Luna (Orca)

Luna

Luna in Nootka Sound in 2004
Species	Killer whale
Sex	Male
Born	c. September 19, 1999 Puget Sound, Washington
Died	March 10, 2006(2006-03-10) (aged 6) Nootka Sound, Canada

Luna (September 19, 1999 – March 10, 2006) also known as L98 or Tsu'xiit, was a killer whale (orca) born in Puget Sound. After being separated from his mother while still young, Luna spent five years in Nootka Sound, off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Although Luna was healthy and his presence in the area delighted tourists and drew a large number of paparazzi, there were concerns that his behavior was endangering people. After years of debate, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) authorized an effort in June 2004 to capture Luna and place him in captivity. However, the plan was ultimately thwarted by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations, who claimed to believe Luna was a reincarnation of a former chief. It cannot be substantiated that a belief in reincarnation was ever a part of Mowachaht culture. The orca was killed by a tugboat in 2006. His story is told in the 2011 documentary film The Whale, the 2013 book The Lost Whale, and the 2016 podcast "Our Americana: Gold River, BC".

Luna was born into a population known as the Southern Resident Killer Whale community. This population, which consisted of approximately 80 killer whales at the time of Luna's birth, has been extensively studied since the 1970s. Scientists have learned to recognize each individual in the population by photo-identification, and can thus track individual movements and social relationships year after year. Thus it is known that Luna was born into a group known as the L2 matriline, which consisted of the matriarch, Grace (L2), Luna's uncle, Orcan (L39), Gaia (L78), Wavewalker (L88), and Luna's mother, Splash (L67). The L2 matriline belongs to a larger group called L-Pod. Southern Resident killer whales of both sexes form extremely stable family bonds and remain with their mothers throughout their lives.

Luna was first spotted on the morning of September 19, 1999, near the San Juan Islands of Washington, as a newborn alone with his mother. The first person to see him was the operator of a whale watching business, who immediately noticed that the behaviour of the pair was unusual. Killer whale mothers are usually surrounded by other members of their pod when they give birth, and are inseparable from their infants who swim closely by their sides. Luna and his mother were in proximity but appeared relatively disassociated from each other, and there were no other whales nearby. Later that day, Luna was seen leaving his mother to follow whales from K pod and did not reconnect with her for two or three days. Kiska (K18), one of the whales in K pod, had recently given birth to a stillborn calf and may have been lactating when she encountered Luna.