The man who permanently stopped killer whale captures in the Pacific Northwest has been honoured by the birth of a new orca calf.
The Pacific Whale Watch Association confirms the calf was sighted several times last week, and is less than a month old. It was born to an orca called Sedna, who is the grandchild of an orca named Wake, which was captured along with five others in Puget Sound in 1976.
Known as the “Budd Island Six,” in May 1976 the whales were corralled into a net in Budd Inlet near Olympia, Washington by men in speedboats throwing “seal bombs,” underwater noise-makers. The intent was to sell them to SeaWorld to be displayed for public entertainment and education.
Ralph Munro, aide to Washington State’s governor, happened to witness the capture while sailing and was appalled. He convinced the attorney-general to grant an injunction, preventing the whales from being moved any further from their holding pen in the ocean. Meanwhile public opposition swelled against holding the orcas in captivity.
Legal wrangling continued for months, during which three of the whales escaped, one was deemed too large to hold in captivity, and the remaining two were eventually ordered released. As part of the settlement, SeaWorld promised to never again capture whales in the Pacific Northwest, and the event was the last time whales were captured in American waters.
Wake went on to have at least 30 descendants – eight assumed calves, 16 grand-calves, and six great grand-calves. The new calf is the first born to 14-year-old Sedna.
Munro passed away at age 81, the same day the new calf was sighted.
Today, Bigg’s Killer Whales – which hunt seals, sea lions, and porpoises for food – are thriving in BC and Washington waters with an estimated population of nearly 400, with 140 calves born in the last 10 years.
