Susan Berta has a long history with Sound Waters, having founded the event during her 1989 - 2000 tenure as coordinator of WSU Beach Watchers of Island County. Howard Garrett is a long-time whale researcher whose interest in Orcas dates from 1980 when he began working with the Center for Whale Research.
For Berta and Garrett, Orcas are much more than an interest. These extraordinary marine mammals are their life's work. After pursuing separate careers in related fields, Berta and Garrett in 2001 co-founded The Orca Network, www.orcanetwork.org, on Whidbey Island to track the Orcas in our local waters and spread community awareness of their condition and needs.
Once considered vicious killers, the Salish Sea Orcas have since been determined to be members of distinct cultures. Berta and Garrett will review recent studies of Orca natural history and share some glimpses into their family life.
An extended clan of Orcas, the Southern Resident population, socializes and forages in the waters of Island County, Puget Sound and British Columbia for much of the year. The Orca Network collects and shares sighting information, photographs and individual identification data from hundreds of volunteer observers.
Within the Southern Resident population, male and female offspring remain for life with their mothers. They live a lifespan comparable to humans and communicate with members of their extended group using unique dialects. Unlike any other mammal except humans the different population groups demonstrate cultural separation in their reproductive patterns. Even though different Orca groups cross paths with one another, they interbreed only with their own.
To thrive, local Orca populations require plentiful salmon and unpolluted waters. Sadly, neither condition exists today and the Orcas of Puget Sound are struggling. The plight of Southern Resident Orcas came forcefully to public attention in 1970 when a tragic capture operation - then legal -- was conducted in Penn Cove at Coupeville. At that time Orcas were called "Killer Whales" and were widely devalued and considered dispensible. Some 80 Orcas were herded into a pen. Six of the young were captured and separated forever from their families. Five died that day.
Of the captured Orcas, only one still survives, named "Lolita," who remains housed in the Miami Seaquarium. Efforts are continuing to bring about her return to freedom in Penn Cove.
