Scientists Decide To Take Hands-Off Approach With Stranded Orca

Scientists Decide To Take Hands-Off Approach With Stranded Orca

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Story Published: Mar 25, 2002 at 2:45 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 30, 2006 at 11:55 PM PDT

By Tracy Vedder

PUGET SOUND - We now know what scientists will do to help the orphaned orca stranded in Puget Sound.

They won't do anything -- not right now.

But volunteers watching the young killer whale believe waiting to act could mean its death.

New observation video taken this weekend shows the orphaned orca, known as Springer, involved in some bizarre behavior. Project SeaWolf observers watched as Springer played with a 20-pound steelhead. The orca calf watched the fish, nudged it -- even mouthed it, but never ate it.

But weird behavior aside, observers from the National Marine Fisheries Service agree Springer's physical condition is pretty stable. They don't believe she's in immediate danger of dying of starvation or some fatal illness.

So for the moment, NMFS plans to do nothing.

"And the decision is that we shouldn't do anything," reiterates NMFS spokesman Brian Gorman. "There's no reason to intervene on this calf's behalf unless she's in some kind of health crisis."

But over the past two weeks, Bob Wood and Bob McLaughlin of Project SeaWolf have watched Springer almost daily. They believe while her physical condition may be stable, her behavior alone puts her in danger.

First, there's the fact that she's completely unafraid of boats, often swimming within inches of the hull. Research boats like this one are prepared, but unsuspecting boaters could be deadly. "If she is going in to a boat and there's propellers going, she could get cut, killed," warns Wood.

Secondly, as the weather warms up, there's likely to be more encounters with boaters who won't stay the minimum 100 yards away.

"In my opinion," says McLaughlin, "left to her own devices in the ferry lane right now, we're gonna have a top news story in the next two months that's gonna talk about the demise of Springer."

The other concern is if Springer is ever to be reunited with her orca pod when it returns to Canada this June, the planning must start now. Wood and McLaughlin worry that waiting until she's really sick, will doom that plan to failure.

The National Marine Fisheries Service does plan to continue watching Springer, but there are no immediate plans to monitor the orca calf on the same intensive daily basis as the past two weeks.

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