Friday, Mar 10, 2006
Luna the orphaned whale feared dead after being hit by tugboat

GOLD RIVER, B.C. (CP) - Luna, the dangerously friendly killer whale, appears to have been killed doing the same sorts of things that enraged some local residents, but endeared him to hundreds of others in B.C. and around the world.
Dr. John Ford, a scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said Friday it appears Luna died after getting sucked into the propeller of a tugboat. "There's really no blame," Ford said.

Luna arrived in Nootka Sound, just off Gold River, in 2001 after he got separated from his pod.

He appeared happy in his new home, but in an effort to find companionship, he took an increasingly dangerous interest in humans.

That behaviour was encouraged by some who watched him from the dock in Gold River. There were reports of people trying to brush his teeth and someone attempting to pour beer down his blowhole.

By 2004, Luna's affectionate bumping up against boats and float planes became a serious hazard. Fisheries officials devised a plan to have him relocated down the coast toward Victoria in an effort to have him reunited with his pod.

The mission was abandoned after local aboriginal people protested. They used canoes and drums to lure Luna away from the scientists that were trying to capture him for the move.

The Mowachaht/Muchalaht believe Luna embodied the spirit of their dead chief.

Instead, Fisheries officials and the Mowachat cooperated in a stewardship agreement to watch out for Luna while leaving him in Nootka Sound.

The weather off the coast of Vancouver Island has been stormy most of the week. On Thursday night, a large tugboat was trying to take shelter from rough water by idling off Conception Point, an area Luna liked to frequent.

It's believed Luna became entangled with the ship's propeller.

"We have been told that the skipper is greatly distressed," said Lara Sloan, a spokeswoman for Fisheries.

"The tug was idling. It was assumed that he was doing what he was supposed to be doing and it is assumed that Luna was doing what he usually does and that is playing around the propellers.

"It was something that he did all the time, which is why we always asked people to stay away from him."

While Luna's antics drew tourists to the Gold River dock, he increasingly became a nuisance to local fishermen and float-plane pilots.

One man even threatened to dynamite Luna.