Nothing tugs at the heart strings more than an animal rescue/happy ending story.
Divers freeing a whale from a net. A kitten in distress. A dog rescue. Starving horses rescued by the SPCA .
Out on the briny sea of late, whales have come to the attention of many folks. A mom orca pushing her dead calf along. A female orca, J 50, in starving condition, of concern.
On a brighter note, tourists up the B.C. coast were viewing humpback whales blowing circles of bubbles to trap a ball of herring.
I recall salmon fishing off Sooke a few seasons back at a place called Church Rock, when a young, 30-foot grey whale passed beneath our boat. My partner quickly cut the down rigger cable caught in the left fluke, as I peered down on the side, into a giant yellow eye. It had been chased by a pod of orca’s further up at Otter Point.
A call from a whale rescue group at a fishing lodge at Whales Pass, a small logging /fishing village an hours flying time from Ketchikan, in Alaska. My son, Steve, was running the lodge. I was helping set up for the season. Six orca’s were trapped in a large freshwater lake, with a small entrance, chasing pink salmon. Boats from Thornes Bay/Whales pass converged at the entrance, and at high tide we circled the pod. With a clatter, and banging iron pipes with hammers, we guided them. A very large male went through the opening first, followed by the rest.
A commercial pilot had spotted the pod trapped at the lake.
Related: Shuswap Outdoors - Return of the big bears
Many of us can recall Springer, the little lost orca, in the Seattle area. After a remarkable effort by many organizations, she was trapped, penned and carried north and placed in a pen and, when her pod approached the pen and she called, she was released.
On the West Coast of Vancouver Island, on the waters of Nootka Sound near Gold River, another small, lost orca was found. It was November 2001. A couple in a boat were passing Mooyah Bay when they spotted it. Thus came the story of Luna, the friendly orca, who touched the hearts of many. By February of 2003, Luna had interacted with many boats, pushing them around, bringing logs to boats, swimming alongside. In the wheel house of the Uchuck 111, going past Gore Island, he was spotted beside the ship, which delivers freight and/or passengers in that stretch of waters. The lonely orca enjoyed folks petting him, and he performed many antics for them, to the frustration of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Some charges were laid. Poor Luna was hit by a tug prop and passed suddenly, saddening the hearts of many who had contact with him.
A concern for our whales are the contaminants such as PCB’s/Dioxins/PCDD/FS accumulated in their bodies over time. Are we susceptible as well? We consume trace elements of pesticides in the foods we eat, mainly imported fruits/veggies, but on a much smaller scale than seals, whales and dolphins in the sea.
@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net
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