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Welcome orca babies: Alki, Luna, Tatoosh

Thursday, October 26, 2000

By GREG JOHNSTON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Until scientists decipher the orca language, their real names -- if they have them -- will be heard only in the currents that swirl around the San Juan Islands. But henceforth humans will refer to the three babies born recently to the resident J, K and L pods as Alki, Tatoosh and Luna.

  Graphic
  Wendy Wahman/P-I
The three names were chosen from 1,178 suggestions entered by Post-Intelligencer readers in a contest sponsored jointly by the newspaper and The Whale Museum at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

Scientists who study orcas, the intelligent predatory marine mammals also known as killers whales, assign pod identification numbers to all new calves at birth. The three babies born last year were numbered J-36, K-31 and L-98. However, The Whale Museum is seeking people to participate in its Orca Adoption Program, which also assigns the animals a common name.

The winners were selected by a committee from the museum and the Center for Whale Research. (Those who entered but didn't win should know that the selectors said they were impressed with the high quality of the entries.)

Prizes for each winner are a whale-watching trip off San Juan Island, lodging for four on the island, a guided tour of the museum and an orca-adoption package for the animal they named.

Contestants who also suggested the names chosen but were not selected as winners each win an orca-adoption package and four free passes to the museum. (The tie-breaker was the quality of the explanation given for choosing the name, although in one case it was so close that a name had to be drawn from a hat.)

Alki was chosen for the whale first seen Dec. 18, 1999, and numbered J-36. The name was entered by winner Priscilla Moore of Lynnwood and two others. "In the Chinook language," Moore wrote, "Alki means the future, or tomorrow or times to come. This calf was born close to the new millennium and I hope she/he is the harbinger of a healthy future in Puget Sound."

Alki's mother is named Slick and its brothers are Mike and Keet. Sarah Ann Haroldson of Seattle and Marlu Hartsock of Bainbridge Island also entered the name.

Luna was submitted by 8-year-old Ashley Green of Bellingham for an orca born off San Juan on Sept. 19, 1999, and numbered L-98. Ashley's explanation: "The orca whale explores the ocean like the moon explores the Earth and that is why his/her name is Luna."

Luna's mom is Splash and its grandma is Grace. Luna has three brothers named Orcan, Gaia and Wavewalker.

Four other people suggested Luna. They are Hana Arch of Sammamish, Maria Tamblin of Penfield, Christopher Perez of Gig Harbor and Devrin Smith of Lynnwood.

Orca K-31, first seen in June of 1999, will now also be known as Tatoosh, a name submitted by winner Linda Hawkins of Maple Valley. Tatoosh is in keeping with the Native American names of some other K pod members. These include its mother Sequim and siblings Sekiu and Raven.

Shari Blevins of Seattle also submitted the name.

The three names were selected from a list of finalists that included Domino, Tuga, Tuxedo or Tux, Kozmo, Roca, Klicket, Sahalie, Quinault, Kismet, Kwaki, Eclipse, Orion, Inky, Spangle, Quann, Tallulah, SohQua, Spiggit, Nova, Nutik and Kookenaa.

The most popular entry was Echo, and there were several entries each for Rain, Romeo, Splish and Oreo, which is already the name of a local orca.

Many people submitted names in the memory of loved ones or a pet, or after themselves.

The latter included the entry Andy by budding comedian Andy Hull of Sammamish, who wrote: "It is a short name unlike Tikki Tikki Temba No Sa Remibo Chari Bari Pip Perri Pembo. And my name is Andy and I like that name!"

J, K and L pods now total 82 animals -- 16 in J, 19 in K and 47 in L -- and usually split their time between the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia. One member is so far unnamed, a calf born this year to L pod -- designated L-99. It will be named next year.

For more information about the museum, its adoption program and about the whales themselves, check out the museum's Web site at: www.whalemuseum.com.

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