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Operation Orca: Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales
Winner of Foreword Magazine's Best Nature Non-Fiction Award.
In 1964 when the Vancouver Aquarium obtained its first killer whale, Moby Doll, the prevalent attitudes towards killer whales was that they were fierce and vicious man-eaters. Over the years, attitudes have begun to change, and orcas are now revered as loveable, intelligent creatures and iconic symbols of the marine environment.
In January 2002, a young killer whale was discovered alone in the waters of Puget Sound near Seattle. Determining that the whale would not survive alone so far from home, a team of scientists captured "Springer" and transported her by boat north to her home range where she rejoined her family.
At the same time Springer was making her historic journey, another lone whale turned up in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The people of Nootka Sound adopted "Luna" as their own, but he was a large, boisterous youngster who liked to cuddle boats and the government feared he would get into trouble. Another rescue was planned to return Luna to his family but this time there was no happy ending.
In Operation Orca , winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Nature Book of the Year award, author Daniel Francis and long-time Vancouver Aquarium staff member Gil Hewlett give breadth to the complications, contradictions, and political posturing that twice engulfed the debate of whether to interfere or let nature take its course. Through the amazing story of these two "orphan" whales, Operation Orca tells the larger story of orcas in the Pacific Northwest, the people who have studied them and the transformation of the whale's image from killer to icon.
In 1964 when the Vancouver Aquarium obtained its first killer whale, Moby Doll, the prevalent attitudes towards killer whales was that they were fierce and vicious man-eaters. Over the years, attitudes have begun to change, and orcas are now revered as loveable, intelligent creatures and iconic symbols of the marine environment.
In January 2002, a young killer whale was discovered alone in the waters of Puget Sound near Seattle. Determining that the whale would not survive alone so far from home, a team of scientists captured "Springer" and transported her by boat north to her home range where she rejoined her family.
At the same time Springer was making her historic journey, another lone whale turned up in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The people of Nootka Sound adopted "Luna" as their own, but he was a large, boisterous youngster who liked to cuddle boats and the government feared he would get into trouble. Another rescue was planned to return Luna to his family but this time there was no happy ending.
In Operation Orca , winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Nature Book of the Year award, author Daniel Francis and long-time Vancouver Aquarium staff member Gil Hewlett give breadth to the complications, contradictions, and political posturing that twice engulfed the debate of whether to interfere or let nature take its course. Through the amazing story of these two "orphan" whales, Operation Orca tells the larger story of orcas in the Pacific Northwest, the people who have studied them and the transformation of the whale's image from killer to icon.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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269 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 6, 2021
A very readable account of the rescue of Springer and the efforts to relocate Luna. It's a slightly different perspective than presented in The Lost Whale, so I think it's worth reading both - while The Lost Whale is mostly about Luna himself and the people involved, Operation Orca is more about the "operation" than the individual orcas.
August 1, 2018
Operation Orca details the history of the, capture, study, and the change of attitudes towards killer whales in Pacific Northwest waters. The first “capture” of a live orca was originally intended as a hunting expedition for a museum specimen that would be put on display to indulge the public’s fear of the “killers”. The animal survived its wounds, and at one point was kept in a hotel pool till a suitable tank could be found. As the public’s fascination with killer whales grows, attempts to capture more animals escalate. The book details the methods of capture (including some more simple methods that are more akin to a rodeo) and the information gathered after each episode. The methods of capture become less traumatic and the learning curve allows biologists to keep the animals alive longer and healthier.
In one heartbreaking episode; “Namu”, a bull killer whale, is captured in a pen in Canadian waters. As the pen is moved into US waters to the Seattle aquarium, his pod follows him along side trying to communicate with him and disrupt the transfer till they reach the end of their territory.
Over time, dramatic splits develop within the community of activists and biologists. Both sides are passionately dedicated to the animal’s welfare, but differ on the morality and wisdom of keeping killer whales in captivity. The book concludes with the successful rescue of “Springer” from WA state to Canadian waters and the failure to save “Luna” from his own overly familiar (and dangerous) behavior that led to his death after a collision with a Canadian barge.
These two incidents illustrate a distinct problem of young Orcas; being separated from their pods and losing the benefits that comes with socialization. Springer was introduced to a familiar pod that tolerated her presence (though it is not clear how truly accepted she was). Luna was not accepted by any pods in his region. His behavior became problematic and could have become more dangerous over time had he lived longer.
By the end it becomes clear to the reader that the more one understands these animals, it becomes impossible not to become emotionally involved in their future.
In one heartbreaking episode; “Namu”, a bull killer whale, is captured in a pen in Canadian waters. As the pen is moved into US waters to the Seattle aquarium, his pod follows him along side trying to communicate with him and disrupt the transfer till they reach the end of their territory.
Over time, dramatic splits develop within the community of activists and biologists. Both sides are passionately dedicated to the animal’s welfare, but differ on the morality and wisdom of keeping killer whales in captivity. The book concludes with the successful rescue of “Springer” from WA state to Canadian waters and the failure to save “Luna” from his own overly familiar (and dangerous) behavior that led to his death after a collision with a Canadian barge.
These two incidents illustrate a distinct problem of young Orcas; being separated from their pods and losing the benefits that comes with socialization. Springer was introduced to a familiar pod that tolerated her presence (though it is not clear how truly accepted she was). Luna was not accepted by any pods in his region. His behavior became problematic and could have become more dangerous over time had he lived longer.
By the end it becomes clear to the reader that the more one understands these animals, it becomes impossible not to become emotionally involved in their future.
August 9, 2017
This book mainly deals with Springer and Luna - not sure if the " and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales" was a reference to the two of them but it definitely does not cover saving or rescuing many other whales (although it does mention Moby Doll and Miracle - who both ended up in captivity). The book doesn't really glorify the Vancouver Aquarium in my opinion and it made me reconsider how I felt about Luna after watching the Cove. I was initially glad that the relocation attempt had failed and he was allowed to remain where he was but after further reading and the knowledge I have today, I wish a stronger effort for relocating him and reuniting him with his family would have been made - spoiler alert - and that may have prevented his horrible and early death. However, even his short life in the wild would have been better than captivity, and I'm glad that (according to the book) captivity was an extreme last measure. Overall, I thought the book did a pretty good job of portraying both sides of the Luna ordeal and I could see how it would be from either side. Of course, there's always more to the story than you know. Overall, I enjoyed the read. It's a bit of a hard to find book though. I grabbed mine off of eBay for less than retail price but still generally more than I pay for books online. Worth it! Hopefully Springer will continue to live and have a happy life in part of thanks to all those who helped reunite her with her family.
August 2, 2011
As a Seattle native very into the orca world, I definitely had strong feelings on the subject of Springer and Luna, so this book was a really fascinating look at both of their situations, and why one situation led to a whale being reunited with their family, and the other lead to the whale's death. The authors do seem to make a fair effort to balance their viewpoints and not show a bias, which was very nice.
May 12, 2020
I picked this randomly off the shelf at a Half Priced Books almost a year ago and wasn't expecting anything phenomenal. It showcases a success and failure to capture and relocate a solitary orca but the messages it carries and be transferred to the entire populations of northern and southern residents. Similarly to The Killer Whale Who Changed the World, this book describes the change in perspective people have had about orcas in the last few decades. However, Franics and Hewlett contextualize this change in ideologies and explain how it can be used to hurt and help these two orcas, and the rest of the wild population. I loved that the authors used these two stories to set an example for future rehabilitation projects. The more we learn about killer whales, the more we can learn to respect them.
February 8, 2020
Deeply moving, and a thorough recount of events.
However, 1 star lost for some fact inaccuracies. While I acknowledge the book was written in 2007 and science on these whales has come a long ways, as someone who works closely with them on the water things like “the lowest the Southern Resident population got was 68” when in fact it was 71 are glaring errors. That being said, I am merciful because of the age of the book.
However, 1 star lost for some fact inaccuracies. While I acknowledge the book was written in 2007 and science on these whales has come a long ways, as someone who works closely with them on the water things like “the lowest the Southern Resident population got was 68” when in fact it was 71 are glaring errors. That being said, I am merciful because of the age of the book.
July 5, 2017
The stories of Springer and Luna are over shadowed by a glorification of how great the Vancouver aquarium is with regard to marine mammals. Not my cup of tea.
August 28, 2017
I LOVED IT! If you love whales, you will love this. What a wonderful story and so interesting, I will read it again and I never read books twice.
August 12, 2016
Francis & Hewlett managed to outline and follow the story of both Springer and Luna from all sides and angles and took the most neutral ground as can be found considering all the politics and values involved in the two whales. Other that the mere fact of the situation, they captured the emotional ties people have formed with the two whales which could leave readers feeling attached to not only the whales but the people involved in the operations.
The book provided a good insight into the unfolding of the events and any animal lovers, particularly orca enthusiasts would enjoy reading the book through its roller coaster events and emotional ups and downs.
The book provided a good insight into the unfolding of the events and any animal lovers, particularly orca enthusiasts would enjoy reading the book through its roller coaster events and emotional ups and downs.
September 19, 2014
Amazing true stories of killer whale rescues. It will have your eyes watering before you know it.
October 2, 2015
I LOVE whales so this was an easy and fun read!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews