An Abandoned Orca

Oct. 3, 2003 — A lonely orca living off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, on Canada's west coast, will be reunited with its estranged family, Canadian fisheries officials announced, making it only the second wild whale in the world to be reintroduced to its pod.

The four-year-old whale named Luna has sought companionship from passing boats since he wandered away from his pod, putting himself and boaters in danger, said fisheries spokeswoman Lara Sloan.

"He's been healthy and feeding well, but we're concerned about his mental health, and his behavior is becoming more aggressive. He's become a nuisance," she said.

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Luna received cuts to his head from a boat propeller in August and ripped the rudder off a small sailboat in mid-September, disabling the craft. Two people have so far been fined up to $500 Canadian for interfering with the marine mammal, but this has not stemmed a growing tide of sightseers.

Some have fed Luna beer and potato chips while others dangled their children close to his mouth to allow them to pet the wild animal.

Some natives who believe the animal is the reincarnation of their chief, who died two years ago, just before Luna appeared, are disappointed with the decision. They wanted Luna to stay put.

Others had hoped for a cheaper solution to the $500,000 Canadian ($370,000 U.S.) mission, such as destroying the animal, and question how far officials should go to care for distressed wild animals.

Stray killer whales are rare, and nobody knows why Luna became separated from his pod or what impact a reunion with his family would have. He may have behavioral problems or an undetected disease, Sloan said.

Last year an attempt to reunite an orca, known as Springer, with her pod off Vancouver Island succeeded. Springer had become orphaned after her mother died, and she captured worldwide attention when concern was raised about her welfare — she was swimming alone in an area of heavy boat traffic in Puget Sound off Seattle and her health was deteriorating fast.

Unlike Springer, Luna is part of a community of endangered killer whales, which compels officials to try to save the population but not necessarily to act to save an individual whale.

Officials expect to pick up Luna in the coming month and move her to the sheltered waters near the San Juan Islands, in the U.S. state of Washington, where her pod is now swimming. Thereafter, the pod, which includes Luna's mother and siblings, will travel north to an unknown destination.

Unlike Springer, who traveled in a catamaran, Luna is healthy and may simply be lured with food to the area where her pod is now swimming.