Southern resident orcas reclaim Penn Cove, 50 years after brutal roundups
Hope springs in Puget Sound for southern resident orcas
Whidbey Island's Penn Cove has long been marked by a painful history of killer whale hunting. Now, the tides are turning.
PENN COVE, Wash. - For more than five decades, southern resident killer whales have steered clear of Penn Cove on Whidbey Island, avoiding waters haunted by a traumatic history.
Now, in a surprising turn, locals and conservationists have reported seeing the orcas returning to the cove, a place once marred by the violent roundups that took place in the early 1970s.
A painful history that kept orcas away
In 1970, southern residents were rounded up in Penn Cove using boats, airplanes, and nets. The whales were driven into the narrow cove from open waters and corralled into pens. The goal: to capture and sell them to aquariums and marine parks around the world.
"So, Penn Cove was such a big moment in whale history," said Tamara Kelley of the Orca Conservancy. "There were the famous roundups where the southern residents were corralled via boats and dynamite into this cove."
Penn Cove southern resident orca roundup Western WA University
Penn Cove southern resident orca roundup Western WA University
Photos from Western Washington University archives show the captured whales were kept in tight confinement, separated from their families outside the nets.
Those that weren't sold died entangled in the nets. Among the whales taken was Tokitae, who spent decades in captivity, performing at the Miami Seaquarium before passing away earlier this year.
Generational trauma passed down
The trauma of those captures left deep scars on the southern resident population, which researchers say have been passed down through generations.
"The generation that endured the captures forever avoided that area, and then taught their offspring to also avoid that area," said Kelley.
Today, only one southern resident, L25, also known as OceanSun, is still alive from the generation that experienced those traumatic captures.
"Since that time, southern residents had never returned into the cove," Kelley said.
A surprising homecoming
That’s why locals were stunned when they recently spotted OceanSun and her L-pod family breaching in Penn Cove. Coupeville business owner, Kyle Magnuson was among the locals who witnessed their triumphant return firsthand.
"We thought it was the transient pod that comes in, and we were very, very shocked to learn that it was the local pod," he said.
Kelley added that the whales appeared to be at ease. They were breaching and playing in the breakers. The group lingered in Penn Cove for a considerable amount of time.
"It didn’t seem like they were stressed or worried; it just seemed like they were being whales," she said.
Signs of recovery for southern residents
Conservationists are hopeful that this long-awaited return is a positive sign for the endangered southern resident population. Kelley noted that J, K, and L pods have been exploring areas they once avoided and are spending more time foraging in Puget Sound than usual.
"We’re on day 26 of them being consecutively in Puget Sound, and I don’t think they would be here if they weren’t finding food," Kelley said.
She believes the whales’ extended stay may be linked to healthy Chinook and chum salmon runs in the region this fall. Seattle’s Carkeek Park recently recorded a record-setting run, with more than 1,500 salmon counted in a single day.
"It seems this year is significantly higher than last year," she said.
A moment of healing
Kelley is hopeful that the return of OceanSun and her family to Penn Cove is a sign of healing, both for the whales and for the region.
"If they can heal and move forward, and if we can give them a chance, they will thrive," Kelley said.
"I think the L-pod matriarch coming back in is definitely saying that we’re doing a good job of being good stewards of Penn Cove," Magnuson said.
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