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On ReunificationMarch 16, 2005For immediate release. Reuniting Luna: Past & PresentWe urge you to look beyond the news reports and to understand this issue, because Luna’s story is complex and has repercussions far beyond his own well-being. How Luna’s situation gets resolved has direct impact on the ultimate survivability of his entire extended family, the highly endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Background Through decades of exhaustive research, the Pacific Northwest Resident Orcinus Orca are the most well-understood wild marine mammals in the world. We know who Luna is (L98), his mother (L67), his grandmother (L2), and all of his aunts and uncles. We know that the resident orca live their entire lives within the pod to which they are born. In this extremely tight matrilineal culture, they travel, sleep, hunt, play, socialize and always exist within intimate proximity to their family. Unfortunately, we also know that Luna’s species is the most toxically polluted on earth. Because they reside at the top of a very polluted food chain, orca carry PCBs in excess of 149 parts per million - 20 times the known quantity to cause serious injury or disease in humans. As an example of this toxic burden, a 22 year old adult male (J18) died 4 years ago never having reached sexual maturity, never having sired another generation. And this is not an isolated incident: the size of Luna’s Southern Resident Community has declined an alarming 20% over recent years. And the situation for Luna is just as precarious. In the waters of Muchalat Inlet where Luna has spent four of his five years, the DFO has granted seven fish farm licenses, and three are already in place. The techniques employed by fish farms result in under-water devastation lasting far beyond the life of the farm itself. We assert that operating such facilities within the known habitat of an endangered species should be the topic of immediate and thorough research. Intelligence What makes all of this so very tragic is that Orcinus Orca are, quite possibly, one of the most biologically advanced species in the animal kingdom. They have one of the greatest brain-to-body weight ratios that has ever existed, and they have huge structures in their brains that simply have no parallel in human physiology. Like humans, orca have evolved highly integrated social communities and share behaviors that can only be described as culture. By not living with his matrilineal pod, Luna could be missing rich lessons critical to his ability to attract a sexual partner, in turn affecting the survivability of his community. And in lieu of his family, Luna focuses on the next best thing: people. Last summer there were several reports of Luna ‘attacking’ sailboats and breaking rudders, even of him being dangerously close to ‘shredding the flesh off of a young, skinny arm“. These reports are clearly journalistic exaggerations, but it is true that Luna is seeking out attention and companionship. He is a very, very intelligent creature, and has quickly figured out that to get a boat to stop, he simply has to push hard on the rudder. He is not ‘attacking’ these boats, he is just seeking out substitutions for family interactions. Reunification It was because of this that the Canadian and US governments convened a panel of experts to discuss what should be done about Luna. We were all happy to see that the panel unanimously agreed on reunification as the primary goal. However, the euphoria was short lived. Many important elements were not well articulated, and the Science Panel was not again consulted – even before it was made public. One of the most important issues under debate was whether Luna should be physically captured or led towards his family (the ‘soft approach‘). We fought hard to get the soft approach included, but the plan included no funding. Notwithstanding, we were committed to trying. And so we sailed our vessel (the ANON) to Nootka Sound, and searched for Luna’s family 24x7 for over 2 months straight. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht people also favored the soft approach, and were from the very beginning resolutely opposed the hard capture approach. Chief Maquinna granted the ANON permission to base our search out of Friendly Cove (Yuquot) in large part because he understood the dangers of the hard capture. We learned from the public aquarium captures of the 1970s that a large percentage of orca die during capture attempts. Although we all expected DFO to handle Luna with great care, trying to get a healthy, vibrant and playful killer whale into a small pen could easily have led to accidents. But even more importantly, Chief Maquinna understood the monetary value of Luna to the captive industry, and shared our fears that the plan lacked sufficient contingencies to guarantee that Luna would not end up permanently captive. And there were other issues: the bolting of a satellite tag through an area of Luna’s body directly related to sexual function; the timing of the relocation, bringing Luna to Puget Sound during it’s busiest season; the holding of Luna near the busy (and noisy) port of Victoria instead of closer to his family. And so, despite the facts that a) many of us strongly supported the soft approach and were b) voicing very real concerns about the hard capture, that c) Luna’s L-Pod was not yet fully accounted for, DFO marched ahead with the hard capture. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht, out of their deep respect for Luna (whom they call Tsu’xiit) and their deep belief that he should remain free from captivity, felt that they had no other choice but to take matters into their own hands. After nine days of increasing tensions between them, DFO stood-down from their hard capture plan and vowed to enter discussions with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht to resolve the issue in a manner which was acceptable to their sense of respect for Tsu’xiit. The Need for Action And that’s largely where we stand today, fully 10 months later. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht and DFO worked out a stewardship plan, and it was funded via DFO to cover the fall’s fisheries openings. OrcaLab, on behalf of several NGOs, contributed another $5,000 to help continue stewardship over the winter, but these funds have been spent. As the 2005 boating season approaches, we are once again faced with the need to raise funds. The need to fund stewardship should be clear. Last summer, many people were drawn to Nootka Sound to get a look at Luna. The temptation to draw him in to get a closer look is more than some can resist, and that’s when the real problems start. Luna is estranged from his family, and when people who are ignorant of the consequences attempt to draw him in, they get more Luna than they want. The press coverage from last summer painted Luna as a hazard to boaters. We assert the opposite: boaters are a hazard to Luna. Funds will be used to keep boats from interacting with Luna, but they are also used for scientific research. NGOs and Mowachaht/Muchalaht Fisheries have been studying his vessel interactions, foraging behavior and underwater vocalizations. As an example of this research’s value, using NGO equipment that we helped to install, independent researcher Lisa Larsson discovered and documented for the first time the presence of members of the Northern Resident Orca clan in Nootka Sound. There is so much more to be learned, and we need financial support to continue. The bottom line is simple. Luna is a member of an endangered species. He is a very intelligent and social animal who actively responds to stimulation from his environment. Luna needs stewardship until he reunites, and he deserves every chance to survive until then. The world’s oceans are over fished by man. Puget Sound is over polluted by man. The Southern Resident Community is endangered because of over harvesting for public display in aquaria by man. History has shown that we don’t often get a chance to set things right with nature, and yet we have at our fingertips one such rare occasion. Now is the time to pull out all the stops - to pull together - to keep Luna safe until he does reunite with his family. Keith Wood is President of www.ANON.org – a not-for-profit whale research & conservation organization. He is also captain of the S/V ANON – the principle vessel engaged in last year’s search for Luna’s family. He can be contacted via info@anon.org. |