Fisheries service hopes to keep gawkers at bay while capturing orca

MANCHESTER -- Authorities preparing to capture the orphaned baby orca in Puget Sound appealed to the public yesterday to keep its distance from the creature, saying she has become overly friendly toward humans in recent days.

Meanwhile, private conservation groups appealed to the public to contribute money, groceries and other goods to support the effort to rescue the orca and reunite her with her family in Canada.


	Jason Kalvin of the Cypress Island Fish Farm loads salmon into a container to feed to the orphaned orca after it is captured near Vashon Island. Gilbert W. Arias / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

The capture of the orca is planned for tomorrow morning, but it could be delayed until the afternoon or even until Friday, said officials of the National Marine Fisheries Service. In the meantime, they said, the best way to see the orca is to ride a ferry between West Seattle and Vashon Island.

"She seems to be rapidly losing her fear of humans," said Bob Lohn, NMFS regional administrator, at his agency's research facility here on the Kitsap Peninsula. "While that may be helpful in the short run (for the capture) ... those traits need ultimately to be modified."

If the orca becomes too habituated to humans, it likely would decrease chances she could be successfully reunited with her pod, officials said. Authorities will keep would-be sightseers at least 400 yards from the capture -- far enough that little, if any, of the operation will be visible, they said.

"We want to have as little contact as possible with her," said Jeff Foster, leader of the capture team. "Her pattern has really changed in the past few days. She's really interacting with boats."

In the 1970s, Foster participated in some of Washington's last captures of orcas for display in aquariums and theme parks. He later served as director of operations for the group that sought to free Keiko, the captive killer whale that starred in the movie "Free Willy."

"We believe we have some of the best and most competent people in the world" to do this job, Lohn said. "We think this whale will get the best possible medical care."

The orca turned up in the waters between Vashon Island and West Seattle in mid-January. Scientists were able to trace her to her whale family, or pod, by studying her squeals, squeaks and other vocalizations.

She became separated from her pod after her mother died. But the pod returns each summer to the waters off northern Vancouver Island. NMFS and its Canadian counterpart, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, hope to reunite her with the pod when it returns next month.

But the orca, officially known as A-73 and nicknamed "Springer," is clearly in ill health. A blood test indicated she does not have a genetic defect that would doom her to an early death, but that result will be double-checked, said Janet Whaley, a NMFS veterinarian.

The whale, which is almost 2 years old, also has worms, a skin condition that causes itchiness, and perhaps other maladies, say orca experts who have observed her.

"We don't know all the problems she is facing right now," Whaley said.

Immediately after the capture, as the whale is taken by barge to a pen beside the NMFS research facility here, researchers plan to take samples of her skin and blood for further testing.

On the boat, water and ointment will keep the whale's skin wet, and she will be iced down to prevent overheating.

The orca will stay in the 40- foot-by-40-foot net pen at Manchester for at least two weeks as veterinarians assess her health, then be moved to a larger net pen nearby. There, she will be given medicine and enough fresh salmon -- donated by the Cypress Island Fish Farm -- to put on some weight.

"She's so young that I think she's going to adapt pretty readily" to the pen, Foster said.

In July, NMFS hopes to transport the orca to a pen on northeastern Vancouver Island to await the return of her pod.

NMFS expects to get government grants worth $200,000 to help defray costs of the operation, but likely that will not be enough.

Seven conservation organizations -- Orca Conservancy, People for Puget Sound, American Cetacean Society, Orca Alliance, Whale Museum, Friends of the San Juans and Earth Island Institute -- plan an appeal to the public today for funds. Checks can be sent to Orphan Orca Fund, c/o Juanita Johns, Islanders Bank, P.O. Box 909, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.

In addition, the groups are talking with local businesses about what sort of aid they can provide. Those interested can call 206- 382-7007.

"We need every bit of logistic help," said Donna Sandstrom of the Orca Alliance.

P-I reporter Robert McClure can be reached at 206-448-8092 or robertmcclure@seattlepi.com

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