Luna The Orca Still Hanging Out In BC Inlet

Thursday, August 11, 2005
GOLD RIVER, BC — After three years in an inlet near the Vancouver Island village of Gold River, Luna the orca shows no signs of leaving.

Tourists love the whale, but some fishermen wish the huge critter would take its boat and floatplane-nudging act elsewhere.

Luna no longer comes up to the wharf in Gold River, where people used to feed him beer and hot dogs, but he still makes his presence known.

"Broke the mount, almost tore the kicker right off the side of the boat," recalled Terry Brown of his encounter with the one-and-a-half tonne killer whale.

"I respect the whale, but there are ways to get the sucker out of here," said another fisherman.

"Did you ever hear of dynamite? He ain't going to like dynamite," he added as his buddies chuckled.

While fishermen might fume, the relations between the Mowachaht-Muchalaht band and the federal Fisheries and Oceans department are much better than they were a year ago after a failed attempt to capture Luna.

"A working relationship has been developed, and had this happened at the very beginning, this relationship would not have seemed as strained," said Chief Mike Maquinna.

The band has been given greater powers over Luna. They are responsible for two things: Educating the public, and leading Luna out to deeper waters so he can have a better chance of meeting other orcas.

The plan is to expand Luna's territory out to the Nootka Sound; that's where his resident pod has been known to travel.

"The idea is natural reunification. There's a lot of skeptics, but if you don't try, you don't know," said fisheries official Bill Shaw.

What triggered a feud between the fisheries and natives was a plan to forcibly reunite Luna with his pod. The natives opposed that, and said any such reunification must happen naturally.

They also see the whale as the incarnation of the spirit of a deceased chief.

CTV News Vancouver's Jim Beatty said interactions with boats and Luna are down this year. Thursday, he wasn't seen at all -- all good news to his native watchers.

Does Luna need humans?

Two science writers studying Luna say the creature needs a human pod because he prefers people to whales.

Michael Parfit told The Globe and Mail that all attempts to limit human interaction with Luna have failed, so he needs human guardians.

Parfit saw his plan as being complementary to the native one, saying, "We think he needs a human pod for a while to protect him and to make a reunification with his family more likely."

Orcas are very social animals who spend their lives in pods. Luna has always sought out human companionship, Parfit said.

"A highly social animal wants a consistent relationship," he said. "If people don't give it, he seeks it out."

Source: CTV

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