Killer whale breaching. Chris Hopkins/Image Makers

The spring of 2007 marks the fifth anniversary of a remarkable "catch and release" story that rivetted the attention of the public throughout the Pacific Northwest. For the first and only time, scientists captured a wild killer whale, transported it many kilometres to its original home territory, and released it back into the wild to rejoin its family.

The whale's name was Springer, or, as researchers know her, A73. ( Since the 1970s, every killer whale in the Pacific Northwest, from Puget Sound to Alaska, has been identified and given a letter/number designation as well as a name.) She was only two years old in January 2002 when she was spotted swimming alone in Puget Sound south of Seattle. Killer whales are extremely social animals. They usually remain with the other members of their pod, or family, for their entire lives. It was very unusual, and ominous, to find one alone. Worse, the calf appeared to be in poor health and, in search of company, was getting dangerously close to boat traffic in the Sound.

	For information about killer whales, see the entry in the Encyclopedia of British Columbia. More information is available at the website of the Vancouver Aquarium, www.vanaqua.org. or at the following websites: www.reuniteluna.com, www.orcalab.org, and www.whalemuseum.org.

It was clear that something had to be done. But what? Members of the public did not want the whale captured and living out the rest of her life on display in a marine park. American officials were in charge of the situation and they worried that Springer was not strong enough to survive in the wild yet perhaps not strong enough to survive a move. Finally, after an agonizing four months of indecision, a plan proposed by the Vancouver Aquarium was accepted. Springer would be captured, placed in a holding pen so that her health could be evaluated, then transported north to her home territory in Johnstone Strait off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. If the timing was right, Springer's relatives would be in the area for their annual summer visit. Perhaps it would be possible to reunite the young whale with her family. It had never been done before, but there didn't seem to be any alternative.

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On June 13, 2002, a team of animal experts hoisted Springer out of the waters of Puget Sound onto a barge and carried her to a net pen at Manchester, Washington, where she was fed salmon to fatten her up and subjected to a series of medical tests to prove that she was strong enough to survive the ordeal ahead. In mid-July she received her clearance. It was all systems go. On July 13, a high-speed catamaran on loan from a Seattle-area boat builder picked up Springer from the pen and transported her across the border and north to another pen which had been set up in a bay on Hanson Island in Johnstone Strait not far from Port McNeill. The boat arrived in the late afternoon and as the little whale was being lifted into the pen, members of the local 'Namgis First Nation from Alert Bay chanted and drummed, welcoming Springer home.

At this point, no one knew when Springer's family might appear and whether they would accept her back. Amazingly, it happened the very next day. A group of whales from Springer's pod entered the bay and approached the pen. The release team opened the "door" and Springer swam free. After observing each other uncertainly, the group of whales went in one direction and Springer went in another, leaving the outcome of the experiment very much in doubt. But at least Springer was back in familiar waters. As researchers monitored her movements over the subsequent days and months, Springer did attach to members of the pod. The following summer she returned to Johnstone Strait in the company of her family and appeared to be healthy and active. She was well and truly home again.

While the story of Springer ended on a happy note, a more tragic story unfolded on the other side of Vancouver Island in Nootka Sound where a second lost killer whale had been sighted. This was Luna (L98), a juvenile male, who had become separated from his family and appeared in the Sound in July 2001. Luna became friendly with boats and attracted a great deal of attention from tourists who came to the area to see him.

After the success with Springer, it seemed possible that a similar "catch and release" plan could be worked out for Luna and he might be returned south to his family in the Strait of Juan de Fuca or Puget Sound. The need became more urgent as gawkers were seen petting Luna and feeding him. He became more attracted to boats and even to floatplanes. It seemed only a matter of time before someone got hurt, probably the whale.

In June 2004, attempts were made to capture Luna in a pen near Gold River. But for a variety of reasons, this effort failed. Luna remained free in the Sound and continued to interact with boats. On March 10, 2006, he was playing near the stern of a large tugboat when he was struck by the propeller and killed.