![]() ![]() People drawn to Luna came to love and care for him, and a circle of concern for his welfare spread around the world. To a few, Luna was a nuisance in that he used vessels as playthings and occasionally caused damage, but to the vast majority he was admired and respected, even idolized, an awesome fascination. He knew every nook and cranny of it, and every vessel that plied its waters… and everyone knew him. He did not, and instead Nootka Sound became Luna’s home. Luna appeared healthy, and though he was in an unusual part of the range of his Southern Resident orca community he was still within it, so there was reason to hope that he would find his own way home. In part, it was Luna’s apparent competence that calmed immediate concerns about his separation from his family and community. When he first showed up in Nootka Sound in July 2001 Luna was less than 2 years old, yet he quickly displayed an ability to fend for himself. Luna’s fatal accident came as a huge surprise partly because he had long demonstrated mastery of his environment. ![]() Stunned Luna watchers around the world, including ourselves, are experiencing shock and heartbreak. Though positive identification awaits further testing, there is very little uncertainty that Luna was the casualty. Fisheries officers reportedly recovered some of the fragments and confirmed them as being from an orca. The crew was alerted by the impact and soon sighted body parts floating at the surface, attracting seagulls. Perhaps a momentary distraction caused Luna to be sucked into the heavy wash of the 2m propellers, we will never know, but it is almost certain that he died instantly. Just beforehand, Luna was sighted playing close to the tug’s stern, as he has done with innumerable other vessels over the past several years. The tugboat General Jackson had entered Nootka Sound seeking shelter from a storm and was running its engine in gear to control its load when the accident happened. It is not precisely clear how the accident happened, though the bare facts are simple enough. Luna was killed in a tragic accident on Friday March 10th when he was hit by the propeller of a large tugboat. It is with a profound sense of sorrow and loss that we must report the death of Luna, the young male orca also known as Tsu’xiit and L98, who has been living a solitary existence in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, for the past 5 years. ![]()
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