 has been on the west side of Vancouver Island since November, and there are reports of friendly but potentially dangerous encounters with boaters. Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating and charges and fines are anticipated against the boaters, spokeswoman Michelle McCombs said. L98's mother is still alive, and researchers on both sides of the border hope he will rejoin the L-pod as it travels north after summer-salmon hunting. A73 — called "Springer" by Canadian researchers — was first spotted in mid-January near the Vashon Island ferry dock. Worried about her health and the danger posed by boats and people, experts took the unprecedented step of attempting to capture her and bring her home. She was caught June 13 — underweight and suffering from worms and an itchy skin condition. Her health problems were cleared up during four weeks in a pen at a research station across Puget Sound from Seattle. A73's arrival here was "a very emotional experience" for orca researchers, Barrett-Lennard said. "I don't think there was a dry eye in the net pen." But we haven't seen the last of Springer yet. Spong said that Springer's pod — one of 34 frequenting the waters of the Northwest — generally spends at least a month each summer in Puget Sound. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. Resident pods in the inland waters of the United States and Canada are struggling with dwindling salmon runs, increasing human contact and pollution. • July 16, 2002 Orphaned Whale Back With Pod Associated Press An orphan killer whale is tagging along with members of her birth pod, a day after she was returned to Canadian waters from a months-long stay near Seattle, USA. The two-year-old, 3.6-m orca is not yet mingling with the eight other whales, but has stayed within calling distance, said John Ford, a whale expert with Canada's Department of Fisheries. The orca appeared to be doing fine, though she was easily distracted by boats, logs and kelp, he said. "She's a toddler," Lance Barrett-Lennard, of Vancouver Aquarium, explained. The young whale apparently strayed into Puget Sound, near Seattle, in January after her mother died. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 117 She was captured last month because of safety concerns in the busy sound, and transported by ferry 645km to a small bay near her home waters. The eight orcas entered the bay yesterday morning and exchanged calls with the female in a temporary pen. She poked her head out of the water, as did some in the group. After her release in the afternoon, the whale paused to play with some kelp then swam west. "Her best chance is to find a female she can bond with closely," said aquarium vice-president of operations Clint Wright, who oversaw co-ordination of her transport north. The hope is that she will find a niche within her clan, but life as a solitary whale in Canadian waters would offer her a more secure future than she could have found in Puget Sound, he said. • 7/16/2002 Young Orca Spends Hours With her Family The Associated Press ROBSON BIGHT, British Columbia - A day after being released in her native waters, an orphan killer whale who spent six months dodging ferries near Seattle went to the beach with her family. The 2-year-old whale, dubbed A73 for her birth order in her family group, visited a favorite killer whale "rubbing beach" here Monday evening with a group of about a half dozen members of A-clan, said Lance Barrett-Lennard, a Vancouver Aquarium whale expert who is monitoring her. "It's a good start," Barrett-Lennard said. Killer whales swim close to shore here on the east side of Vancouver Island and massage their bellies on the smooth stones of the beach. It's the only place in the world where whales are known to exhibit this behavior. Earlier Monday, the young whale had been seen swimming a quarter-mile to a half-mile behind a group of A-clan whales, and she was seen swimming alone in the early afternoon before showing up with the beach party group. A73 did not appear to be bonding with any particular female, said Graeme Ellis of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Whale experts say that would be an ideal alliance for the little whale, who missed months of education when she wandered south last year after her mother's death. She was captured near Seattle on June 13 when her health worsened and her increasingly chummy behavior around boats raised safety concerns. She was pronounced in perfect health after treatment by U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service scientists and a group of private caretakers. Last Saturday, she was transported about 350 miles by high-speed catamaran ferry to Hanson Island near here. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 118 A group of A-clan whales answered her cries Sunday and entered the small bay where she'd been penned for less than 24 hours. She was released and swam out into the waters off Vancouver Island's northeast coast, not joining the other whales but staying within vocal range. Barrett-Lennard and Ellis tracked her Monday in a motorboat, using the last of three transmitters attached with suction cups before her release. Asked whether she had joined the whale group, Ellis replied, "No, she was just mixed in with them." But this was only her second day of freedom. There are weeks of summer ahead here as orcas gather to feed along what Barrett-Lennard calls the "salmon highway." Ellis and Barrett-Lennard eventually pulled their vessel back to chat with a reporter and others aboard a commercial whale-watching boat. They moved away because A73 had fallen behind her group and seemed drawn to their engine noise - a habit she picked up in her solitary travels. While the hope is that she will join one of several groups of the A-clan whales who use her dialect, she could also live out her life as a solitary whale, or tag along behind one pod or another at a distance as a "satellite whale." There are 105 whales in the clan, one of three orca "language groups" in these waters. When all her transmitters have fallen off, Canada has a monitoring network of government staff, area residents and other volunteers along the hundreds of miles of coastline on both sides of Vancouver Island and all along the Inside Passage that separates the island from the mainland. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. The inland resident populations of British Columbia and Washington state feed mostly on salmon, while transient coastal populations eat marine mammals. The resident groups are struggling now with dwindling salmon runs, increasing human encroachment and pollution. ORPHAN ORCA Springer's Back in Tune with Fellow Whales By Christopher Dunagan, Bremerton Sun Staff - 7/16/02 It didn't take the young whale much more than a day to make contact with her fellow orcas, who greeted her with songs. After more than a day of hanging back and remaining alone, Springer caught up to her fellow killer whales Monday afternoon in Robson Bight, the site of the famous "rubbing beaches." The area, near the northern end of Vancouver Island, is a dedicated marine sanctuary, preserved primarily for killer whales and their rituals of rubbing their bodies on smooth beach stones. Springer, or A73, caught up with two groups of whales, about 5:20 p.m., just after the two groups had come together, said Anna Spong of Orcalab, a nearby research facility specializing in orca vocalizations. The groups are known as the A12 and A-35 matrilines, named for females that head each group. "When they came together, they got very vocal," Spong said. "It was a pretty incredible moment, and we were all happy to hear them." Springer and virtually all of the whales in Johnstone Strait have been unusually quiet since the 2-year-old orca was released to the wild Sunday, Spong said. The two groups of whales are not Springer's immediate pod, but she has some distant relatives among them. While Springer's mother was alive, the mother and daughter had traveled with the A35s for a time. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 119 Since the marine reserve is a sanctuary for whales, the animals remain out of sight to most observers. It's enough to know that the whales are together and that Springer has made no further attempts to interact with people, Spong said. One brief encounter with a pleasure boat was reported Sunday. "She may be figuring out what to do," Spong said. "It's a complicated society she's trying to get back into." Springer's mother is presumed dead, but her grandmother, aunt and uncle are traveling together not far from where Springer was seen Monday evening. It was likely the whales could be within hearing range Monday night or today, Spong said. Springer was released Sunday at Dong Chong Bay on Hanson Island after a 12-hour boat ride Saturday from Manchester in South Kitsap, where she had been cared for a month. Nobody knows why she initially left her fellow whales in Canada over the winter and ventured south into Puget Sound, but the effort to return the young orca to her family has captured the hearts of people throughout the world. July 16, 2002 at 5:34 AM PST Springer Spotted With Her Family By KOMO Staff & News Services ROBSON BIGHT, B.C. - Two days after being released in her native waters, Springer, an orphan killer whale who spent six months dodging ferries near Seattle, was trailing close behind her family pod. And while she has not joined the group Tuesday, those monitoring her were pleased with her progress. "She seems to be doing well. So far, so good," Deborah Phelan of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans said Tuesday. The 2-year-old whale, dubbed A-73 for her birth order in her family group, spent much of Monday resting, Phelan said. She visited a favorite killer whale "rubbing beach" on Monday evening with a group of about a half dozen members of A-clan, said Lance Barrett-Lennard, a Vancouver Aquarium whale expert who is monitoring her. Killer whales swim close to shore here on the east side of Vancouver Island and massage their bellies on the smooth stones of the beach. It's the only place in the world where whales are known to exhibit this behavior. Phelan said there are no major concerns about the whale's behavior. The orca has weeks of summer ahead here as orcas gather to feed along what Barrett-Lennard calls the "salmon highway." While the hope is that she will join one of several groups of the A-clan whales who use her dialect, she could also live out her life as a solitary whale, or tag along behind one pod or another at a distance as a "satellite whale." There are 105 whales in the clan, one of three orca "language groups" in these waters. A-73 did not appear to be bonding with any particular female, said Graeme Ellis of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Whale experts say that would be an ideal alliance for the little whale, who missed months of education when she wandered south last year after her mother's death. She was captured near Seattle on June 13 when her health worsened and her increasingly chummy behavior around boats raised safety concerns. She was pronounced in perfect health after treatment by U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service scientists and a group of private caretakers. Last Saturday, she was transported about 350 miles by high-speed catamaran ferry to Hanson Island near here. A group of A-clan whales answered her cries Sunday and entered the small bay where she'd been penned for less than 24 hours. She was released and swam out into the waters off Vancouver Island's northeast coast, not joining the other whales but staying within vocal range. Barrett-Lennard and Ellis tracked her Monday in a motorboat, using the last of three transmitters attached with suction cups before her release. Ellis and Barrett-Lennard eventually pulled their vessel back to chat with a reporter and others aboard a commercial whale-watching boat. They moved away because A-73 had fallen behind her group and seemed drawn to their engine noise - a habit she picked up in her solitary travels. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 120 When all her transmitters have fallen off, Canada has a monitoring network of government staff, area residents and other volunteers along the hundreds of miles of coastline on both sides of Vancouver Island and all along the Inside Passage that separates the island from the mainland. Killer whales, actually a kind of dolphin, are found in all the world's oceans. The inland resident populations of British Columbia and Washington state feed mostly on salmon, while transient coastal populations eat marine mammals. The resident groups are struggling now with dwindling salmon runs, increasing human encroachment and pollution. ORPHAN WHALE Springer Joins in With 'Orca Party' By Christopher Dunagan, Bremerton Sun Staff - 7/18/02 Springer, the 2-year-old orphan orca, was seen frolicking with a large number of killer whales Wednesday in Canada's Johnstone Strait, according to Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy. "It's an orca party," he exclaimed, "and she is right in the middle of it, learning to socialize with a lot of whales." Harris likened the situation to someone who comes to a party uninvited and goes from one group to the next until she's a welcome guest. About 10 a.m. Wednesday, Springer rushed into a group of whales, the A36 matriline, her distant relatives at best. "She made a beeline and jetted right into the group with more enthusiasm than she's had for any other whales," Harris said. After announcing her presence by breaching — throwing herself mostly out of the water and falling with a splash — she stayed with that group as more whales arrived. Harris said it is possible that the total number could reach 100 in the next day or two. That's about the maximum seen at any one time. "I can only imagine the exhilaration she's feeling now, and maybe she's a little nervous about it," Harris said of Springer. "Remember, this is an experience she's not had for maybe a year." Springer had wandered from British Columbia into southern Puget Sound in January, sometime after her mother died. She remained alone in the ferry lanes off Vashon Island until she was captured in June and taken to Manchester in South Kitsap. On Saturday, she was returned to Johnstone Strait on a high-speed catamaran. • posted for: Annelise Sorg, Director Coalition For No Whales In Captivity RE: Donations to Vanc. AQ? NO WAY!!! For almost 40 years, the Vancouver Aquarium made millions and millions of dollars exploiting orcas in captivity - and how much did they spent on A-73/Springer? They say $80,000 - US$50,000 approx. The sea pen, the salmon and the catamaran ride up North were all donated, and costs for the month-long stay in a net pen close to Seattle were covered by the US government. So how do you rack up $80,000 when the aquarium was in charge of the orca whale for only 12 hours? ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 121 Supposedly, half of the cost ($40,000) goes to pay for staff who are aquarium employees in the first place! Apart from orca expert and aquarium employee Lance Barrett-Lennard, did they really need to send a bunch of staff like Angela Nielsen of media relations and president John Nightingale who only seems to ask for money whenever there's a microphone close by? Public reaction to the aquarium's plea for funds has not been good since the money is not pouring in as expected. So now the aquarium has warned the public, that if cheques don't start coming in soon, they will have to cut out some of their "programs". The aquarium never specifies which programs, but I'm certain they have no plans to stop their lengthy TV and radio promotional ads, nor will they stop their plans to purchase 5 more dolphins from Japan (at a couple of hundred thousand dollars a dolphin, by the way). $80,000 is a drop in a whale tank for the Vancouver Aquarium. But if you chose to believe that this multi-million dollar-a-year whale jail located in Stanley Park, really needs the money, please contact me because I've got a wild whale for adoption that I would like to sell to you, too! Annelise Sorg, Director Coalition For No Whales In Captivity Box 461 - 1755 Robson Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6G 3B7 Tel (604) 736-9514 Fax (604) 264-0653 E-mail annelise@direct.ca • July 19, 2002 Whale Rescuers Say Effort Worth the Cost By PEGGY ANDERSEN of the Associated Press SEATTLE - It cost at least $670,000 in cash and in-kind services to capture, treat and transport an orphan killer whale from Puget Sound to her home waters in Canada, but those who took part say it was money well spent. (Actual cash costs were about $266.666 USD, which were covered by grant monies earmarked specifically for marine mammal strandings, triggered by matching funds raised by U.S. environmental organizations like Orca Conservancy. - OC.) "Absolutely," said Matt Nichols, who estimates the value of his contribution - use of the high- speed catamaran ferry Catalina Jet - at about $100,000. That includes $8,000 for insurance coverage, to ease apprehensions about the unconventional 1,348-pound passenger. "Delivering this little orphan kind of put tears in our eyes," said Nichols, president of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island. The whale, dubbed A73 for her birth order in Canada's A-pod and also known as Springer, became separated from her family last year after her mother died. In January, she showed up at the Vashon Island ferry dock near here - in poor health and hundreds of miles from home. She was freed in her home waters Sunday after an unprecedented effort by U.S. and Canadian agencies and citizens. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency that oversees marine mammals in the United States, logged $200,000 in Prescott grants for stranded animals, $80,000 in out-of-pocket expenses and at least $100,000 in corporate cash and in-kind contributions. "When we get finished totaling it up I expect it to be considerably over $100,000," spokesman Brian Gorman said of the private contributions. NMFS arranged capture of the 2-year-old killer whale in mid-June and her care for four weeks in a nearby net pen - tasks executed by a team of experts led by Keiko veteran Jeff Foster of Auburn. "Everything about this rescue has been exceptional," said Bob Lohn, head of NMFS' regional office here. "But the most heartening part has been the outpouring of help from so many people." Contributions included crane-barge loans, a foam pad used to cushion A73 during crane-barge trips and hundreds of pounds of live salmon to feed her in the pen. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 122 The Orphan Orca Fund, which provided $66,000 in matching funds to secure the federal grants, also kicked in money to purchase king salmon to feed the orca in Canada, said Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy, one of seven groups that established the fund. 9:30am, Friday, July 19, 2002 Department of Fisheries and Oceans Update on A73 A73 joined the very large (60-70 whales) group of killer whales in Johnstone Strait (in the area of the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve and the rubbing beaches) late afternoon yesterday (Thursday). She was very difficult to identify because her last VHF radio tag has fallen off (just as it was supposed to). It was only by comparing digital photos from yesterday and new photos of A73 taken before release that her identity could be confirmed. Graeme Ellis of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium were the only observers to confirm that she was there (contrary to what was reported by some radio stations last evening - see italics below). During the time she was observed in the Robson Bight area, Springer was associating very closely (side by side) with a 16-year-old orphaned female named A51. Dr. Barrett-Lennard and Graeme Ellis believe A51, whose mother was the well- known female A25 (Sharky - because of her uniquely shaped dorsal fin) would be a good companion for Springer. Late yesterday evening, the big group broke up with most of the whales heading west. They were reported in the vicinity of Malcolm Island at 2100 (9:00 p.m.) by one of the Stubbs Island Whale Watching boats. Some of the large group of whales headed east and were seen at Campbell River this morning at about 0900. We don't know for sure if A73 is with the larger group heading west, but we believe it is possible, and given that the group was not moving fast, she should have been able to keep up. There have been no reports last evening or today of a whale rubbing on boats. There are still a few whales left in Johnstone Strait, but it is quite foggy there this morning. Lance notes that if they follow their normal pattern, the group may cruise up to near Port Hardy, or even into Queen Charlotte Strait, but should return to Johnstone Strait within a few days. It would be unusual (but not entirely impossible) for them to leave the area for good so early in the summer. This seems doubly unlikely given the large numbers of Chinook or King/Spring salmon in the area right now (these are the largest Pacific Salmon, and are orcas' favorite food). Because of the difficulty in identifying A73, Lance notes that we can expect lots of "reported sightings," most of which will turn out not to have been accurate. If DFO or the Aquarium hears about a whale approaching or rubbing on a boat, it will be investigated immediately. Again, boaters are asked to actively move away from a small, lone whale approaching them. Lance and Graeme report that there are humpback whales in the area (west of Johnstone Strait) this morning. They have taken several photos of tail flukes for identification purposes. Maze Salutes Orphaned Orca KING 5 News - 7/18/2002 KENT, Wash. – A local farm has saluted Springer by making a maze in the orphaned orca’s honor. Traffic KING caught the view from above Thursday morning at a field in Kent. It shows the orphaned orca swimming with another whale. The word "Springer" is also carved into the corn crop. http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_071802WABspringermaze.2326661.html Natural Born Killers Condemned to Die By DEBORAH JONES, Special to The Vancouver Globe and Mail - 7/20/02 VANCOUVER — The tale of Springer, the spunky orphaned orca, has the superficial tenderness of a Disney flick. Below the surface, however, lurks a film noir: Just what is causing so many killer whales, Springer's mother among them, to disappear from the waters off British Columbia? Since January, when the lost and lonely youngster wandered into busy Puget Sound near Seattle, the North American media and public have been transfixed. Springer demonstrated no fear of humans and was approaching boats in the busy waterway. She also was sick and underweight, so the U.S. National Marine and Fisheries Service captured her, nursed her back to health, then sent her aboard a catamaran to Canada last weekend. Since then, she has been shadowing a pod of her relatives, but still sidling up to boats that come near. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 123 Scientists hope that her story will have a happy ending, that her affinity for humans will diminish and she will be adopted by the pod. But little has been said about what produced Springer's predicament in the first place. And unless that puzzle is solved, both she and her kind may face a future that one expert describes as "a dead end." Killer whales are sometimes called the canaries of the oceans. Miners carried the birds into coal pits, and as long as they lived, the miners figured they could breath safely. Likewise, orcas are a barometer of the ocean environment because they are at the top of the food chain and their complex social groups make them especially sensitive to change. Now scientists suspect that some of B.C.'s "ocean canaries" are gasping for life. Emerging research suggests that noise from vessels hampers the orcas' ability to navigate, communicate and hunt for food. As well, recent tests show that their flesh contains record-high levels of such toxins as polychlorinated biphenyls, which may make them more susceptible to disease and reproductive and neurological problems. To make matters worse, overfishing of salmon and other marine species suggests that their food supply is dwindling. Such factors may explain the precipitous drop in Vancouver Island's so-called southern resident population. Within six years, the number of whales off the island's southern coast has plunged from 100 to 78. Researchers now fear that the whales, which elicit oohs and ahhs and are much photographed by ferry passengers, boaters and coastal dwellers in B.C. and Washington State, are effectively extinct. Because whale pods stay together for life, tend not to take in newcomers and now have so few breeding-age members left. Some of the southern pods' woes can be explained by the capture of young animals for the aquarium trade in the 1970s. But even the stronger community of about 300 off the island's north coast has younger adults such as Springer's mother vanishing. "It suggests," notes Volker Deecke, a marine mammal researcher at the Vancouver Aquarium and University of British Columbia, "that something else is going on." Some problems would be easy to fix if people simply paid attention, says Mr. Deecke, who is writing a PhD thesis on orca acoustics. He suspects that noise pollution "could have a tremendous impact on these animals, although we can't prove it yet." Vessels are designed to expel exhaust and contain their propeller noises under water, for the benefit of people above the surface. In areas of high marine traffic, the subsurface din is akin to a city full of cars without mufflers, Mr. Deecke says. "We don't hear the noise because we've got our ears in the air. . . . The biggest problem is from cruise ships, tankers and (fishing boats) pulling nets." The navy and whale-watching industry already know how to rig vessels for silent running. Short of that, Mr. Deecke recommends such simple measures as ensuring that propellers are working efficiently and mounting boat engines on elastic shock absorbers. "The technology is out there, but people aren't aware of the problem," he notes. Our Wild Emotional Ride with Springer Proves to be Whale of a Tale Why should we meddle with nature this way? Here's why... Paula Brook, Vancouver Sun - Tuesday, July 23, 2002 For those of us who love a good animal story, the adventures of Springer the orphaned orca has been a wild ride. With each day's news, we've found ourselves tossed this way and that on a sea of emotions, which I suppose is nothing new where whale tales are concerned. Though this one might be the best we've heard yet. When they discovered the lost two-year-old killer whale last January, malnourished and ill and flirting with death in a Puget Sound ferry lane, we were sick with worry. A two-year-old whale is about as smart as a two-year-old human, and as vulnerable. No one believed she would live for long in all that traffic and pollution. When they corralled her into a rehab pen near Seattle in June, treating her for worms and whale pox and fattening her up on all-you-can-eat salmon, we were relieved but torn: Would she survive only to star in the Free Willy sequel, Free Springer? ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 124 When she was shipped to Johnstone Strait earlier this month to reunite with her pod, we were pleased and proud – that our Canadian scientists have so much detailed, intimate knowledge of these creatures they were able to trace her lineage directly to one nuclear pod within the extended family of 19 pods – 200 or so killer whales – that ply the waters of British Columbia's Inside Passage each summer. When she spotted her relatives within hours of arriving in her home waters and started breaching and crying out to them in obvious excitement, we too were excited. What luck! What planning! What an awesome display of love and longing in the wild! Or were we kidding ourselves – ascribing our own feelings, along with our need for some good old- fashioned summertime adventure, to these mysterious animals? When her close kin appeared at first to ditch her, swimming off too fast for the little female to keep up, the whale tale hit a sour note. We reran the story with a sad new plot line: What if Springer had not simply wandered away from the pod after the death of her mother, as scientists had suggested, but had been rejected – and would be again, and again? What's more, how would we keep her on the road to reintegration (and away from Skid Sound) after last week's news that her radio transmitter had fallen off? Another day, another worry: Rejected by her family, she immediately fell into her bad old habit of swimming alongside boats, rubbing up against their hulls. An even sadder story sprang to mind – of Keiko, the star of Free Willy, who has spent the last four years steadfastly refusing to be freed from his rehab pen in Iceland. Teams of international scientists and millions of dollars have been spent trying to deprogram the world's most famous trick whale. He now seems to get it that his dinner is more likely to swim by than be tossed from a bucket, but he still seems to prefer human contact to a swim on the wild side, and would probably die if released. But wait a minute! Late last week, the sky suddenly brightened over a frolicking Springer who had latched on to two distant cousins, also orphans. A hopeful note was sounded by pioneer whale researcher, Dr. Paul Spong, observing the family drama from his OrcaLab on Hanson Island in Johnstone Strait. She may stand a better chance bonding to whales that share her fate, he suggested. So whales are capable of empathy? Who knew? At this point you could say, who cares? The critics are starting to weigh in now, with questions about how far we ought to go meddling with nature, trying to be heroes, spending close to a million dollars rescuing a single whale while hunger and abuse and homelessness is rife in our own human pod. But here's why we should. Because we have done this damage and are now, after decades of dedicated research, able to undo some of it. We are learning to be stewards instead of trainers. Learning to listen to the whales, and to the scientists who know what they're talking about. Consider the work that has been done over the past three decades by Paul Spong and his army of volunteers at OrcaLab. Believing that the best research is done in the wild with minimal human interference in animal behavior and habitat, Spong has basically written the encyclopedia on orca family life and has used it as a shield against market forces that would put whaling and whale shows back in business, given an opening. The same philosophy is espoused by the Vancouver Aquarium, which defended its own captive whale program for years on the basis that public exposure would foster respect for these creatures and concern for their natural habitat. A lot of people didn't buy that defence, of course, and we all know what happened to the whale shows. Far better for all of us creatures, large and small, is the kind of front-line action we've seen this month, for which thousands of staff hours have been volunteered and a major fund-raising drive launched. And what will you get for your donation, should you choose to dive into the rescue drama? The chance to play a part in what we can only hope will be the first man-made reunion of a whale with its pod. By the time you read this, who knows? Springer might be breaching and bumping happily with those empathic orphans, or she might have made some addle-brained decision to leave her buddies for the boat lane. Who cares? Apparently, lots of us. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 125 This Seattle Weekly cover story features four Orca Conservancy Board Members and three Advisory Board Members. FREE SPRINGER! But while the Northwest pulled together to save one sickly whale, the remaining Puget Sound orcas face an uncertain future. BY MATT VILLANO, Seattle Weekly - 7/26/02 Far to the north, where the water runs chilly and beds of bull kelp hug the rocky coast, the orca whales are back. Since the days of the Indians, members of northern and southern resident pods have returned to the area around this time of year, mostly to mate and feed. The whales called "killers" travel hundreds of miles from the open ocean to the area between Johnstone Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, spanning Canadian waters and our own, at the mouth of Puget Sound. Today they are as much a part of Northwest culture as Mount Rainier, the Space Needle, and traffic on the floating bridges. This year, however, the whales' home waters are a little colder than usual. First, while the population of the three southern resident pods that frequent U.S. waters continues to decrease, the only whale that anyone seems to care about is a wayward orphan from one of the northern groups, scooped from the polluted waters off Vashon Island this spring. Perhaps more alarmingly, the federal organization that governs local marine life refused last month to protect these clearly declining southern residents under the Endangered Species Act, a law that would have all but ensured their survival. The issues present a complicated paradox—it was undoubtedly important to save an orphan poisoned by the effects of human overpopulation, but intervention diverted an unbalanced share of public interest, federal money, and media attention from the whales that needed it most. Now, as researchers celebrate the successful reintroduction of the whale known as Springer to her pod, many fear that it may be too late to save more than this one whale, and that without similarly aggressive intervention on behalf of the southern residents as a whole, the population could be headed for extinction within the next 50 years. "That orphaned whale is a little messenger telling us that our orcas are in grave danger," Ken Balcomb, who has studied the resident groups since 1976 and now serves as executive director of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor. "Instead of recognizing the breadth of this problem, learning from our mistakes, and trying to change the ways our presence negatively impacts the health of these whales, we're ignoring the message and focusing on the welfare of the messenger." ALL FOR ONE By now, the story of the Vashon orphan is as familiar as the saga of Microsoft. Nicknamed Springer by scientists, the whale was first spotted off of West Seattle in January. Clearly malnourished and suffering from a skin disease, the 2-year-old showed a particular fondness for floating logs and the Evergreen State ferry, frequently nuzzling against the boat when it was docked for the night. Scientists immediately identified the whale as A-73, so named for her birth order within her pod, a whale who lost her mother and a number of other family members in 2001. Nothing captivates the human imagination like the struggle of a survivor, and the plight of this whale was no exception. "There's no question that people were drawn to this truly remarkable individual," says Helena Symonds, co-director of OrcaLab, a Canadian research organization on Hanson Island near Blackney Pass. "These are social creatures, and the notion that an animal (as young as Springer) could survive without its family for so long is pretty amazing." Springer's story became the feel-good animal tale of the year, and thousands flocked to catch a glimpse for themselves. Lines on the Fauntleroy ferry were longer than anyone could remember in years. Kayakers and other recreational boaters ventured out in record numbers. Whale-watch outfits cashed in, too, chartering "See Springer" trips that sold out every time. But as traffic around Springer increased, her condition worsened. Her skin disease spread from her mouth to her blowhole, she stopped eating, and she appeared lugubrious, even catatonic. When scientists determined that the whale could not get better without a change of scene, officials from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decided to intervene. NMFS freed up money from the Prescott Stranding Grant program and arranged to have the whale transported to a makeshift holding pen near Manchester for further tests and observation. With the announcement of a federally funded rescue, private donations came pouring in, stoking the attention of local and national media. In Bremerton, The Sun covered the animal like a celebrity. Seattle papers and TV stations joined in with daily updates, clamoring on the editorial pages for a swift and painless effort. On June 13, the day NMFS came to capture the whale, KOMO and KING staged live feeds, broadcasting real-time WhaleTV all day long. Even Peter Jennings got in on the action, closing his national newscast that same night with a fluffy feature from the waters of Puget Sound. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 126 "People from Portland, Ore., to Portland, Maine, were talking about this whale," says NMFS spokesperson Brian Gorman. "It was like Free Willy all over again." On the one hand, this hullabaloo helped save Springer. Yet the glut of attention prompted a vicious cycle of public relations and spending on the governmental level—the more concerned about the whale people seemed to get, the more resources NMFS had to expend to handle the situation. On the day of the rescue, Gorman worked 16 hours straight. Sources add that the rescue cost more than $60,000—the single most expensive marine mammal intervention since the effort following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1988. Eventually, of course, these efforts paid off, and researchers transported Springer up north, where she found her family. Gorman estimates that the entire rescue, rehabilitation, and release process cost NMFS $200,000 worth of federal Prescott money, $80,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, and at least $100,000 in corporate cash and in-kind contributions—a grand total of about $380,000. Considering that the same organization has never budgeted more than half this amount to research Puget Sound marine mammals of any kind, the figure seems exorbitant. Still, NMFS regional coordinator Bob Lohn says his organization did what it had to do to ensure that the orphan survived until she could be reintroduced to her northern resident pod. "We had never done anything like this, so we didn't know how or what to budget," Lohn explains. "The way we looked at it, this little whale provided us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for reintroducing a sexually mature female animal to its pod. We were prepared to do anything and everything to get that whale to safety." THE "DOUBLE STANDARD" As Lohn and Gorman wrestled with the Springer issue, a team of NMFS biologists at the regional National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) office in Sand Point was grappling with another orcarelated issue—the future of the southern residents. It's no secret that this population has declined from 98 to 81 since 1995, and local environmental organizations petitioned NMFS last year to protect the whales formally under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Listing these whales as endangered would protect their habitat and force a cleanup of Puget Sound, empowering special interest groups to sue over noncompliance. In theory, ESA protection was a no-brainer; the whales were in danger, and they deserved to be saved. On paper, however, scientists ran into some trouble. An 11-member NMFS Biological Review Team had to prove that the group in question had declined beyond repair and that it was a "significant" species or subspecies or a distinct population segment. Team members agreed the population had declined precipitously, but since current taxonomy classifies all orcas as a single species, they vacillated over the "significance" of the southern residents to the species overall. Were the southern residents genetically distinct? Would the 200-member northern resident population re-colonize the habitat if their southern neighbors died off? Biologists claimed there wasn't enough information to answer questions like these and therefore decreed that labeling the group a distinct population segment was problematic without more specific data. "If the law says there are only certain categories under which you can list a species for protection, you can't say, 'Let's list anyhow and cheat this one time,'" says Marilyn Dahlheim, a biologist with the federally funded National Marine Mammal Laboratory who also served on the review team. "Of course we wanted to save these whales, but the law is the law, and we had a responsibility to stick to it." What followed was perhaps the lowest point in the southern residents' march to extinction: Citing the need for further research in the areas of genetics, distribution, and ecosystem relationships, NMFS declined to list the southern residents under the ESA, instead granting them "depleted" status under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972. Though this option requires NMFS to prepare a conservation plan and a list of site-specific management measures designed to promote recovery, the decision basically affords no new protections for the 81 whales. Lohn announced the decision on June 25. The following day, front-page stories in local papers reported the announcement baldly. One local television station ran a feature "investigating" the decision, focusing on a report from the Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance that alleges whale-watch traffic negatively impacts a whale's sonar ability to hunt for food. (Lohn vowed to crack down on what he said were "meddlesome" whale-watch boats that break the 100-foot buffer zone required by the MMPA.) There were no follow-up stories, no daily reports, and no editorial page efforts to spark intervention. "It was a one-day story," says Michael Kundu, whose nonprofit organization, Project SeaWolf, was involved with the Springer rescue from the very beginning. "If everyone was so interested in saving whales, this decision should have gotten tons more attention than it did. Nobody really focused on the ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 127 significance of what the government was saying. After the Springer (rescue), this was a total double standard." Kundu was not alone in his outrage; environmentalists across the board likened the NMFS decision to a death knoll, attacking the media for silent complicity and assailing Lohn's attack on the whale-watch industry as a witch hunt. Brent Plater, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity and lead author of the ESA petition, said the decision was a "new low in the annals of the Fisheries Service," adding that the Orca Relief Citizen's Alliance report about boat traffic was ill-founded and that the whale-watch industry has policed itself in recent years more than NMFS enforcers ever have. Fred Felleman, a board member of the Orca Conservancy in Seattle, took these criticisms a step further, saying NMFS "scapegoated" the whale-watch industry for a problem much more far-reaching and costly to address. Felleman accused NMFS of "covering up" environmental abuses the government perpetrates: "Most of the conditions in Puget Sound can be attributed to cargo ship traffic and the military, which believes it's cheaper to leave pollutants than clean them up," he ranted. "Do you think the government wants to take on big business, or that in a time of war, it would harass the Navy over some dead whales? Think again." Still others insisted that if NMFS had spent nearly as much time and money researching southern resident orcas as it had to rescue Springer, questions surrounding single-species classification would have disappeared years ago. A Seattle Weekly investigation uncovered that NMFS has not funded major distribution or abundance research in the Pacific Northwest since 1976, when it awarded Ken Balcomb a $30,000 grant for an extensive photo-identification effort that still serves as the bible for data on the nearly 300 northern and southern resident whales. In the areas of genetics and taxonomy, expenditures have been equally insignificant—NMFS sources decline to give specifics but admit the agency has spent no more than $50,000 overall. Even today, the $130,000 that NMFS recently earmarked for research on northern and southern resident orcas pales in comparison to the $450,000 set aside to study orcas in Alaska (still a small amount considering there are an estimated 1,200 whales there). Furthermore, most of the current money for studying orcas in the Pacific Northwest is diverted from funds to research endangered chinook salmon, which means the efforts must pertain to predator-prey relationships, only one facet of data on complex ecosystem relationships. "Much of our most current data on orca whales has been collected by private individuals who do it out of concern for the survival of the species," says (Orca Conservancy's) Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Ken's son, who also has contributed whale research to a number of environmental organizations. "For whatever reason, it's clear the U.S. government simply does not want to get involved in spending major money on studying and saving these whales." HELP FROM ABOVE Across the border, things are a little different. Over the years, the dearth of American study on orca whales has enabled Canadian researchers to dominate research and conservation. A majority of the scientists who currently publish about orcas are from Vancouver Island, and experts from the Vancouver Aquarium and Marine Science Centre were the ones to receive Springer from NMFS and monitor the reintroduction to her pod. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)—British Columbia's version of NMFS—listed both northern and southern resident populations under the province's Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife three years ago. At the federal level, the Canadian House of Commons recently passed a Species at Risk Act, which would grant the orcas even further protection once ratified by the Senate later this year. Most Canadian officials are hesitant to comment directly on the U.S. decision to decline southern resident orcas protection under the ESA, though many privately expressed shock, saying they were "appalled" at the U.S. for not considering a group of animals that frequently migrates back and forth over the border a priority. Graeme Ellis, a DFO research technician who has spent decades working with Ken Balcomb, says that overdevelopment in the region already has stressed the whales and to deny them protection only exacerbates these problems. Patrick Higgins, political and economic relations officer with the Canadian Consulate General here in Seattle, adds that with fragile animals living in a fragile ecosystem, it's better to be safe than sorry. "In Canada, we don't wait for 100 percent perfect science before we decide that a population is about to crash," he explains. "The history of marine mammal management all over the world is that the moment we tell ourselves everything is fine, it really isn't." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 128 Ellis cites the cooperation involved with resolving the Springer situation as an example of how things should work: NMFS agreed to rescue the whale; Canada signed on to take custody and reintroduce the animal to its family. But much of the major scientific burden with Springer now lies on Canada. Here in Seattle, local politicians are trying to force bilateral protection through international cooperation and planning. In a May 31 letter addressed to Lohn and Dr. John Davis, DFO's regional director general, Washington's U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray called for a set of cooperative international "protocols" to guide decision making with respect to orphaned whales in the future. Cantwell reiterated this plea in her June 1 remarks at the University of Washington's Orca Recovery Conference. "I recognize there are existing treaties between the countries on the subject of marine management," she said, referring to the 1998 Pacific Salmon Treaty. "But cooperation between the U.S. and Canada is a major component in the overall recovery (of southern residents) . . . because there's no doubt they are in trouble." There are other opportunities for cooperation, too. Unbeknownst to most Americans, an orphaned 3-yearold male from the southern resident population has been hanging around Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island since late last year. American researchers say that because the whale, identified as L98, has attracted considerably less attention than its Puget Sound counterpart, neither NFMS nor DFO has felt pressure to intervene. Still, they add, now that Springer has proven that reintroductions can work, an extensive lobbying effort to return the sexually mature orca to its genetically strapped population could force the governments to unite and act. Another potential unifying issue is water pollution. Peter Ross, a research scientist with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sydney, B.C., has spent years studying the differences in water quality from the Johnstone Strait to Tacoma Narrows and says toxin levels near Seattle and Bremerton are as much as 10 times those near Victoria and Vancouver. Because northern and southern resident orcas frequent the same general area, and are protected as endangered under Canadian law, the provincial government technically could put pressure on NMFS to clean up the Sound. Ross admits, however, that international politics make the odds of any such pressure fairly slim. "Considering that we know we've got to work (with NMFS) down the road, I'd say that sort of adversarial encounter is unlikely. The last thing we want to do is alienate the American government and lose any semblance of cooperation for the tasks ahead." BACK TO BASICS How, then, can the southern resident orcas receive the kind of attention and protection afforded to Springer? Within hours of the NMFS decision, Plater and his colleagues at the Center for Biological Diversity had filed a lawsuit against the government, an action that will force further review. The next day, Pam Johnson, field director at People for Puget Sound, held a press conference at Myrtle Edwards Park during which she outlined steps for a calculated backdoor attack to gain the local orca pods a chance at survival. Johnson's strategy assumes that if the federal government won't grant southern residents the protection and funding they need to survive, perhaps the state government will. Her approach hinges on lobbying Gov. Gary Locke and state representatives to appropriate emergency funding for research to show that the whales are genetically unique. It also includes calls for increased efforts to clean up Puget Sound's Superfund sites and a formal request for a rescue tugboat to help prevent oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. "These are small steps the state can take to give the orcas a fighting chance," Johnson says. "If we are in the business of saving whales, someone has to be putting money, resources, and energy into this (dwindling) population." Other environmental groups have vowed to wage other battles. At the Surfrider Foundation in Friday Harbor, regional coordinator Kevin Ranker says he hopes to continue lobbying for tighter enforcement of the Shorelines Management Act of 2000, a law designed to protect the habitats of the fish orcas eat that has been paralyzed by lawsuits. At Friends of the San Juans, also in Friday Harbor, executive director (and Orca Conservancy Board Member) Stephanie Buffum says she plans to redouble efforts to research toxins in the Puget Sound food web, studying pollutants in fish as tiny as smelt and sand lance, which serve as meals for many of the salmon that local orcas eat. (Orca Conservancy Advisory Board Member) Dr. David Bain, an affiliate assistant professor in UW's psychology department, plans to stage a public relations campaign that publicizes environmental efforts. Bain masterminded the Orca Recovery Conference in June and says he and co-coordinator Will Anderson ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 129 already are planning a follow-up conference for sometime early next year to further explore issues such as whale-watch interference, orca genetics, and the movement to tear down the Elwha Dam. "There are countless issues in and around the Sound that affect our southern residents," he notes. "As far as we see it, especially after it seems everyone's attention has been diverted to A-73, you can never talk or raise awareness about them too much." Experts at NMFS have said that the government plans to conduct further research and re-evaluate its decision about ESA protection in 2006. And already, Dahlheim admits, members of the Biological Review Team have begun considering data they didn't have during their first assessment. This process, however, may be nothing more than a formality—never in the ESA's history has the government reversed a previous decision not to protect. Whatever happens, as environmentalists and lawmakers wrangle over ways to address the dwindling numbers of southern resident orcas, former Secretary of State (and Orca Conservancy Board Member) Ralph Munro says it's important for every Puget Sound resident to rally around the whales the way they rallied around Springer. Munro led the fight in the 1970s to stop the capture of orcas for commercial purposes in Puget Sound; for him, the survival of the southern residents is an issue of local pride. From the porch of his house on San Juan Island overlooking Haro Strait, Munro says the orcas are an integral and irreplaceable part of local culture; in losing them, he states, we'd lose a bit of ourselves, as well. "Through all of this, we must remember that dating back to the Indians, these whales are a part of everything that is the Northwest," says Munro. "I only hope we can save them before it's too late." MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. A73 (Springer) connects with A51, her aunt. Photo/video courtesy of OrcaLab, Michael Harris and Orca Conservancy 7/25/02 A73 Meets A51 By KOMO Staff & News Services The Northwest's favorite orphan baby orca may have found a new mother. The two-year-old orca – rescued from Puget Sound and reintroduced to Canadian waters – seems to have struck up a relationship with a 16-year-old female. It's early yet but scientists report the older whale, known as A51, has taken a motherly interest in the baby, named A73 but better known as Springer. Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium says it's clear A51 is looking out for the baby. When Springer tried to reach his boat, he says, A51 kept her with the pod instead. The 'A' designation comes from the whales' birth order in their family group. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 130 Friday, July 26, 2002 Orphan Orca May Have Found a Pod A bond seems to be developing between Springer and a female adult THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VICTORIA, B.C. — An orphan orca transplanted to her native Canadian waters from Puget Sound continues to swim with a 16-year-old killer whale, who seems to be taking a maternal interest in her. The 2-year-old orca, known both as Springer and as A73 — for her birth order in her family group — appears to have struck up a relationship with a whale scientists call A51. "It's not just that A73 has latched on to a group of whales," said Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium. "It is clear that A51 is looking out for her." A51 kept Springer with the pod despite Springer's efforts to reach his boat for a visit, Barrett- Lennard said. Researchers are hoping the young whale will join a pod of northern resident killer whales to live out her days in the waters off British Columbia. She was captured in June in the busy waters of Puget Sound, where she strayed after her mother died. While in Puget Sound, A73, who would normally belong to a tight social group, became increasingly attached to boats, raising fears that she or boaters would be injured. She was also underweight and had a skin condition. Under a joint Canadian-U.S. rescue project, Springer was nursed back to health and released into her home waters July 14. Since her release, she has been monitored to see whether she will rejoin a pod and whether other whales will accept her. Springer and A51 were seen together on July 18 and were believed to be heading north with other whales. This week, Barrett-Lennard finally spotted the A5 pod, which includes A51, east of Telegraph Cove. When he saw A73, "she was acting just like a calf with A51," he said. Springer was bumping into the older whale and rubbing up against her, he said. They were also with A61, the 8year- old brother of A51, and another male, A60. For Springer to stay with the pod for that length of time, she would have had to be associated with another whale, Barrett-Lennard said. August 2002 . SPRINGER UPDATE FROM ORCALAB www.orcalab.org OrcaLab News – August 2, 2002 Looking good! Springer (A73) is showing every sign of adjusting successfully to her new life in the wild. When we saw her last, two evenings ago, close in front of OrcaLab heading north, she was travelling closest to her natal matriline, the A24s - with her “adopted” matriline, the A25s, not far behind. This is a very interesting and probably significant development. From the beginning, Springer’s progress in reintegrating with her community has been incremental. At first she remained at some distance from the other orcas; then she followed the A12s & A35s into Johnstone Strait & eventually mingled with them, associating most closely with a young male, A55, before heading into the rubbing beaches with the whole group; separating again, she spent the next day (July 16th) worrying everyone with scary “boat behaviour”, then remained alone at the “top” of Blackfish Sound much of the following day until being picked up by the A36 brothers and escorted back into the Strait; not long after, she met up with the A25s - fellow orphans A51 & A61 - and stayed very close to them for over a week. During that time it became clear that 16 year old A51, who may have lost her first baby two years ago, was paying very close attention to Springer & acting for all the world like an attentive mother. On two occasions she ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 131 was observed actively intervening as Springer headed off towards boats. One report came from researcher Lance Barrett-Lennard (described in our 7.24 update). The other report came from Brian Faulkner, the skipper of the whale watching vessel Lukwa when he was at the “top” of Blackfish Sound watching the parade of orcas passing by in the evening. He noticed a very young member of a group of 4 orcas with small dorsal fins a couple of hundred meters away suddenly turn and head towards the Lukwa - immediately, the largest female in the group chased after the youngster, dove quickly underneath, & literally hurled her back towards the others! The event was so startling that Brian thought it must have been A51 & A73. We felt confident that it must have been, as the timing fitted our own observation of the progression of the whales as they headed “out” a short time earlier. In the days that followed, we became increasingly confident that Springer’s impulse to approach boats was coming under control. Just the same, we were quite worried at the prospect of a commercial fishing “opening” in Johnstone Strait on July 30th& hoped the whales would elect to go elsewhere. They didn’t - in fact, they spent the whole of that day & the next in the Strait, casually travelling back & forth amongst a fleet of gill net vessels and their drifting nets. Springer, so far as we know, approached no vessels at all, and indeed, off Cracroft Point in full view of the Orcalive audience, negotiated her way between a sports fishing vessel and a whale watching vessel without a pause. We felt like celebrating! Very interestingly, at that time she was travelling ahead of A51 & A61, mixed in with a group of other orcas that included her grandmother, A24. As the whales headed into the setting sun Springer launched her little body into a full breach... and then she did it again, & again! An hour later, when the orcas passed in front of OrcaLab, she was still with them - close to, though not right beside Granny... and with A71 & A64, her mum’s siblings. The “new” association with her natal group was a logical one for Springer, as A71 had already been spending time close to A73... in fact, from soon after A51 & A61 took her in tow. Needless to say, we are enormously encouraged by these developments, and though we are not ready to pronounce Springer’s reintegration complete, we do believe she is making great progress. In the 3 short weeks since her return to home waters, Springer has been in the company of more than half of the 200+ northern resident orcas, 21 of her community’s 34 matrilines, and families from all 3 clans. It seems to us that we been seeing clear signs of bonding and acceptance as Springer makes her way back into her world... perhaps we have also been witnessing rites that go with reunion. As ever, though not without anxiety, we eagerly await the orcas’ return, and the next chapter in Springer’s tale. • Whale overboard I have to admit that I was disappointed in Monday's Seattle Times. I appreciated the excellent articles on wildfires in Western states, the problems with the stock market, and the upcoming congressional elections. But I frantically tore through the paper in a fruitless frenzy for the real news. What, no special section on Springer the whale? Huh, no follow-up on that rich guy who went around the world in a balloon? Sometimes I wonder about your paper's priorities. — Tom Tangen, Edmonds Friday, August 2, 2002 Springer Sticking Close to New Mom Researcher is encouraged by what he's seen of orca, her pod in 2 weeks By PEGGY ANDERSEN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The orphan killer whale that was returned to Canadian waters after she strayed into Puget Sound last winter has been with the same pod, and the same surrogate mother, for the past two weeks. At one point, the adult female appeared to prevent her young charge from approaching a researcher's boat — a habit that had raised safety concerns when the juvenile orca strayed into busy waters off Seattle. "We're very pleased about this relationship," said the researcher, Lance Barrett-Lennard of the Vancouver Aquarium, who has been monitoring the orphan since her July 14 release east of British Columbia's Vancouver Island. "We've no idea if it will stick ... but it's as good an outcome as we could imagine at this point." It's not quite three weeks since U.S. and Canadian officials arranged the little whale's relocation to her home waters. She was captured near the Vashon Island ferry dock June 13, fattened up and treated for some minor health problems in a nearby net pen, and then sped north on a high-speed catamaran ferry July 13. She was released less than 24 hours later. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 132 The orphan female, a 2-year-old dubbed A73 for her birth order in Canada's A-pod and known as Springer, hooked up with the nine-member pod July 18. Since then, she's been with the A5s, a subgroup that uses the A-clan dialect, as they feed on summer salmon runs. She appears to have bonded with a 16year- old female called A51, also known as "Nodales." (A73 has also bonded with her eight-year-old aunt, A64.) "It seems not to be just a case of Springer latching on to her. It's kind of a mutual thing," said another veteran killer-whale researcher, John Ford of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The boat incident clinched that impression for Barrett-Lennard. He'd been taking photos of the two whales last week as they swam about a half-mile from the rest of the pod. A73 is much harder to identify now that her satellite tags have fallen off, and photos will be used to detect distinctive markings for identification purposes. After ignoring the boat for 30 to 45 minutes, A73 "started swimming towards me," Barrett-Lennard said. Well aware of her history of too-close-for-comfort encounters with boats, he moved away quickly. "As I did, I looked back and I could see A51 had come after her, followed her towards me," he said. "The two of them surfaced about halfway between their original position and my boat. ... I could hear some kind of squealing. After sort of tussling there for 10 or 15 seconds, the two of them turned and swam back" to their original location. "I was pretty convinced that A51 followed A73 and prevented her from moving too far away," he said. "I have no idea if she was trying to prevent her from approaching me or from leaving her." But he said it's the kind of behavior observed between mothers and calves. "You'll see the mother pass in front of the calf and turn it in the direction she wants." For him, the incident was evidence of "reciprocalness in the relationship. It convinced me this is not just a case of A73 finding a placid female she's following around." Thursday, August 8, 2002 To Whales, Sonar Just Sounds like a Bad Idea By ROBERT L. JAMIESON JR., SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST Aaahhh, summer. Time for sun, fun and urgent messages from the blue sea. Like this one from the deep: Dear Robert, Wassuup? It's me. Springer! The kid orca. I'm not all washed up. Not to rub a fin in your face, but I proved you WRONG! I'm behaving myself. Staying away from people. Avoiding boats. Sticking with my own kind. I've found a cool whale gang near Canada – the A-5s. They're a splash. And I even get their whale lingo, eh. Got a new big sister, too. Name's Nodales. She's 16, cool and digs me. But the reason I'm writing is because, well, I need your help. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 133 As the whole world knows, folks have been spending lots of money to save me. Something south of a half-million bucks. And then THIS. Did ya hear? President Bush gave the Navy the green light for a powerful whatchamacallit. A sonar. A $300 million gizmo. Problem is, this doodad uses low-frequency waves that can hurt orcas and other marine life. Even kill us. Talk about a slap in the blowhole. So I'm hoping you'll help spread the word. Thanks, Springer. Dear Springer, Glad to hear you may have been right. Seems as if you've found a nice whale posse. Hope it works out. This sonar development, however, doesn't sound good. I did some checking around and learned a thing or two. The Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service just granted the Navy a five-year exemption from the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Basically, the exemption allows "harassment" of marine animals by the new, intense sonar. The Navy calls the device the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System. A real mouthful. The fisheries service issued a statement, saying that with proper monitoring and safeguards, "marine mammals are unlikely to be injured by sonar activities." Yeah, right. Sounds like that flaky Hollywood agent who said you had the chops to be "the next Keiko." Anyway, the government says you don't have to worry yourself sick about the sonar system because it'll probably just affect "small numbers." Common sense suggests otherwise. After all, you rely on sound for communication, so it only figures that sonar interference could be harmful. Low-frequency sonar from the government system travels several hundred miles. I also hear its transmissions are on a frequency used by many whales, including your friends, the humpbacks. Uncle Sam admits that each of the sonar's 18 speakers puts out a signal as loud as 215 decibels. That would be like me standing next to a twin-engine F-15 fighter jet — at takeoff. Ouch! Isn't it true that whale eardrums explode at 180 decibels? And remember what happened two years ago in the Caribbean, when the Navy did a submarine- detection drill using a strong sonar device? Within hours of the exercise, at least 16 whales and two dolphins beached themselves. Some of those whales died, and scientists found hemorrhaging around the brain and ear bones. That suggested exposure to loud sounds. Of course, the Navy promises it will stay 12 nautical miles away from the coast, and keep away from key biological areas. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 134 But like so many other whales and marine mammals, you are so darn curious, Springer. From now on, you had better swim clear of subs. If you sense a Navy vessel coming, skedaddle, OK? It would be a shame if, after all the cash humans used to help you as an orphan, you got your bell rung by some pricey war toy. Talk about irony. Can you see the headline to that whale tale? "Springer Sunk by Sonic Boom." No one wants your blowhole to get slapped like that. Maybe humans will try to help you, perhaps by writing the government. In any case, be safe, girl. It's a dangerous ocean out there. • July 2003 The True Test – Will Springer Return Safely to Johnstone Strait After Her First Winter Out to Sea? And If She Does Make it Back, What Does That Mean for Luna? 7/10/2003 All's Fine With Springer By GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News SEATTLE - A Canadian orca expert, Graeme Ellis, has confirmed reports that Springer has returned to British Columbia waters with her pod. She appears to be in good condition. That's good news to everyone involved in last summer's capture and release, said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. A professional photographer took several pictures Wednesday of a juvenile orca swimming with the A-11 pod off the northern point of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The still photos captured what appeared to be a typical orca doing typical orca things, but excited researchers with the Orca Conservancy said Wednesday that the open saddle patch on the left side of the orca - that size, shape and style - could only belong to one whale. A professional photographer captured pictures of an orca, believed to be Springer, off Vancouver Island. "We've looked at the photos and we're convinced this is Springer,” said Dr. Paul Spong, OrcaLab director. The orca was first sighted by the Naiad Explorer around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning to the west of Numas Island in Queen Charlotte Strait. She was amidst a large group of about 30 orcas. Scientists said judging from the pictures, Springer appears to be in good health. The Canadian government has yet to say that the orca is indeed Springer; Canadian fisheries agents are taking a closer look at the photos and are expected to make an official confirmation Thursday. Springer, known officially as A-73, spent weeks last summer alone after her mother died. Separated from her pod, she had frolicked among the boats in busy Elliott Bay in Seattle. She thrilled ferry riders but had whale experts fearing for her life. She was underweight and had developed a skin condition. In an unprecedented joint effort, Canadian and U.S. government and private groups joined forces, captured the orphaned whale and nourished her back to health, eventually reuniting her with her great-aunt's pod. After an 11-hour ride aboard a jet-powered catamaran, Springer arrived at her new Canadian home in Dong Chong Bay at Telegraph Cove, Hanson Island, just north of Vancouver Island, B.C. Springers' great aunt appeared to have adopted Springer, becoming her surrogate mother. They were spotted heading north with a large group of orca families. It was a daring, dangerous and highly publicized effort, and now it appears it worked. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 135 "I'm quite confident Springer has made it,” said Spong. Researchers have been keeping their eyes peeled for the last year for Springer. They spent a lot of time and money getting her out of Elliott Bay and back with her family and now they think it all paid off. News may impact fate of Luna Pictures of a healthy whale with its natural pod may be proof of the most successful, human-led, killer whale intervention ever. "It certainly is very encouraging for the whole idea that you can take a young whale or an orca that has been out of his or her social context for some time and put the whale back into the proper context and hope that things will go well," said Spong. The news may impact whether Canadian and U.S. officials attempt to reunite another orphaned orca in Canadian waters. Luna, known to scientists as L-98, somehow became separated from his family as a one-year-old. He turned up alone in Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island in July 2001. Last year, the orca started nosing up to boats and people began petting, feeding and even swimming with him. Luna currently swims near the area's public dock, playing with boats and people who sometimes pet or play fetch with the orca using balls. The Canadian government has attempted to stop human interaction with Luna by posting warnings that it is illegal to disturb a wild marine mammal in Canada. In an effort to stop the interaction with Luna, officials posted warnings that it is illegal to disturb a wild marine mammal in Canada. Thursday, July 10, 2003 Orca Rescued From Puget Sound is Spotted off Coast of Vancouver Island By The Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A killer whale rescued from Puget Sound was spotted yesterday safe and sound with her family off the coast of northern Vancouver Island, indicating a successful reunion with her pod. The orca, whose official name is A73 but is known as Springer, was rescued by scientists last summer from the busy waters of Puget Sound in Washington state. She had strayed there after her mother died, but was far from her family and became increasingly attached to boats. She was also underweight and had a skin condition. Under a joint Canadian-U.S. rescue project, Springer was nursed back to health and transported to Telegraph Cove, off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. She joined up with her family when her great-aunt’s pod of resident killer whales swam through Johnstone Strait. Springer now looks healthy and appears to have kicked the unsafe habit of hanging around boats. WHALES Springer Safe, But What Future Does Luna See? The orphan orca rescued from Puget Sound is swimming with her pod, but another young killer whale remains isolated in Canadian waters. Christopher Dunagan Bremerton Sun (WA) Staff July 11, 2003 Whale researchers are rejoicing over the return of Springer, the rescued orphan killer whale, to Canadian waters, where she has been swimming with her orca relatives. But many are asking a hard-edged question about another young whale. Why can't the same kind of rescue be launched for Luna? 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. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 136 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 Marc Pakenham of the Luna Stewardship Project. Pakenham 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. Pakenham 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 circus-like 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," Pakenham said. Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy in Puget Sound says the answer is to capture Luna and place him in a net pen 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." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 137 Seattle Times Editorial Staff Tuesday, July 14, 2003 One Lonely Orca With Something to Prove Even the most cynical must have entertained a chuckle at the news that Puget Sound's darling of the summer of '02 was back. The story of Springer, the not-so-little orphan orca, is of an international gamble that this baby, who separated from her pod after her mother apparently died, could successfully be reunited with her non-immediate relatives. The lonely orca had become sickly and took to socializing with boats. But last week, when Springer glided into Queen Charlotte Strait off northern Vancouver Island with 30 other orcas after a winter in the ocean, she proved it could be done; the first successful reunion ever. Last summer, Springer's vulnerability and membership in perhaps the most iconic of Northwest species played on the hearts of children and federal bureaucrats alike. The U.S. and Canadian governments cooperated in a scheme that rehabilitated Springer in Puget Sound and then moved her to waters off Vancouver Island. After hanging back but following her aunt's pod, she appeared to be adopted by a 16-year-old female who sharply discouraged Springer's interaction with boats. Springer's success provides an important counterpoint to that of Keiko, star of "Free Willy," whose years of captivity clearly have made the 26-year-old's reintroduction to the wild much more complicated. Two summers ago, he finally left the familiarity of his pen near Iceland and swam to Norway, where he continues to swim alone, minded by supporters who shoo curious boaters away. A major obstacle, however, is that his family pod is unknown. Canadian officials decided it's best not to intervene in the case of another solitary young orca, L-98. Nicknamed Luna, the orca is apparently thriving off Nootka Sound on West Vancouver Island and he might yet reunite naturally with his mother, who is still living. Much about Springer's case is exceptional, but the reunion project has confirmed for scientists many theories about these mammals and inspired new ones. Monday, July 14, 2003 Springer's Success Inspires Whale Experts By Eric Sorensen Seattle Times staff reporter The successful reintroduction of a Canadian killer whale rescued last year from Puget Sound has orca advocates pushing to have another orphaned whale brought back from Canada to the U.S. The Canadian orca A-73, or Springer, was spotted Wednesday safe and sound with her family off northern Vancouver Island. Whale experts say this is proof positive that she has successfully reunited with her pod after a joint Canadian-U.S. effort rescued her last summer from waters off the Vashon Island ferry dock. "By any measure this rescue, rehabilitation and return have been an unprecedented success," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Northwest Region. Now several groups are calling on officials to repeat the process with L-98, or Luna, a young male who has been swimming alone in Nootka Sound, on the west side of Vancouver Island, since 2001. With his fellow southern residents dwindling in numbers, orca advocates have been pushing to see him brought back to his subgroup, the L-pod. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 138 "Given the success of Springer and the physical health of Luna, the two countries need to rise to the occasion before September, when sightings of L-pod begin to become less frequent," said Fred Felleman of the Orca Conservancy. But U.S. officials say it is the Canadians' call to make, and Canadian officials have been reluctant to undertake a reintroduction. They remained so yesterday. A panel of experts assembled by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the agency responsible for L-98, earlier this year concluded it would be too risky to try reuniting L-98 with his pod. "A-73 coming back doesn't change that risk," Lara Sloan, a spokeswoman for the Canada fisheries department, said yesterday. While A-73 appeared sick and possibly undernourished in Puget Sound, L-98 is healthy, active, eating well and in a good, clean environment with plenty of food, according to the Canadian fisheries department. The agency said he might also reunite with his mother naturally, whereas L-98's mother was dead when her reintroduction was considered. Marc Pakenham, executive director of the Veins of Life Watershed Society in Victoria, said L-98 appears to be depressed, distractedly bumping up against the fenders of boats out of Gold River. Meanwhile, tourists are getting increasingly aggressive about approaching him, risking a propeller injury to the orca and a domestication that will make a reintroduction more difficult. Moreover, he said, the Canadian fisheries department just this week cut funding for his group to continue a project of discouraging people from approaching the orca. So there are no resources going into protecting the whale," Pakenham said. Monday, July 14, 2003 Thoughts on Fatherhood During a Springer Day By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr. SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST A fishy story, right – guys with ticking biological clocks? Who knew? When a recent study said men 35 or older have half the chance of fathering a child within 12 months compared with more fertile guys a decade younger, I yawned. Then I clicked over to "SportsCenter." Why rush to fatherhood when the bachelor seas are so wide open for, um, exploration? Whenever friends plop their tiny bundles of joy on my lap, I enjoy the infant giggling and cooing, the "Uncle Robert" shtick. But after that first drool dribble, that first diaper leak, I'm outta there – off to the safe confines of a barstool with my drinking posse. I never really heard the slightest tock of the DBC – the Dude Biological Clock – until my newshound pal Jeff sent me on an unexpected journey of discovery with two words. "She's back!" he said. A nearby TV screen confirmed his utterance – and my worst fears. I saw the dorsal fin. The telltale black-and-white coloring. Hell, it can't be – Springer? "So what do you have to say for yourself now?" Jeff asked. Can you say busted? ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 139 Springer was the fish – yeah, I know, a mammal – which made the entire Seattle area go bonkers last summer. After her mom died, Springer was orphaned in Puget Sound. An international team of scientists huddled to do everything their fine minds could think of – including spending hundreds of thousands of dollars – to reunite Springer with her orca kin. One problem. Springer loved people. She enjoyed nosing up to state ferries and small boats. Scientists feared that her behavior – Springer kisses, some locals called them – would get the young whale injured or worse. Springer Schminger, I wrote at the time. I figured people were getting all frenzied for nothing, wasting valuable dollars for one silly fish. Let nature take its course. Leave Springer alone to the fates. There was no guarantee the whale repatriation would work. And no orca, I felt, should get such a crush of media attention when kids in our region are starving. So ridiculous was L'Affaire Springer that I anticipated the whale's demise. I jotted down jokes about selling Springer burgers on Alki, about roasting Springer kabobs over an open fire. Now I'm forced to eat blubber. Springer – A-73 in science-speak – was spotted last week with her family off northern Vancouver Island. One environmental expert said her anniversary appearance means the rescue, rehab and reunion effort I had panned was an "unprecedented success." "She's fat and happy," adds Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy. "We've been holding our breaths." I suppose that in these days of negative news all over the place, we all should be heartened by any story of a happy homecoming. That's one reason I filled this space today with thoughts on Springer rather than news to give you the blues. The tiny whale defied the odds by sticking with her family after having been solo for so long. On top of that, she survived a year in the wet yonder with her new pals. The scientists and environmentalists who pushed for the unlikeliest of reunions were inspiring. They forged into uncertain scientific terrain and stared down critics like me. They held on to this hunch: If Springer could be successfully reunited; the event could pioneer future reunions and help preserve the species. Springer has thus far vindicated their efforts (though she could still vindicate me by pulling a fast one by breaking away and sidling up to a ferry). Scientific progress, whether it occurs in the sea or outer space, whether it involves mammals or mechanical beasts of human creation, is laudable. More than anything else, Springer's family tale has unexpectedly hit home – as it did for thousands of people across the region and country – stirring fatherly feelings in a fellow who has never minded flying solo. Just yesterday, with Springer on the brain, I caught myself glancing at a baby magazine at the checkout line. Later, at a coffee shop, I was playing peek-a-boo with a kid in a stroller. The baby's mom said words that previously would have sent me out the door like an Olympic sprinter: "You'd be a great dad." I felt something different this time. It just might be the nascent sounding of an alarm clock signaling the time has come for a 33-year-old bachelor to take the plunge. That thought doesn't scare me. But I need to take a cue from Springer first. I've gotta find the pod-mate of my dreams. • ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 140 A73 back in Johnstone Strait with her family after seven months out at sea. Her successful repatriation may open the door for another orca family reunion – that of the wayward L98 from Puget Sound's endangered Southern Resident population. July 9, 2003 'We Are Very Happy' By Kevin Reece, KOMO 4 News (ABC Seattle) VANCOUVER ISLAND - Scientists tell KOMO 4 News that Springer, the once-orphaned orca who was repatriated with her family pod in the waters of Vancouver Island, has returned alive and well after several months at sea. A professional photographer took several pictures of what he believed was the juvenile orca, known officially as A-73, traveling with the A-11 pod near Port Hardy at the northernmost point on Vancouver Island. The photos were sent to Dr. Paul Spong at OrcaLab on Hanson Island who made a positive I.D. He says the sighting means the orca survived 7-months in the open ocean and is still swimming with her re-adopted family. "This is great. This is a great experiment that is a success. We are very happy," said Michael Harris with the Orca Conservancy. "What a test for a small orca like that who's spent so much time in a ferry lane in urban Puget Sound, swimming about a mile a day, to keep up with her family traveling 75 miles a day in the big ocean. She's now back. She's with her family now, she's fat, she's happy. We've been holding our breath for a long, long time and this is great news." Springer did spend several weeks alone in Puget Sound last year swimming back and forth between West Seattle and Vashon Island frolicking in the wakes of pleasure boats and ferries until U.S. and Canadian scientists agreed to intervene. They worked together to lift her from Puget Sound, place her on a fast-moving ferry for a 10-hour trip to Johnstone Strait, and re-introduce her in her native range. Springer's apparent success also gives some orca groups ammunition to seek a second attempt. Luna, a lone male orca, continues to frolic with boaters in Vancouver's Nootka Sound. As recently as last May Canadian scientists decided not to interfere and let nature take its course. The Orca Conservancy for one hope that Springer's return proves the same course could be taken with Luna to re-introduce him to his native L-pod. "We hope that we give Luna the same chance that we gave Springer. Let Luna hear his family. If you give these animals a chance to repatriate with other orcas, away from humans, if you give them a choice between humans and orcas, every time they choose other orcas." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 141 ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 142 Meanwhile, Back at Vancouver Aquarium… August 2003 Re: Changing Toilet Paper. (left) Annelise Sorg of No Whales in Captivity; John Nightingale of The Vancouver Aquarium. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 143 December 2004 THE BIG PICTURE… J-Pod at Sunset. From the two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary, “THE INLAND SEA With Jean-Michel Cousteau,” by Michael Harris. Orcas Will Be Protected Under ESA Conservationists Hail Decision to Protect Orcas, Demand Bush Protect Endangered Species Act Press Release, Dec. 17, 2004 Contact: BRENT PLATER (Center for Biological Diversity) 415-572-6989 (cell) PATTI GOLDMAN (Earthjustice) 206-343-7340 x 32 The National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") today proposed to protect Puget Sound's Southern Resident orcas under the federal Endangered Species Act, the nation's strongest conservation law. The orcas declined by 20% over five years during the 1990s, and Endangered Species Act protection insures that NMFS will have the world's best conservation tools at its disposal as work begins to recover the whales from the brink of extinction. "This is a victory for sound science, the orcas, and the people of the Pacific Northwest," said Brent Plater, attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. Today's decision comes one year after a U.S. District Court found unlawful the Bush administration's June 25, 2002 announcement that the orcas are not significant enough to protect. NMFS will now take public comment and put final protections in place for the whales within one year. "I'm glad NMFS has joined with the State of Washington and Canada in deciding to protect these whales," said Ralph Munro. "Like many natives of the Pacific Northwest, I have spent my life growing up with these whales, and I know that they will benefit from the protections provided by the Endangered Species Act." "The Endangered Species Act allows us to look forward and roll up our sleeves and do what's needed to insure these orcas survive," said Patti Goldman, attorney with Earthjustice. "With only 85 Southern Resident orcas left on the planet, one major oil spill could cause them to go extinct. The habitat protection afforded them by the Endangered Species Act is critical if we are to protect the ecological integrity of our marine environment," said killer whale biologist and Northwest Director of Ocean Advocates Fred Felleman. The Endangered Species Act is a federal law providing a safety net for wildlife, plants, and fish that are on the brink of extinction. Endangered Species Act protection will result in many new safeguards for the orcas, including the creation of a binding recovery plan, protection for the whales' critical habitats, and assurances that all federal projects will protect the whales before the projects can proceed. These safeguards could lead to improvements in oil spill prevention, vessel traffic, toxic pollution, and activities that harm salmon, herring, and other fish eaten by the orcas. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 144 "But just when the orcas are poised to reap the benefits of the Endangered Species Act, the developers and the politicians they give money to are proposing to repeal the law altogether," said Plater. "We are obligated to insure that the orcas survive for future generations, and therefore we must not allow a repeal of the protections for our whales." "It's time to move away from the battle to obtain protections for the orcas and make the Endangered Species Act work for the orcas," observed Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound. "We must work together to prevent further toxic pollution and oil spills in Puget Sound." "The Endangered Species Act should not be a partisan issue," said Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy. "In fact, the ESA began under the Nixon administration, and our state in particular has a rich history of Republicans helping the whales. But now the Act itself has become endangered. Almost everyone wants the best possible protection for these orcas, and that's what the ESA does. This is a great Christmas gift for the orcas." "This is an important victory for orcas and the biologically rich waters they frequent in San Juan County. We must act to preserve this totemic species for our future generations," said Stephanie Buffum, executive director of Friends of the San Juans. Background on Southern Resident Orcas The Puget Sound resident orcas are an extended family of whales made up of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts uncles, cousins, and grandparents. They have stayed together for many years, always loyal to, and supportive of, each other. They use a unique language to communicate with each other. They differ from many of their wilder cousins in that they tend to stick together, close to shore and eat mostly salmon, herring and other fish instead of hunting seals and other whales at sea. These whales are considered among the most intelligent animals in the world, hunting as a team and taking turns babysitting the young whales. Unfortunately they are also one of the most imperiled, which is why scientists and conservationists requested they be protected. For more information: www.biologicaldiversity.org www.earthjustice.org Transboundary Puget Sound Orcas Win Threatened Listing SEATTLE, Washington, December 17, 2004 (ENS) - A group of 84 killer whales that lives on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border will be proposed for a listing as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, federal fisheries officials said Thursday. These whales, known as the Southern Resident population, spend several months each year in Washington state’s Puget Sound where they are risk from pollution and vessel traffic. At a news conference in Seattle, officials of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) said they had received a petition to list the whales under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but decided in 2002 that listing was not warranted, although they recognized that these whales were "in trouble." Commonly called killer whales, they are also called orcas, after their scientific name, Orcinus orca. The listing decision stems from a lawsuit filed in December 2002 by Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity on behalf of Ocean Advocates, Orca Conservancy, Friends of the San Juans, People for Puget Sound, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, Karen Munro, and Earth Island Institute. Canadian groups Sierra Legal, the Georgia Strait Alliance and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee joined their American allies in the court challenge. The conservationists' lawsuit argued that once the agency determined that this orca population is discrete and in danger of extinction, it had a legal duty to extend Endangered Species Act protection. The suit charged that the agency acted illegally by superimposing its own value judgment and deciding that the Southern Residents are insignificant. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 145 Bob Lohn, head of the NOAA Fisheries northwest regional office, says that because of the way scientists classify all killer whales as a single world-wide species, the Southern Resident population did not meet the criterion of biological “significance” under the ESA. On December 17, 2003, the federal district court in Seattle agreed with the conservationists. The court overturned the NOAA Fisheries decision that found the Southern Resident orca population was not "significant" and so did not qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The court gave NOAA Fisheries 12 months to file a revised decision, which was announced Thursday, just in time to beat the deadline. “Our recovery efforts are already under way for these killer whales,” said Lohn . “We've had workshops and consulted with experts on development of a conservation plan, essentially identical to the recovery plan that an ESA listing would require.” A draft of the conservation plan is expected to be available for public review by February 2005. The conservation planning resulted from NOAA Fisheries’ designation of the Southern Residents as "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in May 2003. The whale population peaked at 97 animals in the mid-1990s and then declined to 79 in 2001. It currently stands at 84 orcas. The count does not include two calves born to the group this year. They will be officially included if they show up in the 2005 census. In April, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission added the Southern Resident orcas to the list of state endangered species. “This is a close-knit family of highly intelligent whales that have been living cooperatively with each other in Puget Sound for thousands of years,” said Patti Goldman, attorney with Earthjustice. “The federal government refused to protect this remarkable family of whales until the people of Puget Sound came together, and, with one voice, demanded it.” Canadian conservationists were delighted with the listing decision. "Canadians share with our American neighbors the responsibility of protecting these magnificent animals and their habitat from various threats, including toxic pollution, boat noise and harassment and declines in their prey, primarily Chinook salmon," said Peter Ronald of the Georgia Strait Alliance. "This ESA designation will provide the strongest available protection for our imperilled orcas, requiring a comprehensive recovery plan to address these threats," Ronald said. "Both of our countries must do everything possible to reverse the decline of these the most famous whales in the world." The Orca Relief Citizens' Alliance (ORCA) based in Friday Harbor, an island in the San Juan group on the U.S. side of the border, says the three pods spend up to eight months of the year in the San Juans. "We are encouraged scientists are now aware of the damage that has been done to this specific orca population." says ORCA founder Mark Anderson. "However, more emphasis needs to placed on protecting these whales on a daily basis." Anderson says ORCA commissioned three studies that show the proliferation of whale- watching boats in the area is a major factor in the whales' decline. On some days observers have counted 140 boats from dawn to dusk. Even though federal whale-watching guidelines urge watch boats to slow down, be respectful and not approach closer than 100 yards, the whales still suffer from the intrusions. "Everyone who loves the orcas can help these whales survive. They can respect their privacy, restore them the ability to find fish, and stay off boats." says Dr. Birgit Kriete, executive director of Orca Relief. "Land based whale watching is the only sure way to do this." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 146 The Puget Sound resident orcas are an extended family of whales made up of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, Earthjustice explains. They use a unique language to communicate with each other. They tend to stick together close to shore and eat mostly salmon, herring and other fish instead of hunting seals and other whales at sea. These whales are among the most intelligent animals in the world, hunting as a team and taking turns babysitting the young whales. Many of these whales have lived together for decades. Several of the females are believed to have been part of the same family group for 90 years. The proposed ESA listing determination of this population as threatened will be published in the Federal Register next week and will be open for public comment for 90 days. Two public meetings are scheduled to allow interested parties to present their views: in Seattle on February 17 and at Friday Harbor February 28. November 2005 Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Government Agrees to List Puget Sound Orcas as “Endangered” Species By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER After years of legal challenges, Puget Sound orcas have been granted federal protection as an endangered species, officials announced this morning. Citing new information and analysis, NOAA Fisheries Service officials acknowledged that the local killer whales were at risk of extinction and reversed an earlier decision not to give the iconic orcas protection under the Endangered Species Act. By granting protection “we have a better chance of keeping this population alive for future generations,” said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service’s Northwest region, in a prepared statement. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 147 Environmental groups celebrated the decision and its potential benefits for the species. They were pleased that the orcas were deemed endangered, as compared to the lesser designation of threatened, as originally proposed. “This listing is long overdue but it’s the right decision,” said Kathy Fletcher, executive director for People for Puget Sound, an environmental group. “We know that these whales are in serious trouble, but the good news is this will give a real boost to make sure the actions are taken to make sure that these whales survive.” Scientists have identified numerous factors putting the local orcas at risk of disappearance. There has been a decline in the amount of salmon - their favorite food source - from historic levels. The killer whales are contaminated with industrial pollutants that can reduce fertility and make them more vulnerable to disease. Some research has indicated that boat traffic can disturb the highly social animals. The iconic killer whales have been on a population rollercoaster, plummeting in the early 1970s when they were rounded up for aquariums, then building and dropping over the decades, for unknown reasons. Their numbers dropped precipitously from the mid ‘90s until 2001 when they reached a recent low of 79 orcas. They currently stand at 89. The agency recently set 84 to 120 orcas as the target population. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the orcas were endangered under state regulations last year. The Canadians have also recognized the population as vulnerable to extinction. In 2003, NOAA Fisheries Service proclaimed the orcas “depleted” under a less protective regulation than the Endangered Species Act. Environmental groups challenged that decision and a federal judge told the agency to reconsider their decision. Now the government will need to devise a plan to recover the orcas. The new designation will also require federal agencies to review their actions to make sure they won’t hurt the orcas. Officials with NOAA Fisheries Service said they will continue working to boost the Sound’s salmon stocks and that other agencies will address exposure to toxic chemicals and vessel traffic. NOAA Magazine || Commerce Dept. FISHERIES AGENCY LISTS PUGET SOUND KILLER WHALES AS ENDANGERED Nov. 15, 2005 – A group of killer whales that visits Washington state’s Puget Sound every summer has been listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries Service announced today. Known officially as Southern Resident killer whales, they were proposed a year ago for “threatened” status under the Endangered Species Act. “Recent information and further analysis leads our agency to conclude that the Southern Resident killer whale population is at risk of extinction, and should be listed as endangered,” said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service’s Northwest region. “By giving it protection under the ESA, we have a better chance of keeping this population alive for future generations.” A species listed as threatened is at risk of becoming endangered; an endangered species is one at risk of extinction. The Southern Resident killer whale population experienced a 20 percent decline in the 1990s, raising concerns about its future. Many members of the group were captured during the 1970s for commercial display aquariums. (Click NOAA image for larger view the group of Southern Resident killer whales resting near the San Juan Islands, Wash. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”) ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 148 The group continued to be put at risk from vessel traffic, toxic chemicals and limits on availability of food, especially salmon. It has only a small number of sexually mature males. Because the population historically has been small, it is susceptible to catastrophic risks, such as disease or oil spills. Southern Resident killer whales already are protected, as are all marine mammals, by a 1972 law, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, under which the whales were officially listed as a depleted stock more than two years ago. A proposed conservation plan required by the depleted designation was published last month laying out the steps needed to restore the population to full health. The new listing under the Endangered Species Act will require federal agencies to make sure their actions are not likely to harm the whales. NOAA Fisheries Service said its ongoing efforts to restore salmon stocks in Puget Sound should benefit the whales. Other federal agencies’ efforts are likely to focus on toxic chemicals and vessel traffic. The population peaked at 97 animals in the 1990s and then declined to 79 in 2001. It currently stands at 89 whales, including a solitary male that has taken up residence in a small inlet in British Columbia. Although researchers have collected more than 30 years worth of information on the Southern Residents, agency biologists said there are major gaps in knowledge, such as where the animals go when they’re not in local waters. Because killer whales may live up to 90 years in the wild, existing data doesn’t cover even one full life span for older animals. Research by NOAA Fisheries Service scientists to fill these gaps will continue, the agency said. NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitats through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public. NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. EarthJustice Press Release Puget Sound Orcas Finally Protected Under the Endangered Species Act Whales protected by court order over resistance from the Bush administration November 16, 2005 Seattle, WA – The National Marine Fisheries Service announced that Puget Sound's Southern Resident orcas, or killer whales, will be protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The orcas have been listed as endangered, meaning they are in danger of going extinct. The orcas declined by 20 percent over five years during the 1990s, and Endangered Species Act protection insures that NMFS will have the world's best conservation tools at its disposal as work begins to recover the whales from the brink of extinction. The decision, announced Tuesday, comes two years after a U.S. district court found the Bush administration violated the law on June 25, 2002 when it announced that the orcas are not significant enough to protect. "This is a close-knit family of highly intelligent whales that have been living cooperatively with each other in Puget Sound for thousands of years," said Patti Goldman, attorney with Earthjustice. "This will give us the will and the tools to take the actions that will allow them to survive." ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 149 "With only 89 Southern Resident orcas left on the planet, one major oil spill could cause them to go extinct. The habitat protection afforded them by the Endangered Species Act is critical if we are to protect the ecological integrity of our marine environment," said killer whale biologist and Northwest Director of Ocean Advocates Fred Felleman. The Endangered Species Act is a federal law providing a safety net for wildlife, plants, and fish on the brink of extinction. Endangered Species Act protection will result in many new safeguards for the orcas, including the creation of a binding recovery plan, protection for the whales' critical habitat, and assurances that all federal projects will protect the whales before the projects can proceed. These safeguards could lead to improvements in oil spill prevention, vessel traffic control, toxic pollution, and activities that harm salmon, herring, and other fish eaten by the orcas. "Southern Resident killer whales have been integral to the ecological, social, and economic well being of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years," said attorney Brent Plater of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Providing the Southern Residents the protections of the Endangered Species Act ensures that we protect these whales for future generations." "This listing is long overdue but it's the right decision," said Kathy Fletcher, executive director for People for Puget Sound, an environmental group. "We know that these whales are in serious trouble, but the good news is this will give a real boost to make sure the actions are taken to make sure that these whales survive." Background on Southern Resident Orcas The Puget Sound resident orcas are an extended family of whales that live together in matriarchal family units. They use a unique language to communicate with each other. They differ from transient orcas in that they tend to stick close to shore and eat mostly salmon, herring, and other fish instead of hunting seals and other whales at sea. These whales are among the most intelligent animals in the world. Unfortunately they are also one of the most imperiled, which is why scientists and conservationists requested they be protected. The listing of the orcas under the Endangered Species Act make it only the fortieth species to be added to the list of federally protected species since the Bush administration took office. Protections were extended to all 40 species only after federal courts ordered the government to act. In spite of its steadfast opposition to protecting the orcas, the regional head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Bob Lohn, today changed his tune and finally admitted, "By giving it protection under the ESA, we have a better chance of keeping this population alive for future generations." ******* Regional Contacts: Ralph Munro (360) 791-1887 Mike Sato (People for Puget Sound) (360) 336-1931 Fred Felleman (Ocean Advocates) (206) 595-3825 Stephanie Buffum (Friends of the San Juans) (360) 378-2319 Contact:Patti Goldman (Earthjustice) 206-343-7340 x 32 Brent Plater (Center for Biological Diversity) 415-572-6989 (cell) Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Government Gives Orcas a Shield Puget Sound's 'Local' Whales Receive 'Endangered' Status By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER In a move that surprised and pleased environmentalists and whale enthusiasts, the federal government declared Puget Sound orcas "endangered" Tuesday, triggering the most protective actions and requirements legally available. The decision comes at a time when laws safeguarding orcas and other vanishing creatures have come under attack by some federal lawmakers. Tuesday's announcement underscores their importance, environmentalists said. "This listing is long overdue, but it's the right decision and we're really happy," said Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound, an environmental group. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 150 "We know that these whales are in serious trouble," she said. "But the good news is this will give a real boost to make sure the actions are taken to make sure that these whales survive." The Endangered Species Act requires the government to devise a recovery plan for the orcas and to identify and safeguard "critical habitat" necessary for their survival. This could trigger a renewed push for the cleanup of contaminated hot spots in the Sound, environmentalists said. They also speculated that restrictions could be tightened on whale-watching boats. Under the act, federal agencies also must review their actions to make sure they won't hurt the orcas. Concerns have been raised by the potential harm caused by Navy sonar tests. And whale lovers are hopeful that more money will flow toward research and recovery. Sen. Maria Cantwell secured $1.3 million in last year's budget for studying the whales. The effort to secure Endangered Species Act protection for the local orca population was launched more than four years ago. Federal officials rejected protection under the act three years ago, but a legal challenge forced them to reconsider. In December the National Marine Fisheries Service announced it was seeking "threatened" status for the orcas. New research and analysis highlighting the precariousness of their survival led to the stronger endangered designation, said officials with the fisheries service, which is responsible for protecting orcas and other marine life. By declaring them endangered, "we have a better chance of keeping this population alive for future generations," said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for the fisheries service, in a statement. The region's killer whales have been on a population rollercoaster, plummeting by the early 1970s when they were still being rounded up for aquariums, then building and dropping over the decades, for unknown reasons. Their numbers dropped precipitously from the mid-'90s until 2001, when they reached a recent low of 79. They currently stand at 90, according to the Center for Whale Research, a Friday Harbor-based scientific group. The federal agency recently set 84 to 120 orcas as the target population. "Because the population has such a small number of sexually active males in it, a catastrophic event – an oil spill, a chemical spill – could really make a huge difference in the population," said Brian Gorman, spokesman for the fisheries service. "The fact that the population is small always worries a biologist," he said. Scientists have identified many other factors that put the local orcas at risk of disappearance. There has been a decline in the amount of salmon – their favorite food source – from historic levels. The killer whales are contaminated with industrial pollutants that can reduce fertility and make them more vulnerable to disease. Research has indicated that boat traffic and other manmade noise can disturb the highly social animals. In 2003, the fisheries service proclaimed the orcas "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has less power to save the whales. Officials argued that the local population was not unique and thus could not qualify as endangered. But the weaker designation did result in a proposed conservation plan for the orcas, which was released last month. This will be modified to become the requisite recovery plan, Gorman said. Tuesday's announcement also could reinvigorate calls to reunite an orca called Luna that's related to the local population but has spent the past few years alone on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. An effort to capture and reunite the young male orca with its family was derailed in 2004. A local tribe opposed aspects of the effort. And the announcement has inspired an even more vocal defense of the Endangered Species Act and an act by the late Sen. Warren Magnuson that limits the flow of crude oil to Puget Sound refineries. Members of the U.S. House and Senate have proposed laws revamping and softening protections for wild creatures and places, though the fate of the legislation is uncertain. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 151 But Tuesday's news elicited cautious optimism in even the more skeptical environmental activists. "If we don't do something completely stupid like gut the Magnuson Act or release some toxic load, it looks like nature has given us this second chance," said Fred Felleman, northwest director of Ocean Advocates, an environmental group. "Things are looking up," he said. "This is a good day." Local Orcas Listed as Endangered 11/16/05 PRESS RELEASE: The Southern Resident killer whales have been listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) announced the listing Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005. The listing will require federal agencies to make sure their actions are not likely to harm the whales. NOAA Fisheries Service said its ongoing efforts to restore salmon stocks in Puget Sound should benefit the whales. Other federal agencies’ efforts are likely to focus on toxic chemicals and vessel traffic. A year ago, the whales were proposed for "threatened" status under the ESA. A species listed as threatened is at risk of becoming endangered; an endangered species is one at risk of extinction. "Recent information and further analysis leads our agency to conclude that the Southern Resident killer whale population is at risk of extinction, and should be listed as endangered, " said Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service’s Northwest region. "By giving it protection under the ESA, we have a better chance of keeping this population alive for future generations. " The Southern Resident killer whale population experienced a 20 percent decline in the 1990s, raising concerns about its future. Many members of the group were captured during the 1970s for commercial display aquariums. The group continued to be put at risk from vessel traffic, toxic chemicals and limits on availability of food, especially salmon. It has only a small number of sexually mature males. Because the population historically has been small, it is susceptible to catastrophic risks, such as disease or oil spills. Southern Resident killer whales already are protected, as are all marine mammals, by a 1972 law, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, under which the whales were officially listed as a depleted stock more than two years ago. A proposed conservation plan required by the depleted designation was published last month laying out the steps needed to restore the population to full health. The population peaked at 97 animals in the 1990s and then declined to 79 in 2001. It currently stands at 89 whales, including a solitary male that has taken up residence in a small inlet in British Columbia. Although researchers have collected more than 30 years’ worth of information on the Southern Residents, agency biologists said there are major gaps in knowledge, such as where the animals go when they’re not in local waters. Because killer whales may live up to 90 years in the wild, existing data doesn’t cover even one full life span for older animals. Research by NOAA Fisheries Service scientists to fill these gaps will continue, the agency said. NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving the nation’s living marine resources and their habitats through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes. ORCA CONSERVANCY – THE SPRINGER FILE Page 152 Killer Whales Will Be Protected As Endangered 11/16/05 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today proposed to protect Puget Sound’s Southern Resident killer whales under the federal Endangered Species Act, the nation’s strongest conservation law. The orcas declined by 20% over five years during the 1990s, and Endangered Species Act protection ensures that NMFS will have the world’s best conservation tools at its disposal as work begins to recover the whales from the brink of extinction. "This is a victory for sound science, the killer whales, and the people of the Pacific Northwest," said Brent Plater, attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "However, if Congress continues on its path to gut the Endangered Species Act, the best tools available to protect the killer whale will be ripped right out of the hands of the scientists and resource managers in the Pacific Northwest." Today’s decision comes nearly two years after a U.S. District Court found unlawful the Bush administration’s June 25, 2002 announcement that the killer whales are not significant enough to protect. The final rule differs from the proposed rule announced nearly one year ago by listing the Southern Residents as "endangered" rather than "threatened." An "endangered" listing provides stronger, more immediate protections to the killer whales than a "threatened" listing. "Southern Resident killer whales have been integral to the ecological, social, and economic well being of the Pacific Northwest for nearly all of human history," said Plater. "Providing the Southern Residents the protections of the Endangered Species Act ensures that we can give back to these whales and insure their survival." Seattle Post-Intelligencer PATH TO PROTECTION May 1, 2001: Twelve environmental groups petition National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list Puget Sound orcas as “Endangered.” June 25, 2002: NMFS decides not to list orcas under Endangered Species Act, decides to protect under Marine Mammal Protection Act instead. Dec. 18, 2002: Nine environmental groups and individuals sue in federal court, challenging decision not to declare the orcas “Endangered.” May 29, 2003: NMFS determines that the orcas are "Depleted" under Marine Mammal Protection Act. Dec. 17, 2003: U.S. District Court judge rules in favor of environmentalists, tells NMFS to reconsider listing decision. April 3, 2004: State Department of Fish and Wildlife lists orcas as "Endangered." Dec. 16, 2004: Fisheries service announces plan to list orcas as “Threatened.” Nov. 15, 2005: Fisheries service declares local orcas "Endangered." ESA WARRIORS – Orca Conservancy Board of Directors 2001-2005 – (l-r) President Michael Harris, Fred Felleman (also NW Director of Ocean Advocates), Kelley Balcomb-Bartok (also Center for Whale Research), Stephanie Buffum (also Director of Friends of the San Juans), Brian Calvert (also Port Commissioner of Friday Harbor) and Ralph Munro, five-term Washington Secretary of State.