LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Introduction
Focus
This News in Review story focuses
on the ongoing
story of Luna, a lost
killer whale (orca),
and the debate
about whether or
not we should
interfere with
nature to reunite
him with his family.
Further Research
To learn more
about the DFO and
its policies and
programs, visit
www.dfompo.gc.ca. There is
excellent information about species
at risk and even a
fun page of activities for students.
YV
Sections
marked with this
symbol indicate
content suitable for
younger viewers.
In the predawn light, Corky and Orky,
two killer whales, would play a game—
their own game. They’d choose a spot
on the side of their tank, blow water at
it, and then touch it gently with their
tongues. When dawn broke, the first
beams of sunlight invariably hit the
spot. As the year went on, the spot
would move, yet the whales always
predicted correctly.
Humans have learned through close
observation that the killer whale is
intelligent, loyal, talkative, and playful—
not just a “killer.” We have learned these
things, however, because we have taken
whales from the wild and put them in
aquariums. There are many games that
Corky and Orky could not play because
those games required an ocean.
Should we be interfering in wild
killer whale populations? Despite the
good that comes when children see a
killer whale up close, despite the benefits to scientific knowledge, is it right
to keep a whale in an aquarium? There
are many valid arguments on both sides.
One group that believes we shouldn’t
be interfering with killer whales at all is
the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation.
In summer 2004, they made a stand.
Luna was born September 19, 1999.
His mother is Splash; his grandmother
is Grace. He has three brothers: Orcan,
Gaia, and Wavewalker, and they all
belong to L pod in southern B.C. waters. Luna got lost near Golden River,
B.C., and over the course of three years
he was so friendly with humans that he
became a danger to himself and to
people. He seemed to like boats, rubbing against them like a cat. He has
disabled some boats, prevented others
from docking, nearly overturned a
kayak, nearly caused a floatplane crash,
and interfered with salmon fishers.
So, in June 2004, 25 orca experts
gathered to enact what they considered
to be a solid plan that held little risk for
Luna and would be best for both the
animal and the public. They planned to
lure Luna into a net, complete medical
tests to ensure he was healthy, put him
in a tank on a truck, place him in a net
enclosure, and then let him loose when
his pod came near. Luna would be
equipped with a tracking device that
would aid in the scientists’ understanding of whale behaviour during the
winter months when they disappear
from local waters.
Everything was on track. Then, 17
members of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht
First Nation climbed into a traditional
dugout canoe, and, by banging on the
sides of their canoe, beating drums, and
singing traditional songs, lured Luna—
whom they call Tsu-xiit—away from
the scientists trying to capture him and
toward Yuquot, a traditional village.
Within 10 days, they’d accomplished
their task: the operation was indefinitely
delayed, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) agreed to work
with them. In the eyes of the MowachahtMuchalaht, they had accomplished a great
thing: they had kept Luna free.
They had also won the right to participate in discussions with the DFO to
create a new plan for the whale. People
whose ancestors had travelled and
fished upon the waters of Nootka Sound
for thousands of years were taking a step
in what they viewed as their rightful shoes
as stewards of that environment.
Yet Luna still posed a danger to the
public. What could be done?
To Consider
1. What potential benefits could come from putting whales in captivity?
What harm could come from it?
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 43
LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Video Review
Complete the
questions in Part I
of this exercise
while reviewing the
video. Later you
can attempt the
second part of the
exercise.
Further Research
To learn more
about whales in
general, visit
The Whale Museum: www.whale
museum.org
Orca Lab:
www.orcalab.org
The Centre for
Whale Research:
www.whale
research.com.
Part I
1. Why are killer whales known as one of the most ferocious predators of
the sea?
2. What is the killer whale’s other name? ___ ___ ___ ___
3. How do killer whales stay together?
4. After Luna got lost, what community did he go to?
5. What did Luna do to become a nuisance?
6. What plan did the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) come up
with to solve the problem?
7. Why did the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation oppose the DFO plan?
8. What other whale was moved in recent years? Was that operation a
success? Why or why not?
9. How did the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation frustrate the DFO plan?
10. What did the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation propose as an alternative to the DFO plan?
11. What happened at a Texas SeaWorld Adventure Park in July 2004?
12. What does the SeaWorld incident reveal about the potential risks of
human-whale interaction?
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 44
13. What did the DFO and Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation agree to do in
the short term?
14. In your opinion, what should be done with Luna? Explain.
Part II
For each of the following in column A, choose the right answer from column B,
and write its number in the blank on the left. The first one has been done for
you.
A
B
_2 _ what killer whales eat
1. Ky
____ the First Nation that protested
the DFO plan to move Luna
2. fish, squid, sea birds, seals, polar
bears, other whales
____ Luna’s adopted home
3. Mowachaht-Muchalaht
____ what the Mowachaht-Muchalaht
learned
4. 50 kilometres an hour
____ how fast a killer whale can swim
____ how the DFO and MowachahtMuchalaht plan to look after Luna
together
____ what people have been feeding
Luna
____ the killer whale who behaved
aggressively at a Texas SeaWorld
Adventure Park
5. more understanding of bureaucracy
6. junk food and beer
7. more understanding of
Mowachaht-Muchalaht traditions and
culture
8. the town of Gold River
9. joint stewardship plan
____ what the DFO officials learned
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 45
LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Profile of the Killer Whale
Definitions
Orcinus orca: the
genus and species
of the killer whale
orca: another name
for killer whale
cetaceans: all
whales, dolphins,
and porpoises.
These sea mammals
have little hair,
forelimbs that serve
as flippers, teeth,
and a flat tail.
It may seem surprising that the killer
whale—which is quite small, as whales
go—is considered the supreme predator
of the seas. The baleen whales, though
much larger, are filter feeders. They
strain huge mouthfuls of water through
baleen—fringed whalebone plates—to
catch truckloads of tiny krill (shrimplike creatures) and tiny fish.
The killer whale, on the other hand,
has teeth. It hunts the oceans in packs,
like wolves do on land. Of all the
creatures in the ocean, only the killer
whale has the audacity and the capability to hunt down a great blue whale, the
largest animal on Earth.
Although they are one of the smaller
whales, orcas still appear massive—
especially when seen up close. Females
can grow to seven metres in length and
4 000 kilograms in weight. Males can
grow to nine and a half metres and
8 000 kilograms. A male’s dorsal fin
can stand nearly two metres tall. Orca
calves are usually more than two metres
long at birth, and weigh about 150
kilograms. That’s some big baby!
A Social Animal
Orca social bonds begin at birth and last
their whole lives. A baby orca will start
swimming behind its mother’s dorsal
fin, where it nurses, and where it will
continue to swim for its whole life.
Orca society is matrilineal. That means
that both male and female offspring
always stay with their mothers, through
their whole lives. It is common for a
female to be faithfully flanked by one
or two gigantic male orcas—her sons.
Groups of whales, called pods, are
usually led by a grandmother, and
include all her offspring, and all the
offspring of her daughters and granddaughters. Males and females mate with
whales from other pods during huge
social gatherings a few times a year, but
always leave these gatherings with their
own pod. So whales grow up with their
mothers, aunts, sisters, uncles, and
brothers, but not their fathers.
Communication
What helps killer whales maintain such
strong social bonds? Communication is
the key. Killer whales, like other
whales, have a highly evolved capability to communicate through sound.
They squeal, groan, whistle, and click
to tell each other what is going on. For
example, they might say that they see
plenty of fish over here, or that they’re
not feeling well. Orcas are in almost
continual communication with one
another, even when far apart.
Whales also make sounds to navigate
the ocean depths. They use echolocation—bouncing sound off objects—to
tell how far away objects are, much like
bats do when they fly at night. The
killer whale’s echolocation capability is
staggeringly accurate. They navigate
through pitch-black water with ease and
recognize individuals by their “sound
pictures.”
Although killer whales can swim
virtually anywhere in the ocean, they do
have limitations. Unlike fish, they
cannot stay underwater continually.
Because they are mammals, they must
breathe air. However, they swim
quickly, at up to 50 kilometres an hour,
and can hold their breath for as long as
15 minutes, so they don’t have to
surface often. In fact, they spend 95 per
cent of their time completely submerged.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 46
Further Research
To view orcas live
in their natural
habitat, check out
www.orcacam.com.
Did you know . . .
Scientists catalogue
all resident killer
whales? They
photograph the
dorsal fin and the
saddle patch (the
grey patch behind
the dorsal [top]
fin). These two
features are like
fingerprints—no
two are alike.
Scientists give each
resident killer
whale an alphanumeric code. For
example, Luna is
L98. He is the 98th
documented member of L pod (a
particular group of
whales).
Breathing is the rhythm of life for an
orca. Mother and child breathe together
from the very beginning, the calf
breathing in lock-step with its mother.
The action of breathing together engages all members of a pod in a sort of
dance, with the whales co-ordinating
their actions to create a rhythmic pattern of breath.
Deadly Predators
Orcas are highly social, loyal, “talkative” creatures, but we should make no
mistake; they are also deadly, ferocious
predators. In fact, their social characteristics make them good hunters. Using
echolocation, they find prey. By “talking” together, they can alert one another
to a potential meal, and tell each other
where it is. Their social awareness
allows them to co-ordinate their efforts,
in the same way that a pride of lions
stalks its prey.
Killer whales tend to live in cooler
oceans, and prefer continental shelves.
They hunt a variety of sea mammals and
fish, depending on the food source that is
plentiful in the area where they live.
• To hunt seal pups, killer whales
approach the shore cautiously. One of
them will swim directly in front of the
shore to distract the prey, and then
another will throw itself on shore,
catch a pup in its teeth, and then throw
itself and the pup back into the water.
Resident Whales
• eat fish, such as salmon
• vocalize often
• live in large pods of up to 50 whales
• travel predictable routes in search of food
• remain with their mothers for life
• live inshore, e.g., between Vancouver Island
and the mainland
• are very playful—they jump, splash, tail-slap,
and play games
• To stalk a mature sea lion takes more
stealth. Killer whales will dive together, remaining silent so as not to
alert their prey. After maybe 15
minutes of stalking, one of them will
launch the attack by grabbing and
tossing through the air a bull that
could weigh as much as half a tonne.
The ocean explodes as the whales try
to land blows with their powerful
heads and tails while trying to avoid
the huge tusks of the sea lion.
• By comparison, catching fish seems a
bit of a lark. When the whales find a
school of herring, their first goal is to
corral the fish into a smaller space.
The whales take turns dashing around
the school, literally scaring them into
a smaller and smaller ball. Then they
take turns smacking the ball with their
tails and eating the stunned fish.
Three Types of Killer Whales
Killer whales come in three distinct
types: residents, transients, and
offshores. Little is known about the
offshores, largely because they live far
from shore. The three groups are very
distinct, and they rarely interact. They
do not mate with one another, and have
not for perhaps a thousand years. However, the only thing keeping them apart
is cultural differences. Here are the
main differences between residents and
transients:
Transient Whales
• hunt sea mammals such as seals, sea lions, dolphins, and other whales
• vocalize infrequently—probably because elocution would tip off their prey.
• live in smaller pods—five or fewer
• don’t travel in predictable routes
• hunt in a loose pack
• have a more pointed dorsal fin and a longer saddle
patch
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 47
Activities
1. Scan the previous two pages and make a list of killer-whale facts. What
fact did you find most surprising? Most interesting? Explain your choice.
2. How are killer whales similar to humans? How are they different?
3. Considering the differences between transients and residents, which
group do you think whale-watching tourists go to see? Why?
4. Describe any experience you have had in viewing whales either at sea or
in an aquarium.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 48
LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Environmental Challenges
Did you know . . .
Canada’s one killer
whale sanctuary is
Robson Bight
Ecological Reserve,
located on the east
side of Vancouver
Island? A very
detailed profile of
the reserve is
available at http://
wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/
bcparks/
eco_reserve/
robsonb_er.htm
Quote
“What is good for
the whales is good
for everyone: clean
water, abundant
sea life, and expanse of pristine
wilderness.” —
Alexandra Morton,
marine biologist in
Life Among the
Whales, Smithsonian,
1994, v25, n8
Wild orcas are the second most widely
distributed species on Earth, after
humans and before rats. They are not in
danger of extinction. They are unchallenged as the top predator of the ocean,
and killer whale populations were never
decimated by the whaling industry,
which preferred capturing the large
baleen whales.
Not all orcas are alike, however, and
some pods are in great danger of extinction from a variety of causes. For
example, Vancouver Island’s southern
resident population has been drastically
reduced. These whales, made up of J,
K, and L pods, swim in Haro and Juan
de Fuca straits, in southern B.C. waters.
By 2002, the population had dropped
from 100 to 78 within six years. (Note:
Luna belongs to L pod.)
This group of whales was protected
under Canada’s Endangered Species
Act in 2001, and also under Washington
State’s environmental laws. However, it
is not on the U.S’s Endangered Species
List, even though scientists predict that
the group will be extinct by the end of
this century. Endangered status is a
powerful way to protect species, but it
can be excessively costly to governments because habitat preservation
becomes a priority.
Toxic Waters
The threats to wild killer whales are
many. Perhaps the most insidious threat
is the toxic contaminants building up in
killer whale fat tissues. Polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) are the worst because
they affect immune and reproductive
systems. PCBs were used widely in
electrical equipment and transformers
until the 1970s, when they were
banned. But PCBs still persist in the
environment. Because the killer whale
is at the top of the food chain, it absorbs
the chemicals all the way up the chain.
The southern resident population has
the highest levels of PCBs of any
marine mammal: 1 000 parts per million (ppm), compared with a Canadian
human average of 0.8 ppm. Birth rates
are down and mortality is up in J, K,
and L pods.
Captures for the Aquarium
Trade
J, K, and L pods were only recently
recovering from captures in the 1970s,
when 50 animals were taken for
seaquariums. The population recovered
somewhat by 1995, but has now
dropped again because of environmental reasons.
Depletion of Food Sources
Fish populations around the world have
been reduced, not only through overfishing, but also because of dams,
logging, and development. A sharp
decline of salmon and herring has
affected the number of resident orcas.
Transient orcas are fish eaters too, so
they are affected as well.
Noise Interference
Boat motors are designed to make their
noise underwater. This design benefits
humans. It does not benefit killer
whales, who have to listen to all of it,
and may not be able to communicate as
well with each other as a result. In
places, the ocean sounds like a city full
of cars without mufflers. It would help
if boat engines were mounted with
elastic shock absorbers, but these are
not mandatory.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 49
Further Research
The Whale Watching Guidelines are
available at wwwcomm.pac.dfompo.gc.ca/pages/
MarineMammals/
view_e.htm.
In addition, navy ships and submarines use sonar that is excessively loud.
The frequencies they use appear to
frighten or disorient killer whales and
other sea mammals, and may damage
their hearing. The U.S. navy is trying to
avoid using sonar when whales are
nearby.
Whale Watchers
The whale-watching industry is taking
off. In Victoria, for example, the num-
ber of trips to see whales jumped from
1 400 in 1987 to 8 000 10 years later.
To be fair, the tourists who go to see the
whales love them, and so do the tour
operators. Many tour operators donate
money to whale research and adhere
strictly to the whale-watching guidelines. However, when wild animals are
continually accompanied by scores of
boats, their hunting and other
behaviours can be seriously affected,
often in ways we do not know.
Activities
1. Write one sentence to describe each of the major environmental challenges for killer whales. Rank these challenges from most to least serious.
Discuss your choices.
2. David Suzuki recommends that people stop pouring things like paint
down the drain. What else could be done to reduce the level of deadly
chemicals in our natural waters? What might you personally do to improve our water supply?
Extension
1. Let’s see how human activity in one area can seriously affect the killer
whale’s food source, and in turn affect a whole marine ecosystem. We’ll
take the example of what scientists think happened on a 600-mile stretch
of the Aleutian Islands, 2 000 kilometres west of Alaska.
Things you’ll need to know:
• Transient killer whales usually hunt seals and sea lions.
• Without this food source, the whales turn to sea otters.
• Sea otters eat sea urchins.
• Sea urchins eat kelp (seaweed).
• Kelp provides habitat for fish.
• Fish provide food for eagles and other fish-eaters.
Let’s say that humans overfish a particular ecosystem, and the fish stocks
drop.
Without fish, the numbers of seals and sea lions drop drastically. What
happens to the ecosystem? Describe the “domino” effect step by step.
2. Think about the problems that whales face in their natural environment.
Choose one that you would like to research. Find out more about it, and
then write a convincing letter to a politician who might be able to help
solve the problem.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 50
LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Aboriginal Peoples and Killer Whales
Quote
I’m very happy
today. These are
tears of joy. It’s
been really emotional these past 10
days and I’m proud
my son and our
Nation didn’t give
up. — Gloria
Maquinna,
MowachahtMuchalaht elder,
on learning that
the DFO had cancelled its plans to
move Luna
(www.westcoast
aquatic.ca/article_
mowachaht_
free_Luna0704.htm)
Further Research
To view profiles of
the many different
Aboriginal communities in B.C., visit
the Web site of the
B.C. First Nations at
www.B.C.fn.org/
profiles.
Coastal Aboriginal peoples around the
world revere killer whales, especially
on the Pacific Northwest Coast of North
America, where orcas populate the
inland ocean waters for many months of
the year. Aboriginal people may have
different names for orcas but they share
a deep respect and love for these creatures. It is out of this powerful connection that the clash over Luna developed.
The Origins of Orca
According to a Haida myth, a clever
pack of wolves lived along an ocean
shore and learned how to go to sea and
hunt the giant baleen whales. They
became so good at this that the shores
were soon littered with rotting whale
corpses. The Creator became angered at
this waste and created a huge storm to
punish the pack of wolves. They were
caught out at sea, unable to reach shore.
And so they were condemned to stay
forever in the ocean, and they became
skaana (killer whale): the first wolves
of the sea.
Another First Nation, the
Kwakwaka’wakw, hold mahk-e-nuk
(orca) in high esteem precisely for
being able to exist both in the threedimensional sea world, but also in the
world of air. Mahk-e-nuk may swim far
and deep, but must always rise to the
surface to breathe air. The ability to
exist in both worlds reveals the killer
whale’s great power.
The Mowachaht-Muchalaht people
have lived for 4 000 years on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Theirs
was a land of great abundance. Women
collected shellfish and herring eggs
while men hunted for grey and humpback whales.
The belief system of this people is tied
deeply to the environment that provided
such plenty. The two most important
figures in that nature were the wolf,
which Mowachaht-Muchalaht consider
the caretaker of the land, and the killer
whale, which they consider the caretaker of the sea. In fact, the killer whale
is known to the Mowachaht-Muchalaht
as the kakawin, or the “wolf of the sea.”
The wolf, kakawin, and humans all
hunt creatures much larger than themselves, and they all hunt in co-ordinated
packs. All three are supreme in their
domain, at the top of their respective
food chains. Humans hunted the same
prey as the wolf on land (elk, deer) and
the same as kakawin on the ocean (the
baleen whales). The MowachahtMuchalaht recognized all three beings
as highly intelligent, social creatures.
They all become very attached to their
kin, and all three live in highly ordered
societies.
Luna/Tsux’iit
The Mowachaht-Muchalaht identify so
closely with these animals that they
believe the spirits of their chiefs return
to the world as either a wolf or a killer
whale. Both animals are therefore
accorded great respect. The spirit of
Tyee Ha’wilth (Grand Chief) Ambrose
Maquinna is believed to be in Tsux’iit
(Luna). By capturing Tsux’iit, the DFO
would be capturing Ambrose Maquinna,
a situation his people cannot accept.
The Mowachaht-Muchalaht worried
that Luna would go into an aquarium if
things didn’t work out. The
Mowachaht-Muchalaht want Luna
free—free of tags, free of capture, free
of aquariums, free of human interference.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 51
Quote
“We have gone
through a lot of
trauma as Nuuchah-nulth since
you guys hit our
shores. Only 52
Mowachaht survived the smallpox
infestation from a
pre-contact population of 70 000. We
have very strong
and ancient beliefs
around killer
whales, and we get
our strength from
our beliefs. It may
seem superstitious
to you guys, but to
us it’s real.” —
Mowachaht
Ha’wiih Jerry Jack,
(www.nuuchahnulth.org/
hashilthsa/
aug2604.pdf)
It really comes down to respect.
When asked to explain his people’s
actions, Mike Maquinna, grand chief of
the Mowachaht-Muchalaht, explained
that the capture of the whale would be
disrespectful. “What we’ve been saying
all along is that nature must be allowed
to take its course, but nature has been
lost in all of the process. We’re standing with the whale, and will do everything we can to ensure its safety”
(www.westcoastaquatic.ca/
article_mowachaht_free_Luna0704.htm).
The Mowachaht-Muchalaht do not
reject the DFO’s goal of getting Luna
back to his pod. They just don’t like the
way the whale would be “captured” and
“transported.” With their long tradition
of respect for the killer whale, these
actions are simply not acceptable. If, on
the other hand, the whale chooses to
leave Nootka Sound to find his family,
then the Mowachaht-Muchalaht are in
full agreement. They have even offered
to lead Luna 330 kilometres down the
coast of Vancouver Island in their
traditional canoes.
Analysis
1. The DFO did not rule out the possibility that, if the reunification plan did
not work out, Luna could end up in an aquarium. Explain why the
Mowachaht-Muchalaht would find that unacceptable.
2. Find out about the stewardship plan that was agreed to by both DFO and
the Mowachaht-Muchalaht in the summer of 2004. It can be found at
www.westcoastaquatic.ca/Luna_stewardship.htm. Summarize the various
components. Explain whether you support or reject this plan.
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 52
LUNA’S STORY: CLASH OVER A LOST WHALE
YV Issue: Killer Whales in Captivity
Further Research
Consider a visit to
the Vancouver
Aquarium at:
www.vanaqua.org/
mmrr.
Quote
“We just don’t
believe that animals ought to be
taken from the
wild and kept in
captivity to entertain us. These
animals have been
taken from their
societies. They are
used to do tricks
for us for profit.
That’s an exploitative, cruel relationship.” — David
Phillips, biologist
and animal rights
activist quoted by
Chris Wood in “A
Whale of a Debate,” MacLean’s,
May 8, 1995
Did you know . . .
Keiko means
“Lucky One” in
Japanese?
Orca Stats
• Orcas in captivity world-wide: 49
• Orcas in captivity in Canada: 7
• Number pulled from B.C./Washington
waters between 1961 and 1977 for
aquariums: 56
• Number of those still living: 2
• Estimated number of resident orcas in
B.C./Washington waters in 2001: 285
• Status: in decline
Source: Beautiful British Columbia, Fall
2001, vol. 43, no. 3, p. 44
Despite its dreadful name, the killer
whale is not adversarial toward humans.
Like other cetaceans, such as dolphins
and porpoises, killer whales do not see
humans as prey, and they tend to ignore
us, avoid us, or simply tolerate us.
Although for centuries people have
feared killer whales, the display of
orcas in seaquariums has transformed
public perception. The scientific world
now recognizes killer whales as highly
intelligent and sociable animals. Orcas
even seem to have a sense of humour!
Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium was the first
to capture a live orca, in 1964. It was by
accident. They’d wanted to kill one so
they could make a model of it. The orca
only lasted three months, before it died
of exhaustion and a skin infection, but
in that time, researchers learned a great
deal about the species.
The mandate of the internationally
renowned Vancouver Aquarium is to
foster public understanding of marine
ecology. Over the years its policy in
regard to orcas has changed dramatically. First, in 1992, it stopped accepting orcas born in the wild. It also
stopped making orcas perform tricks.
Then in 1996, under great public pressure, it decided against bringing any
new whales to the aquarium. Finally, it
gave its last killer whale away in 2001
so that it could have company.
A Tale of Two Whales
Bjossa
Bjossa was the last great orca to live in
the Vancouver Aquarium, and was
beloved by many Canadians. Unfortunately, she lost three calves, and her
mate of 17 years, Finna, who died of
pneumonia in 1997 at the age of 22. In
2001, the aquarium gave her to the San
Diego Marineland in California so that
she could have company. After only six
months there, she died at the age of 25.
In the wild killer whales live up to 80
years of age. The Vancouver Aquarium
has no orcas at this time, and does not
intend to acquire any.
Keiko
Should we simply return all killer
whales back to the ocean? This is also a
controversial question. Many orcas now
in aquariums were born in captivity or
were captured young, and they know
little or nothing about life in the wild.
This was the case with Keiko, the star
of the 1993 Free Willy movie.
Keiko lived for 11 years in a Mexico
City seaquarium. Children learned that
he was being kept in a pool that was
only 13 metres long and six metres
deep. His health was deteriorating. The
public rallied around Keiko, and, at a
cost of more than $20-million, brought
him back to health, trained him to catch
fish, and finally returned him in 1998 to
Klettsvik Bay in the Icelandic waters
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 53
where he had been originally captured.
But Keiko had lost his aggressiveness. He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go back
to the wild and the company of other
killer whales. He never even tried to
capture a dolphin for dinner. After all,
they had been his playmates all his life!
Keiko preferred human company, so for
five years he lived in the ocean, where
people kept him company, fed him, and
made sure that he was happy. He died
of pneumonia in 2003.
Activities
1. Make two timelines, one of Bjossa’s life, and one of Keiko’s life. What
lessons might be learned from their lives?
2. In a small group, discuss the pros and cons of each of the following:
• taking orcas from the wild to put in aquariums
• keeping only orcas born in captivity in aquariums
• training orcas to do tricks for human entertainment
• releasing existing captive orcas into the wild
Use the space at the bottom of the page to record your points from the discussion. Be prepared to share your views with your classmates.
Extension
Investigate an incident that occurred in July 2004, in which Ky, a killer whale,
bounced around his trainer under water. What do you think may have been the
underlying factors that allowed this incident to occur? What do you think might
be done to avoid such events from occurring again?
CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 54