A Whale Of A Solution: Give Luna Human Link

Thursday, August 11, 2005
GOLD RIVER, BC — Luna the dangerously sociable West Coast killer whale needs a human "foster" family because it prefers people to whales, say two writers studying the six-year-old marine mammal.

Three years after the giant, 1½-tonne creature swam solo into an inlet off the tiny Vancouver Island village of Gold River, Luna shows no signs of ever leaving the busy waterway, said Michael Parfit, who pitched his unorthodox plan to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

If anything, Luna is more drawn than ever to human activity on the seas, Mr. Parfit said.

The whale, which was nicknamed Luna by Gold River residents, has no qualms about approaching and giving a boat a nudge with its nose.

It also toys with float planes in busy Nootka Sound on the west side of the island.

All attempts to limit human interaction with Luna have failed, Mr. Parfit said, so he believes a drastically different approach is needed. He thinks Luna needs human guardians because area boaters -- especially sports fishermen -- are fed up with the whale and might harm it.

"Half of the fishers think he should be shot," he said.

There is even talk among anglers of harpooning the whale or feeding it a cyanide-laced fish, he said. Full-time guardians could also try to coax the whale back out to sea.

Mr. Parfit and his wife, Suzanne Chisholm, pitched the plan in an 18-page document to the Fisheries Department. They have not received a response.

It is among several ideas being bandied about on Luna's future.

Another plan calls for Ottawa to pay $48,000 to members of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht band to keep an eye on Luna.

Mr. Parfit said his plan would complement the native initiative, but also ensure that humans provide the whale with daily contact.

"We think he needs a human pod for a while to protect him and to make a reunification with his family more likely," said Mr. Parfit, a science writer who travelled to the Gold River area last year to cover a doomed attempt by government officials and scientists to hoist Luna from the water and truck the whale to the southern tip of Vancouver Island to be reunited with its family.

The transfer failed when local native groups scuttled Luna's capture, arguing that nature should be allowed to take its course. Natives also said they believe Luna is the reincarnation of a long dead Indian chief.

The transfer was attempted because the whale had become a hazard to boaters and pilots.

The whale's playful antics at first attracted throngs of sightseers to the government dock who fed it hot dogs and beer and even tried to pet it. But as it became more boisterous, concern grew that it might one day cause an accident or fatality.

Fisheries tried to dissuade interaction between Luna and humans by posting signs in Gold River. It even charged people who breached the edict.

Orcas are highly social mammals and spend their lives hunting and travelling in pods.

It's not known how or why Luna became separated from its group, but it has never attempted to swim back out to sea.

Mr. Parfit said Luna's enthusiasm for people can't be reversed now. "A highly social animal wants a consistent relationship," he said. "He seeks out interaction," Mr. Parfit said.

"If people don't give it, he seeks it out."

After the plan to lift Luna from Nootka Sound failed, Mr. Parfit and Ms. Chisholm decided to stay and write a book about the charismatic orca.

Mr. Parfit believes Luna has an uncanny affinity toward humans.

"I've seen people dangle their feet in the water and he touches their feet much more gently than a puppy would," Mr. Parfit said.

Mr. Parfit isn't the first person to take note of Luna's powerful personality. Last year, a Vancouver Island fisherman and his son were held hostage for six hours while Luna tossed their gill-netter around like a toy.

At the time, the whale looked eerily human when it splashed along his father's fishing boat, David Alhous said.

"What kind of a whale interacts with boats and humans?" Mr. Alhous asked. "You should have seen him lying beside our boat, looking up at you with his eyes, like he wants you to pet him."

Source: The Globe And Mail

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