LUNA THE KILLER WHALE INTRODUCTION Killer Whales / Orcas Luna (L98 / Tsuxiit) Luna Stewardship Project LUNA THE KILLER WHALE Photo - Jared Towers Video - Chantelle Tucker

KILLER WHALES Male Female Largest dolphin (cone shaped teeth) Live in all cold oceans of the world Rounded head and indistinct beak Male dorsal fin grows to 6 feet; female dorsal fin grows to 3 feet and are more curved Maximum: length for males is 32 feet and 28 for females; weight 22,000 and 16,000 lb respectively Equivalent to the weight of 4 to 5 rhinos Female L2 A32 Photo - Jared Towers

Model of an adult male killer whale dorsal fin Killer whales are fully grown at 20 years of age Photo - Chantelle Tucker

BC KILLER WHALES Residents Transients eat fish inhabit the coast during the spring, summer, and fall months unknown winter range Transients eat meat unpredictable year-round range In British Columbia, there are two distinct ecotypes of killer whales. They have different behaviours, morphologies, genetics, diet, and do not interbreed. This includes two populations of fish eaters; called northern and southern residents, a population of meat eaters; called transients. T14 Photo - Rachael Griffin Photo - Jared Towers

BC RESIDENT KILLER WHALE RANGE 214 threatened whales 87 endangered whales There are two populations of fish eating killer whales in BC, called the northern and southern residents. The southern residents travel in the waters of southern Vancouver Island and Washington State. Total number of whales in this population is about 84 compared to around 200 whales in the northern community. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada acknowledges the southern resident killer whale population and lists them as Endangered. Endangered means they are almost extinct and could die out, leaving no representatives in this area. Map - Modified from Ford 1991 Video - Chantelle Tucker

RESIDENT KILLER WHALE SOCIAL STRUCTURE Longevity - males live up to 50 years old (ave 30) and females live to 90 years (ave 50) Matriline - mother and up to 4 generations of her offspring, stay in acoustic contact all their lives Pod - a group of related matrilines Clan - pods that share similar vocal calls Photo - Jared Towers

THREATS Decrease in fish stocks Pollution Vessel interactions Photo - Jared Towers Video - Chantelle Tucker

VOCALIZATIONS Echolocate - prey and the marine environment Calls – maintain group cohesion and convey pod identity Killer whales have adapted to their murky environments by utilizing sound as a communication device. Vocalizations of residents include clicks and pulsed calls. A series of clicks are used to echolocate prey and the marine environment. Calls dominate killer whale vocal sounds and seem to maintain family cohesion and convey group identity. Audio - Rachael Griffin Video - Chantelle Tucker

LUNA Five years old (b. Sep 1999) L pod member (L98) L2 matriline (family) Photo - Rachael Griffin

LUNA’S FAMILY The southern resident killer whale community (J clan) consists of 3 pods (J, K, and L) There are 12 matrilines in L pod L pod lost 5 members over the 2000 - 2001 winter season including Luna / L98 and his uncle Orcan / L39 Ford et al. 2000

LUNA’S HISTORY 2001 - Identified in Nootka Sound. Muchalaht/Mowachaht First Nation of Gold River recognize the whale as embodying their late chief Ambrose Maquinna and name him Tsuxiit. 2002 - Luna Stewardship Project begins monitoring as interactions with the juvenile whale increase. 2003 - Department of Fisheries and Oceans decide to reunite Luna for public and whale safety. 2004 - Attempts to move Luna are put on hold. In July of 2001, Luna was identified in Nootka Sound. The Muchalat / Mochalat First Nations of Gold River name Luna “Tsux-iit”after their father the chief. As a lone social animal Luna started approaching boats. People unintentionally reinforced this behaviour by interacting with the young killer whale. By July 2002, Luna was interacting with vessels on a daily basis so the Marine Mammal Monitoring program, known as M3, was asked by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to deploy a stewardship vessel and crew into the area. In 2003, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans decided to intervene with Luna and relocate him the following year back to his family for the safety of the public and the whale. Photo - Rachael Griffin

Vancouver Island Luna is here in Nootka Sound Luna’s family lives in the Juan de Fuca Strait Map – Advanced Satellite Productions

LUNA STEWARDSHIP PROJECT (LSP) Monitoring Education Research LUNA STEWARDSHIP PROJECT (LSP) LSP LSP LSP Video -Chantelle Tucker Photo - Rachael Griffin

LUNA GUIDELINES: Do not approach or interact with Luna Do not stop or slow down around Luna Maintain vessel speed and direction Photo -Rachael Griffin Video- Chantelle Tucker

ACOUSTIC RESEARCH Over 200 calls analyzed Luna uses three family calls

Luna’s First Call in Nootka Sound (L98_1) L98_1 is repeated twice Sound frequency (kHz) versus time (s) graph of Luna’s first call (L98_1) Audio - Rachael Griffin

Luna’s Second (L98_2) and Third (L98_3) Calls L98_2 is emitted before L98_3 L98_2 L98_3 Sound frequency (kHz) versus time (s) graph of Luna’s second call (L98_2) Sound frequency (kHz) versus time (s) graph of Luna’s third call (L98_3) Audio - Rachael Griffin

SUMMARY KILLER WHALES - males grow to 32 feet long, live up to 60 years of age, and live in family groups all their lives. LUNA - juvenile male endangered killer whale alone in Nootka Sound, his mother is alive and he is making family calls. LSP - crew go out on the water to educate boaters and encourage them to stay away from Luna.

ORCA RECOVERY ACTIONS www.lunastewardship.com Promote conservation awareness Help clean up salmon watersheds Use biodegradable products Learn more about stewardship Volunteer www.lunastewardship.com Photo - Jared Towers