More news from the Free Lolita Campaign... FREE LOLITA UPDATE # 18 News about Lolita's family~ The past 2 weeks have been full of incredible whale dramas in the Pacific Northwest, where Lolita's family lives. It has been a tough year for the Southern Resident Community of orcas (J, K & L pods). Eight orcas have died this year, most of them years before their natural life expectancy, along with the sad news of 2 or 3 stillborn calves, bringing the total population of the community down to 83. But there is good news, too...... 1) New calf born to Lolita's family! 2) Family struggling to care for orphaned orca 1)New calf born to Lolita's family! Sept. 19th, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island, WA. Howard Garrett was seeing his first wild orca in over two years, watching from the deck as L-67 swam by (L67 is from Lolita's sub-pod, & is possibly her sister). She was traveling alone, which is unusual.......but wait, what was that little splash surfacing next to L67?! A new calf appeared at L67's side, tiny dorsal popping up through the surface next to its mother......what a wonderful surprise to us all! L67 is a young, first-time mother, & the first week there were reports of orcas in K pod helping out with the "parenting" of the new baby. At last report, L67 seemed to be nursing & caring for the baby, L98, who seems to be doing fine. This is a much needed & welcome addition to the family, & a truly wonderful welcome home surprise for Howie~ 2) Family struggling to care for orphaned orca San Juan Islands, WA And now on to the bad news, but also to the heart of how incredible these orca neighbors of ours really are. The eighth orca death occured sometime last week, when the body of 26 year old L51, or "Nootka", was found off the coast of Vancouver Island (she is also from Lolita's subpod). Nootka had just had a calf last May, who had been born premature and underweight. After Nootka's death, there was much concern for the little unweaned calf, L97, who seemed to be losing weight. But later in the week, Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research witnessed & videotaped L97's uncle & brother catching fish & trying to feed small bits of it to the young orphaned calf, who seemed to be keeping up with the pod & looking stronger. The calf has not been seen for several days, but there is still hope that its family is working to help it survive. The story below appeared in today's Seattle Times - we'll keep you posted as to any new develpments~ Susan Berta, Tokitae Foundation SEATTLE TIMES, Tuesday, October 5, 1999: Orphaned orca's human family struggles to help it survive by Robert T. Nelson Seattle Times staff reporter The biblical passage says nothing about actually caring for the animals or treating them with some respect. That falls to Ken Balcomb, whose Center for Whale Research has been obsessed the past week with the fate of an orphaned, 5-month-old orca struggling to survive in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In the old days - the 1960s and '70s - man's "dominion" over orca whales involved capturing young calves, taking them from their mothers and siblings and hauling them off to places such as Sea World. Capturing orcas in Washington state waters ended in 1976, the year Balcomb began studying them for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since then, with a little help from state and federal governments, and lots of support from volunteers, Balcomb is now on a first-name basis with the dozens of orcas that roam the coastline and through the San Juan and Gulf islands. "We've been able for the past 25 years to study them like they are in a fishbowl, almost," Balcomb said. "Over time, we've watched whales grow up and, of course, we've seen them pass away." That is why the recently orphaned orca is in the news and not some anonymous victim of the wild. The calf's mother died around Sept. 25, before the calf was weaned. The orphan has been tracked for a week. It was last spotted on Saturday. If he survives, he will be named Tweak when the Whale Museum and the researchers at the center, both in Friday Harbor, San Juan County, hold their annual adoption and naming party. Family takes up the feedings Balcomb's whale-research center operates on about $60,000 a year. None of the staff gets a salary, and virtually all support comes in the form of private donations and volunteers - 50 or 60 a year - from Earthwatch of Watertown, Mass. Because they have been able to keep such close track of the orca population here, researchers know precisely when Tweak was born, when his mother was born, that she gave birth to two undersized calves, and that she most likely died from a massive infection caused by the birth. A necropsy is under way. They know who the baby whale's grandmother, brothers and uncle are. And during the past week, researchers have watched this family rally around the orphan and offer him food. "I'd heard they were caregiving creatures, but I'd never actually seen it," Balcomb said. "It's the most dramatic example. We were out in our boat monitoring the condition of the whale. We saw this thrashing about. Turns out his brother was capturing salmon, breaking them apart and appearing to offer it to the baby." The feeding appears to be working. Researchers tracked the emaciated calf by boat last Tuesday until it got too dark. They gave up the watch expecting the baby whale to die overnight. When they caught up with him the next day, they were amazed to find him alive and appearing stronger. There had been some talk by Canadian authorities of capturing the calf, Balcomb said. If it was highly improbable the calf would survive on its own, they also would attempt to intervene and give it some formula. Since it appears to be taking some fish, that may be a moot point. Such interest in a lone whale is understandable, say researchers who spend their days tracking animals at the top of the food chain. "Who's alive? Who's born? Who's dead? What that gives you, as a scientist, are the life-history parameters," said Marilyn Dahlheim, a biologist with the National Marine Mammal Laboratory at Sand Point ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1) August 8 demonstration 2) Penn Cove capture commemoration 3) �Lolita phone home� experiment draws international interest 4) Dateline story on Keiko 5) Laura�s Get Lost interview 1) Under a tropical sun and a few low trees on the grassy strip beside the causeway, around 15 of us spread out alongside 50 yards of road with our signs for Lolita. The half-dozen county sherrif�s cars let people know something was going on, so they were going slow enough to read the signs and banners, especially the one reading �HONK FOR LOLITA�S FREEDOM.� There were plenty of honks. I presented the Seaquarium with our proposal to allow Lolita to communicate with her family. Photos of the demo are at http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/news�demopics.htm. Each time we demonstrate in front of the Seaquarium we show that we aren�t going away, and more people begin to think about whether Lolita really should be stuck in that tiny tank, and that maybe she should go back to her native waters. There is a large buildup of opinion in South Florida that has been told Lolita�s phased release would not work, but by demonstrating our resolve month after month people are beginning to think about it all over again. Scheduling note: At our gathering after the demonstration it was decided that since I will be traveling to the Pacific Northwest from September 10 to October 4 we will hold our next demonstration in two weeks, on Sunday, August 22, from Noon to 1 PM in front of the Seaquarium. 2) Penn Cove capture commemoration On the evening of Sunday, August 8th, a gathering of 30 of Lolita's friends took place on the Coupeville Wharf on Penn Cove, where she was captured 29 years before. We began with an update on the Free Lolita campaign, & talked about the progress that has been made during the past year, but lamented the fact that we were commemorating yet another year of captivity for Toki, rather than celebrating her freedom. Hopefully the next gathering will be her homecoming celebration.... We also talked about Toki's family, & the news that 7 members of her related pods did not return this year, & the importance of clean water, healthy salmon runs, watersheds & forests. And the importance of returning Toki � a healthy, mature female capable of having several offspring � back to her pod, to help bring the population back up. There was good news too - two new babies born into the Southern Resident Community this year, & the fact that orcas have visited Penn Cove THREE times this year - a very rare event after the violent captures in the Cove in 1970. Several in the crowd shared their memories of witnessing the Penn Cove Captures � Barbara Stevens of Coupeville worked at the Captain Whidbey Inn (overlooking where the capture took place) in 1970, & has been so distressed by what she saw during that week that she has been unable to talk about it until now. We deeply appreciate her courage & willingness to share some of those memories with us on Sunday, & we all had tears in our eyes as she described the sound of the orcas' cries, & how she had to restrain her young son who was so angry that no one was stopping the captures. The gathering ended with Vern & Karl Olsen & Deb Lund singing orca & Lolita songs, & with a procession out to the end of the pier, with Native Flute music and the tossing of a fir & pine wreath into the waters of Penn Cove, in memory of the orcas killed in the captures, of those who have died in captivity, of those who didn't return with their pods this year, & of Toki's freedom, lost for 29 years now. We joined in together to sing a resounding version of Vern's "Come Home Lolita", & left with renewed hope & inspiration to continue the struggle for Toki's freedom & her return to her family here in Puget Sound. Many thanks to all who joined us on Sunday, & to all who couldn't be there but sent us their best wishes & thoughts of freedom for Toki. She has not given up hope, so we must not either. Susan Berta The Tokitae Foundation Whidbey Island,WA 3) �Lolita phone home� experiment draws international interest. The idea of allowing Lolita to converse with her family, as presented in the Tokitae Foundation�s Acoustic Experiment proposal (at http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/orca/acoustic.htm) has been well reported in Miami and in England. After the demonstration on Sunday, the BBC program �Up All Night� called for a telephone interview with me about the proposal and broadcast our discussion throughout the UK. Back in Miami, early Monday morning newstands and business offices receiving the Miami Daily Business Review were treated to this headline on the upper right front page: �Lolita � Call your mom!� In a light but supportive tone, columnist Tony Doris described the proposal: �The draft, citing some 50 scientific studies, notes research has established that different killer whale families have their own distinctive sets of calls, sometimes termed dialects.� This is an important piece of the puzzle for understanding why Lolita would probably rejoin her pod of birth. The article is at http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/news/callhome.htm. 4) Dateline story on Keiko If anyone happened to see the Dateline-NBC on July 28, you may have been surprised to hear that Keiko has not been catching fish, because we know he�s been catching fish for over two years. This is part of the great misconception that has been circulating widely saying Keiko is not ready for his phased release to ultimately join up with his pod of birth. Fortunately Dateline is now working on a new treatment of Keiko�s story with a more accurate assessment of his capabilities and a more optimistic view of his prospects upon release. 5) Laura�s Get Lost interview Don�t miss the interview with ex-Seaquarium trainer Laura Singer in the current issue of the web magazine Get Lost, found at www.getlost.com. Laura was with us on Sunday to stand up for Lolita. You can see for yourself at: http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/news�demopics.htm. Howard Garrett Tokitae Foundation Lolita Campaign Coordinator (305) 672-4039 [email protected] For more on Lolita, and to hear her family and see a video of Lolita in her tank, check out the Free Lolita web site at: http://www.FreeLolita.net and for a campaign overview, see the Lolita Come Home Page at: http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/, especially the science page, at: http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/orca/science, and the NEW acoustic proposal at: http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/orca/acoustic -The truth is stranger than fishin' it seems. -Buffett ----------------------------------------------------------- This mailing list is provided by Rock Island Communications http://www.rockisland.com/ San Juan Islands, WA