Springer (killer Whale) - Monitoring Program

Monitoring Program

As the debate continued, NMFS reached out to the public to keep away from Springer, and officially authorized a volunteer, on-the-water monitoring project involving three Washington-based non-profit organizations—Orca Conservancy, the Whale Museum, and Project SeaWolf. Project SeaWolf at that point had logged more time on the water with Springer than any government or non-government group, tracking her movements, alerting ferry captains of her presence, keeping curious boaters away, as well as shooting and distributing to the media footage of the orca rubbing against boats. The highly experienced monitoring team included photographer and marine advocate Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, son of famed orca researcher Ken Balcomb of The Center for Whale Research, and members of the Friday Harbor-based boater education program, Soundwatch. The monitors took shifts watching over Springer and did their best to keep onlookers away, but the gathering crowds began to make the effort appear unsustainable.

As time went on and the orca's prognosis worsened, the idea of directly intervening on behalf of Springer and returning her to her family in Canada was soon catching on. Public opinion was now strongly in favor of rescuing the orca, and to do everything possible to keep her out of a concrete tank. On March 13, KOMO 4 News (ABC Seatle) reported a "ground-breaking coalition," announcing that Orca Conservancy, the Keiko team and Vancouver Aquarium had tentatively agreed to combine their plans—the only ones submitted to NMFS that called for rehabilitation in a seapen and an expedited translocation and repatriation to her natal pod. The organizations reportedly had agreed to "pool their resources" on behalf of Springer, including a pledge the Keiko team secured from a private, anonymous donor to fund the entire project. Upon hearing this rare pledge of cooperation between anti-captivity organizations and a captive-display facility, NMFS announced its decision—it would intervene to save Springer, and would go with the combined seapen rehabilitation/translocation/reintroduction plan, with Vancouver Aquarium as the lead non-government organization on the Canadian side.

Shortly after the NMFS announcement and without explanation, Vancouver Aquarium backed out of the coalition. But the NMFS-approved plan to rescue and repatriate Springer would still go forward—but now, because of the Aquarium's change-of-heart, the effort was again without funding. NMFS could not shoulder the costs of the project. Unless a new funding source was located immediately, all bets were off. Springer's prognosis in Puget Sound was getting worse every day.