Orphan Orca Successfully Reintroduced to the Wild
Submitted by International Marine Mammal Project
August 1, 2002

Early in 2002, it became apparent that Springer, a lone two year-old orca whale, might need help. As part of the coalition that responded, Earth Island's Orca Recovery Campaign joined other organizations to form the Orphan Orca Fund. The fund successfully raised substantial funds, in-kind donations and provided hands-on help that resulted in Springer's return to her home and the company of other wild whales.

Springer, also know as A73, is a northern resident orca normally found with her pod-for-life hundreds of miles to the north in Canada. After her mother died, and under circumstances unknown, Springer swam south to the home waters of the southern resident orcas and took up a near-stationary position not far from a ferry terminal near Seattle. Her survival was in doubt.

Early on, a coalition of interests that included the public, environmental and animal welfare organizations, state and federal agencies and the pro-captivity aquarium industry each weighed in on this socially and food-starved whale.

Do we cause more harm intervening or do we take a chance and the associated responsibility to return her to home waters where there would be opportunity for reintroduction to her northern resident community?

Opinions regarding her health, protocols regarding her transfer from the US to Canada, logistics and concerns that she would end up in a concrete pool for the rest of her life, all weighed heavily on the decision process. As Springer became more and more attracted to boats and the people in them, and as summer boating season neared, US and Canadian authorities finally agreed to a plan. She was captured in June, held in a temporary sea pen and evaluated, treated for worms, fed live salmon and then transported back to Canada via a donated high-speed catamaran.

While in Canada, she was briefly kept in another sea pen and released when members of her original pod and those closely related to her swam closely by. Now, she appears to have been adopted by A51 from the A5 pod. A51 has even gone so far as to keep Springer away from boats.

This is all good news at a time when the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has denied a petition to list the southern resident orca whales under the protections of the Endangered Species Act. In the coming week, we will tell what you can do to challenge the NMFS on their decision .