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Springer the orca returns in time for party
Rescued whale is back, looking good, in time for reunion of agencies that helped save him
Judith Lavoie, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 14, 2007

VICTORIA - B.C.'s most famous killer whale has appeared in the nick of time.

Springer, the guest of honour at a reunion of scientists and whale lovers in Telegraph Cove this weekend, has appeared with members of its family in the Gordon Channel area, north of Port Hardy.

The seven-year-old orca was near Ripple Point in Johnstone Strait on Thursday and hopes are growing that it could appear around Telegraph Cove for her own party.

"[Its] timing is very exciting. Everyone is very happy," said Paul Spong, director of OrcaLab, a whale-research station on Hanson Island.

Five years ago, Springer, then a sickly orphan, was rescued from Puget Sound and carried back to Johnstone Strait, where it rejoined its family.

This weekend's reunion brings together many of the agencies involved in the experimental relocation, a joint U.S.-Canadian venture.

Springer's pod, part of the threatened northern-resident killer whales, was late returning to northern Vancouver Island waters this year.

The first boat to spot Springer was the Naiad Explorer, owned by Mackay Whale Watching of Port McNeill.

The company has been the first to spot Springer every year since its release, said its senior officer, Bill Mackay.

"We've been very fortunate. We haven't missed one year yet," he said.

The group came swimming in from the open ocean and immediately met some of R Pod, who shot off to meet them.

Mackay said Springer looked "extremely healthy and plump."

"[It's] spyhopping and tail-slapping and keeping the hell away from our boat, which is a very good thing," said Mackay, who admits he was initially skeptical about the attempt to reintroduce Springer to its family. (Spyhopping is akin to humans treading water.)

Mackay now alerts the northern Vancouver Island whale-watching fleet as soon as Springer appears, to ensure they back off and do not encourage it to come close.

Nick Templeman of Discovery Marine Safaris Ltd. of Campbell River, who saw the whale, agreed Springer looks great. "[It's] out there rocking," he said.

Marilyn Joyce, marine-mammal coordinator for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, will be one of the guests at the weekend reunion.

Although it will primarily be a celebration, the event is also a chance to review what agencies learned during the rescue and how it can help in the future, she said.