Springer (killer Whale) - Capture and Rehabilitation

Capture and Rehabilitation

The team dedicated to capturing Springer was led by Jeff Foster, whose experience working with killer whales included recent work preparing Keiko for release. In early June, Foster's team began a series of exercises to make Springer comfortable ultimately for them to draw a sample of her blood for medical testing.

June 13 was scheduled to be the date of the capture. Swimmers in wetsuits spent about an hour in the ocean with Springer to calm her. With several news helicopters overhead to broadcast the event on live television, Foster's team placed a soft rope around her tail and the swimmers moved her into a sling so she could be hoisted into the boat. Springer did not show any sign of objection to the capture.

"There were so many things that could've gone wrong, and nothing went wrong," said Michael Harris, one of a multitude of orca advocates and scientists holding their breath that day. The first critical step in the rescue was a success.

Springer was then moved to a seapen at a government research station in Manchester, Washington. For four weeks, she was given live salmon and tested for medical conditions. To avoid creating a dependency on humans, staff kept their contact with her to a minimum and released food into her pen at random times of day. Her food, sometimes laced with medication, was delivered via a chute that was arranged so that Springer could not see the person putting the food into the chute. Her health improved and she began to eat more, approaching the 60–80 pounds of fish per day needed to increase her weight. After medical tests revealed no genetic disorders or communicable diseases, Springer was cleared for return to Canada.

Another hurdle was to secure a means of transport for the whale's 250-mile journey. A truck ride would have been long and bumpy, and an airplane prohibitively expensive. Project SeaWolf persuaded a boat building company from Whidbey Island, Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, to donate use of the Catalina Jet, a 144-foot-long catamaran capable of traveling more than 40 mph. It was a timely and critical contribution to the Springer project.

Springer's move to her home waters needed to be timed well to maximize her chances of re-integrating into a wild pod. To minimize her habituation to humans, it was important to move her as soon as possible. It was also important to release her when her close relatives, the ones whose dialect was closest to Springer's own, were present. Due to the detailed records kept by observers in Johnstone Strait, it was known that Springer's pod appears each year between May 6 and July 25, usually in mid-July. On July 9, OrcaLab reported detecting the calls of killer whales closely related to Springer, moving towards Johnstone Strait.