Luna Update

Monday, March 6, 2006
GOLD RIVER, BC - Last week Luna made an appearance at the Gold River dock for the first time in some weeks. He followed the Uchuck III in from his familiar territory, and hung out at the dock for one night. While he was there he visited several of his favourite boats, including a dozer boat working among the logs and a tug he often follows out in Nootka Sound. The next day he found his way back to his territory, no doubt hitching a ride on another slow boat.

I had a first-hand chance on Sunday to see how he works a boat’s wake. I was out in his area for a couple of days. I spent most of the time listening to him echolocate and occasionally call, and watching him feed and visit fish farms. On Sunday I had a problem with my bilge pump, and got a fair amount of water in the boat. As a result, when I tried to go fast, there was too much weight in it, and I couldn’t get it on the plane. Usually the boat can go about 20 knots, but with its belly full of water it could manage only about 7.5 knots, even with 5,500 rpm on the tach.

I decided I’d better try to get the pump fixed before my bunk in the cuddy was awash, so I headed back toward Gold River from the anchorage where I’d been listening to Luna. As I crossed the bay, the motor roaring but the mass of hull and water just wallowing through the waves, suddenly a fin popped up in the wake.

The noise and motion at the stern seemed tumultuous. It was hard to imagine any being managing to control his body in that heave of foam and splash. But there was Luna, careening along like a kid in a waterslide.

It was amazing. I stood at the helm, looking ahead for logs and back over my shoulder at Luna. He wasn’t out to the side of the boat in the shaped waves, where I would have expected him to be. He was directly behind the outboard, where the water was all white and flung about. He was just surfing along, head down near the motor, dorsal slicing the foam.

He had that rough wave just where he wanted it. He must have been sliding down its steep edge, using the energy of the boat to carry him along. Several times he showed just how easy this was by lifting his flukes right out of the churning water. Once I saw him slide slightly to the port side of the stern of the boat, and through a smooth rush of water I could see his head under the surface. His had his mouth open. Not just a little bit, either. It was open big, for all the world like a kid on a bike careening downhill, no hands, mouth open, yelling with joy or fear or a glorious combination of both.

To me that open mouth was amazing. You’d think that big grin would be like a sea anchor and would yank him right out of the flow. But it didn’t. He just kept surfing.

He would surf for quite a long time – thirty seconds at least, perhaps more. I was in such awe of his control in that tumult that I forgot to time him. Then he’d slide farther to port, porpoise once to get a breath, and go right back into the wake.

Finally, after about a kilometer of this, he broke away and went back into his fishing area. I continued to mush noisily along, eventually got back to Gold River and spent some productive time with my head down in the bilge, thinking about pumps and salt water and Luna.

I thought about him with both awe and worry. He’s showing more damage. Sometime after the last time I saw him up close, in late February, he was cut by a prop. This is the first real multi-cut prop scar he’s had.

He appears to have been run over by a relatively small boat at high speed. He has about ten parallel cuts on his left side. At one end of the batch of cuts the slices are closer together, indicating that the boat was accelerating at the time. This indicates to me that the operator was in a relatively light boat that had swift acceleration, and was trying to get away from Luna by slamming the throttle forward.

Most of the cuts are through to the white blubber. They are healing well, and do not look dangerous. There doesn't seem to be any swelling. Orcas in the wild get plenty of cuts and scrapes, including tooth rakes that can be at least as deep as this, so this isn’t too much of a worry.

Obviously, given Luna’s little demonstration of energy and playfulness when he chased me down and rode the wake, I don’t think the injury in any way limits his activity. It’s just ugly. But it does serve as a warning. Luna needs care now. The prop injury could have been prevented, because it’s very easy to keep him away from problem encounters. It doesn’t make sense to let these unnecessary risks continue.

We have had recent conversations with people at DFO, and have learned that plans are in the works for a meeting soon with members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to discuss the past year’s stewardship program and look at options for the future. We were also glad to hear that after that meeting, DFO is planning to meet with the whole Gold River, Nootka Sound, and MMFN community as one group, to gather suggestions and make plans. That’s great. We believe the best stewardship will involve everyone.

Solving the immediate situation for Luna is not complicated. Active engagement has been shown to work again and again when used sporadically in previous Luna stewardships. The only change necessary is to accept the fact that Luna makes contact with people regularly and with great determination, and that a workable solution does not need to change the amount of his interaction. It would just improve it by making it more consistent and much safer.

Obviously, Luna would be best off with his family. Although the option of trucking him south is no longer feasible for political, financial, and logistical reasons, there is a real chance that he may have a shot at a reunion at the mouth of Nootka Sound. His life in the interim is not perfect, but as he demonstrates every day, this is not a tank. He has freedom, food and a social life he has chosen to cobble together out of sea lions, boats, and people. The key is to keep him safe in this makeshift lifestyle until the opportunity to get back with his family occurs. This new injury shows how important it is to have a system in place as soon as possible.

Source: ReuniteLuna.com

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