Getting Our First Peek At Springer In Her New Home

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By By Tracy Vedder

Summary

Orphaned orca isn't eating as much as anticipated, but otherwise she's doing OK.

Story Published: Jun 19, 2002 at 11:43 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 10:59 AM PDT

Getting Our First Peek At Springer In Her New Home
KITSAP COUNTY - We are getting our first underwater peek at Springer, the orphaned orca, in her new temporary home.

Biologists say after a week in captivity, the killer whale calf is active and alert but she is not eating as much as expected.

Four remotely-operated cameras, both above and underwater, roll 24 hours a day. They catch Springer playing with a variety of natural items her caretakers put in the pen with her.

"There's a piece of kelp in there that she's been interested in and playing with and rubbing against," comments National Marine Fisheries Service biologist Lynne Barre as she watches the videotape feed from the cameras.

They watch what she does when a log is dropped into the 40-by-40 foot pen, what happens when live salmon are introduced -- on some of the recorded tape, you can see the salmon she's carrying around in her mouth.

"We get the whole picture of her behavior, " says Barre, "above water, below water, we can see what she'd doing at all times."

When the NMFS team first captured Springer last week and moved her to the pen near Manchester, divers stayed with her constantly, marking out the four corners, making sure the killer whale didn't get into trouble in her strange new environment.

But, with the addition of devices like a hunter's blind and the remote cameras, biologists can keep close tabs on Springer without having so many people nearby.

"No one's been in the water with her since those original divers came out," says Barre, "we've really been taking a step back, little by little, less people."

Springer weighed just 1,200 pounds last week -- far less than expected. Veterinarians hoped she'd eat 80 pounds of salmon a day, and add a little bulk. But the most she's eaten in a day is three fish -- no more than 15 pounds.

"This isn't unusual because of the new situation that she's in, that her appetite may be just building up," adds Barre.

But the rescue team is trying to stimulate her appetite, using the log and even an occasional chunk of ice in the water as rewards after Springer has eaten.

The NMFS says it's not too concerned about how little Springer is eating, as long as she's eating something and otherwise seems to be doing well.

The NMFS says it doesn't expect to release any specific information about Springer's medical condition for several days, and still has no time frame for reintroducing the killer whale to her native waters in Canada.