Luna believed killed by tug

SEATTLE – Luna, the juvenile orca from Washington state waters who got lost in Canada’s Nootka Sound five years ago, apparently died Friday when he was accidentally struck by a tugboat propeller, Canadian authorities said.

Luna, a member of one of Washington’s three resident orca pods, or family groups, wandered into Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island in 2001 and stayed, worrying activists and annoying boaters and seaplane pilots with his friendly curiosity.

“We don’t know 100 percent but we do believe it’s Luna,” said Lara Sloan of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The dangerously friendly Luna was part of the region’s “resident population,” which spends much of the year in U.S. and Canadian inland waters. They live and hunt in family groups and mostly eat fish, especially salmon,

The 1,700-horsepower seagoing tug had pulled into sheltered waters near Conception Point to escape rough weather in the Pacific. Luna, known to enjoy playing in boat wakes, “was swimming under the vessel and was hit by a propeller,” Sloan said.

Lonely and apparently seeking contact, the orca had damaged and disabled several boats over the years.

Canada tried in 2004 to reunite him with his pod in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.