07:16 AM PST on Monday, October 27, 2003

From KING Staff and Wire Reports

SEATTLE - The U.S. government has pledged at least $100,000 to help return killer whale Luna to American waters from Canada's Nootka Sound, where he has been bothering boats for over two years.

The money from the National Marine Fisheries Service should allow the move -- stalled in Canada by a lack of funds -- to go forward, said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., at a downtown news conference Sunday. She was joined by the fisheries service's regional director, Bob Lohn, and state Fish and Wildlife Director Jeff Koenings.

The funds would come from a larger sum requested by Cantwell for the agency's research and conservation of the so-called southern resident orca population, now down to 83 animals -- 84 including Luna. Congressional approval is expected in the next few weeks, she said.

KING Luna interacts with children.

Cantwell pressed her longstanding call for cross-border cooperation on the orcas, which she called "a Northwest treasure."

"Hopefully they will look at that as a very willing partner by the United States to help solve a problem that both our countries care about," said Cantwell.

Canada is already working with the U.S. agency and third parties on funding, said spokeswoman Lara Sloan with the Vancouver, British Columbia, office of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. She noted that the cost of the move had been estimated at about $350,000.

The money pledged Sunday would not cover all expenses of moving Luna to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which divides the two countries on the West Coast. Lohn said funds from Canada and private donors -- including whale-advocacy groups -- would still be needed, along with in-kind contributions.

"It's too early to say how much is needed," Lohn said.

He estimated the cost of last year's successful relocation of Springer at about $300,000. Support from whale advocates was critical to that effort, Lohn said. Two-year-old Springer, also called A-73, was reunited with her family in Canada after she wandered into busy Puget Sound.

It's not clear whether 4-year-old Luna, also called L-98 for his birth order in L-pod, would readapt so quickly, but officials on both sides of the border say he could remain a wild whale as long as he stays away from boats.

Luna has been in Canada's Nootka Sound, a narrow inlet on the west side of Vancouver Island, for over two years. The problem is not so much that he's on his own. Lohn said there are previous incidents, dating back 100 years, of juvenile orcas living on their own for up to a year.

Resource Links

National Marine Fisheries Service Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans Whale Museum Luna Stewardship Project Global Research and Rescue Orca Conservancy

Recently, "just for fun, Luna was bouncing a sea plane," Lohn said. Such playful behavior could have had disastrous results for the plane's occupants, he noted -- and the whale has suffered deep gashes from encounters with boats.

Safety concerns prompted Canada's decision to try to move Luna -- with the work and expense farmed out to private groups. But those with viable proposals couldn't come up with the money, Canadian officials announced last week.

Now that the United States has come forward with funds, Lohn suggested there are two options: acting quickly to try to place Luna near his American relatives this winter, or waiting until spring, using the months in between to try to train Luna to stay away from boats.

"They're very bright animals," he said -- noting the possibility that Luna could even be trained to follow a boat home to Washington state waters.

L-pod has been seen in area waters as late as February the past few years, but has left as early as October, which raised concerns about a winter move.

The orcas usually return to the strait by April, Lohn said. No one knows where they spend the winters, though they have been seen off the Canada and California coasts.

Cantwell also announced Sunday that the Navy has agreed to take responsibility for electronic tagging of Luna and for tracking him after his release. That undertaking could greatly increase understanding of the species, she said.

Koenings said the state will contribute expertise and enforcement support to the effort, as it did with Springer. The state also is considering listing the orcas as an endangered species, he said.

The federal funds pledged for Luna's move were sought by Cantwell for research and conservation of the orcas due to their 2002 listing by the fisheries service as a "depleted species" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The House version of the allocation would provide $750,000, the same as last year. The Senate version would double the amount, at Cantwell's request, to $1.5 million. Money would be earmarked for Luna's rescue in either case.

The southern resident population is believed to have peaked at about 120 in the 1960s, when little was known about them. Captures for aquariums in the 1970s helped educate humans about these creatures, actually a kind of dolphin found in all the world's oceans. But the population is still struggling to recover from the loss of those captured members. The orcas also struggle with pollution, vessel traffic and depleted fisheries.