It's hardly black and white

Nootka Sound, a deep canyon fiord teeming with wild salmon, is surrounded by a towering expanse of mountains covered in old-growth forests. The village of Gold River is essentially a kind of suburban mill town built in the wilderness. But since the paper and pulp mills shut down in the late '90s, the town has striven to rebuild its economic base largely around timber and fishing. Then Luna arrived.

Shortly after taking up residency in Nootka Sound, Luna startled locals by making contact with them. He'd pop up over the side of the dock and spray people from his blowhole. He'd let them pet him and rub his tongue. "His skin felt like a hard-boiled egg," recalls one boater. He even rubbed noses with a curious dog. The orca engaged humans for stimulation and people obliged, albeit in violation of the law.

In Canada -- as well as in the U.S. -- it's a crime to disturb or interact with marine mammals in the wild, an offense carrying a fine as high as $100,000 in Canada.

Yet, for many, just the experience of seeing Luna up close is far more than a novelty. "It's spiritual for me," says Louie Johnson about having made eye contact with the orca. "I get a big lump in my throat when I see him." Others ascribe human characteristics to the whale, such as projecting that "Luna is lonely."

For science writer Michael Parfit, who lives in Gold River, experiencing the orca is more intangible. "When Luna comes up to you, it's obvious that he wants something from you and you don't know what it is. We don't know what he's communicating and can't give him what he wants. But as another living creature, you still respond."

As news of the sociable orca spread, tourists descended upon the docks of Gold River as though it were an amusement park. In response, the law was strictly enforced and three people were arrested for allegedly touching the whale. As quickly as he had become the star attraction, Luna was officially cut off from human contact.

Habituated to human interaction, the orca displayed an increasing appetite for contact with people. Anglers who activated fish-finding sonar in Nootka discovered they had unwittingly called Luna to their boats. No longer a dolphin-sized infant, Luna sometimes damaged the fish finders, which scientists speculate irritated his sensitive hearing. Other times, seemingly hungry for attention, he would just rub up against boats, pushing and banging them around.