Springer (A73) is a female member of the A4 pod of British Columbia’s northern resident community of killer whales. In 2001, when she was just two, her mother died, leaving her an orphan. Early the next year she was spotted alone near Seattle, hundreds of kilometres from the Northern B.C. region her pod calls home. Her rescue would require the expertise of those who worked regularly with marine mammals.
We put together a team consisting of marine mammal researcher Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, veterinarian Dr. Dave Huff and the then Vancouver Aquarium General Manager Clint Wright. Together with U.S. researcher Brad Hanson, we travelled to Washington to find Springer. We found her emaciated, suffering from skin lesions and exhibiting signs of starvation. The next day, we submitted our rescue plan to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. The plan was carefully discussed by an independent scientific panel which decided that there was a chance she could be reunited with her known family.
Television and news outlets worldwide covered Springer’s capture and transfer to a net pen near Seattle on June 13, 2002. Once there, the team was able to treat her skin and health conditions. The American and Canadian governments, after considerable discussion, agreed on a disease screening protocol that would allow her to cross the international border and return to Canadian waters. Just one month after her rescue, Springer was well enough to be transported by boat back to B.C.’s Dong Chong Bay, near Johnson Strait.
Our team, led by Clint Wright, oversaw the operation to bring Springer home. We had several marine mammal care specialists and veterinarians on hand to ensure she received the best possible care. Thankfully, the journey was uneventful. Spring spent her first and only night in a net pen in Dong Chong Bay. The next day, approval was given for her release to members of her pod, as they passed by the bay.
This was the first time that such a reintroduction had been attempted and we were relieved to see that she was slowly accepted back into the group. She was sighted regularly over the next few years, and appeared to be in excellent health.
On July 4, 2013, a research technician from the Cetacean Research Program sighted now 13-year-old Springer with her first calf! The sighting was cause for celebration. It affirmed the current good health and resilience of Springer 11 years after her heroic rescue, and also demonstrated the power of experienced people working together for a good cause.
