It's hardly black and white

Scientist Ford says he sees no obvious downside to acoustic experiments, but he discounts the "human pod" element of the proposal. "It would further habituate him and just take him further away from being a wild whale."

Limited success

THE DFO neither approved nor rejected the proposal but did grant the Muchalaht tribe a permit to intervene and lead Luna away from boaters. The number of negative incidents have dropped, but that permit expired in October. There is now only sporadic, if not scant, monitoring of the situation by authorities.

Luna is being watched from a distance, however. Hydrophones placed in the water by independent scientists are recording and transmitting Luna's many vocal calls and are linked by satellite to whale researchers around the world. Last month, a researcher in Scotland was startled to hear Luna communicating with a small group of transient killer whales, which had never previously been documented.

Orca researcher Lisa Larsson, who spent more than a year listening to Luna from a modest hilltop station in Nootka Sound, says Luna is providing science with hitherto unseen insights into the behavior of a wild orca.

"We have a unique opportunity to learn about solitary orcas through him, and it's unfortunate that some people don't understand that they are very fortunate to have him in their midst. We can learn amazing things from him. It's so unique that he's managed to survive and entertain himself by going up to people in boats."

Fall and winter are relatively quiet in Nootka, and Luna has been more of an amusement than a nuisance since this year's fishing season came to a close. In September, the First Nation stewards were able to lead Luna to the mouth of the sound, where the orca swam in open water for the first time in more than a year. That's a significant development. If the wayward orca and his pod were to reunite in the waters off Vancouver Island, this healthy male could have a potentially positive influence on the endangered southern resident population.

But come spring, when heavy boat traffic and fishing resume, Luna's predicament could come to a tragic conclusion as some area fishermen continue to grumble that the whale can't be in Nootka next year.