Springer (killer Whale) - Return To Johnstone Strait

Return To Johnstone Strait

Under the watch of news helicopters, Springer was lifted by crane from her holding pen on the morning of July 12, 2002. She was placed in a specially constructed shallow pool on the catamaran. The team was in place. The boat departed Manchester to cheers from the dock. The world was watching.

Then, the boat broke down. Plastic debris was sucked into one of the catamaran's intakes shortly after it began its journey north, hamstringing the high-speed vessel. The team decided to head back to the dock, put Springer back in the seapen, and wait for the next day.

The operation got underway the next morning, July 13, without incident. Springer was brought north through Puget Sound and Haro Strait, across the border and then to Campbell River, BC, where locals donated hundreds of bags of ice to keep Springer cool. The catamaran then traveled through the Inside Passage to Johnstone Strait, then to Dongchong Bay, Hanson Island, not far from OrcaLab. The previous day, high-tech hydrophones were installed in Dongchong Bay by OrcaLab researcher David Howitt. A net pen had been put in place, filled with 73 wild Pacific salmon that local First Nations fishermen had just caught that morning for her under a specially granted fishing permit.

When released into her net pen, Springer was immediately active, feeding on salmon all through the night, spyhopping (raising her head out of the water), pushing at the net, and calling loudly. Springer could hear the calls of killer whales swimming nearby, which included her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. "She was vigorous and vocalizing and obviously interacting with the other whales. We were listening practically with our mouths hanging open (Saturday) night," said Dr. Spong. Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, Senior Marine Mammal Scientist with the Vancouver Aquarium, said that it was clear Springer knew she was home, and that "her calls were so loud they practically blew our earphones off."